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Lord Moran asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister for Science, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): The Department of Trade and Industry has received some information on the allegations relating to the proposed biomass power plant at Newbridge-on-Wye. Further clarification is needed before the department can make a firm decision whether or not to proceed with an investigation. This clarification has now been sought.
Lord Shutt of Greetland asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The level of claims paid by ECGD in 1999-2000, both overall (£296 million) and in respect of defence business (£152 million), was largely affected by claims paid in respect of business with Indonesia insured earlier in the 1990s.
Payments from Indonesia are currently being received under the terms of Indonesia's Paris Club rescheduling and ECGD expects to recover in due course the claims which it is paying currently on Indonesia.
Premium income in 1999-2000 of £102 million (of which £27 million related to defence business) was in respect of new business supported in the year and not the business from earlier in the 1990s which was the subject of claims in 1999-2000.
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: I am today launching the Quinquennial Review of the grant-awarding research councils.
Reviews of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) are a key part of our programme to modernise government. The Government are committed to achieving better public services that are of higher quality and are more responsive to the needs of the people who use them. Regular NDPB reviews are an important element in ensuring that we have in place the right structures to deliver the Government's agenda effectively and to provide a strong focus on improving future performance.
The purpose of the six grant-awarding councils is to deliver government policy for publicly funded research and postgraduate training. It would be impossible to conduct a fundamental review independently from that policy. For this reason, although quinquennial review of the six councils was due in 1999, it has been appropriate to postpone their quinquennial review until the outcome of the relevant policy reviews had been completed, so that the role of the councils could be considered in that context. Together the White Papers on Science and Innovation (Excellence and Opportunity; Cmd 4814) and the Knowledge Economy (Opportunity for All in a World of Change; Cm 2250) now provide the context for the review.
The terms of reference for the review of the research councils are:
Viscount Waverley asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Article I of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article I of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that all peoples have the right of self-determination. This right has been claimed in many instances around the world. There is no agreed list of such claims.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We deplore the attack on the printing presses of the Daily News. We have, with our EU colleagues, issued a statement condemning the attack, and asserting that a free and independent press is a vital element in the maintenance of democratic values and respect for the rule of law in any country. We urge the Zimbabwean Government to do all it can to bring the culprits to justice.
Lord Archer of Sandwell asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We have received several reports from NGOs and church representatives regarding the aerial bombing of the Episcopal Church Cathedral in Lui in southern Sudan. Our Ambassador in Khartoum has made our concerns about the bombing of the cathedral, and other civilian targets, clear to the Sudanese authorities. We will continue to urge both sides in Sudan's civil war to return to the negotiating table and agree a comprehensive ceasefire.
Lord Archer of Sandwell asked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) aiding it to examine the underlying causes of slavery; and
(b) providing the means for independent investigators and human rights experts to work alongside the committee.[HL588]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Abduction is a key issue to which we pay particular attention in Sudan and we are active in our support of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC).
Through the EU, we have part financed the work of the CEAWC. Our Ambassador in Khartoum has visited the areas affected and has attended CEAWC workshops in Khartoum to urge all concerned to greater efforts and to demonstrate our concerns. Both UNICEF and Save the Children Fund (UK) are closely involved in efforts to resolve this distressing problem.
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