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Written Answers
Thursday, 13th February 2003.
Zimbabwe: Aid
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much bilateral and multilateral aid is given to Zimbabweans by (a) the United Kingdom; and (b) the European Union, broken down by member states. [HL1366]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): The most recent comprehensive statistics for bilateral and multilateral assistance for Zimbabwe are from 2001, when most donor assistance was at a low level due to governance concerns.
The following table lists humanitarian assistance pledges for Zimbabwe reported to the EC Humanitarian Office (ECHO) from 1 January to 19 December 2002, totalling E156.4 million. The first column represents bilateral support (including contributions to UN appeals) and the second gives the approximate share for each member state of the additional EC humanitarian assistance programme. (All figures million euro).
| EU country | Bilateral Assistance (E) | EC programme share (E) |
| UK | 51.2 | 11.28 |
| Austria | 0.2 | 2.35 |
| Belgium | 0.4 | 3.48 |
| Denmark | 0.4 | 1.90 |
| Finland | 0.3 | 1.31 |
| France | 0.8 | 21.58 |
| Germany | 4.2 | 20.74 |
| Greece | no data | 1.11 |
| Ireland | 1.2 | 0.55 |
| Italy | 1.0 | 11.14 |
| Luxembourg | no data | 0.25 |
| Netherlands | 1.1 | 4.64 |
| Portugal | no data | 0.86 |
| Spain | no data | 5.19 |
| Sweden | 6.8 | 2.42 |
| Totals | 67.6 | 88.8 |
Zimbabwe: FCO Advice
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What advice the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently giving to British nationals intending to visit Zimbabwe; and whether the same advice is given to those going to Zimbabwe to participate in international sport. [HL1459]
Baroness Amos: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice for Zimbabwe is kept under constant review and regularly updated. The current version is on the Internet at www.fco.gov.uk.
Foreign Office officials have been in regular contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board and Professional Cricketers' Association. During these contacts, the FCO officials have passed on factual information about the situation in Zimbabwe. They have also discussed the travel advice in some detail, but made clear that this advice applies equally to all British visitors to Zimbabwe.
Bulgaria and Romania: Visa Control
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are their reasons for maintaining visa control in relation to Bulgaria and Romania. [HL1471]
Baroness Amos: Visa regimes are maintained when there is evidence that nationals of a particular nationality are seeking to circumvent UK immigration control, such as in the case of Romania and Bulgaria. All visa regimes are kept under constant review and the regimes on Bulgaria and Romania will be lifted when it is considered that to do so would not affect adversely the United Kingdom's immigration control.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which member states of the European Union (other than the United Kingdom) maintain visa control in relation to Bulgaria and Romania. [HL1472]
Baroness Amos: Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania no longer require visas to enter Schengen member states. They do, however, still require visas to enter the Republic of Ireland.
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, following recent deaths and homelessness in Darfur Province of the Sudan, allegedly caused by attacks of the Baggara tribes against the Fur and Massalit tribes, and in view of comments by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Sudan, the Sudan Organization against Torture and Amnesty International, they will seek to establish improved monitoring of the situation and the inclusion of Darfur in peace negotiations. [HL1554]
Baroness Amos: We are concerned about the situation in Darfur. Very little information has come out of the area. Embassy personnel plan to visit the region to assess the situation in the near future. We do not expect Darfur to be included separately in the peace negotiations.
Reproductive Healthcare
Baroness Masham of Ilton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Amos on 24 October (WA 107), whether their statement that they "do not provide assistance to stabilise
- population growth" is consistent with their funding by unrestricted grants of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whose mission statement states its "goals will contribute . . . to the universally accepted aim of stabilizing world population". [HL1571]
Baroness Amos: The purpose of the Government's support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is to help improve the quality, choice and availability of sexual and reproductive healthcare and services for poor people to enable the fund to be an effective champion for reproductive health and rights.
Yorkshire: Job Creation
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many jobs have been created in 2002 and since 1997 in the county of South Yorkshire and in the Yorkshire region. [HL1510]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from the National Statistician Len Cook, dated 13 February 2003.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Question about the number of jobs that have been created in South Yorkshire and the Yorkshire region in 2002 and since 1997. (HL1510)
There are no figures for jobs created but an indication can be obtained by comparing the annual surveys of employee jobs. The annual business inquiry (ABI) gives an estimate of the number of employee jobs in December of each year and the latest year for which figures are available is 2001. The ABI was preceded (prior to 1998) by the annual employment survey (AES) but this survey was carried out on a different basis and so comparisons are very difficult to make. Therefore the earliest year for which comparable data is available is 1998.
The ABI data for the requested two areas in 1998 and 2001 and the net jobs gained are shown below:
| Area | 1998 | 2001 | Net Jobs Gained |
| GOR: Yorkshire and the Humber | 2,049,746 | 2,085,724 | 35,978 |
| County: South Yorkshire | 482,532 | 487,808 | 5,276 |
2001 Census: Key Statistics for Local Authorities
Baroness Pitkeathley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When detailed results from the 2001 census for local authorities in England and Wales will be published.[HL1653]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: A report on the 2001 Census Key Statistics for Local Authorities for England and Wales is being laid before Parliament today. Copies will be available in the Library of the House and are accessible on the National Statistics website.
The report will provide a compact and self-contained reference, providing key results covering a wide range of census topics. Figures for local authority areas, presented generally as percentage distributions, can be readily compared with those for other areas and with the national averages.
The report will comprise a set of 24 tables covering all 376 local authority districts in England and Wales, the 11 National Parks, the 40 shire and metropolitan counties and the nine government office regions, as well as comparable national figures for the UK, England and Wales, England, and Wales as appropriate.
EU Legislation
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 13 January (WA 13–14), and with respect to European Union regulations directly applicable in the United Kingdom, by what means any person or corporate body can ascertain in respect of a particular topic (a) those regulations which are still in force; (b) those which have expired; and (c) those which replace earlier regulations; and[HL1348]
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 13 January (WA 13–14), whether they will take steps to ascertain the number of European Community regulations which came into force in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1973; and which publications list those regulations, noting those which are still in force.[HL1349]
The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): The precise number of EC regulations which came into force on 1 January 1973 and which remain in force now is not held centrally by the Government. It would therefore incur disproportionate costs to collate accurate figures. However, a directory of all Community legislation currently in force is available to any person or corporate body on www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html. This is structured by policy area and indicates where regulations have been amended or updated.
Iraqi Nationals: Leave to Enter UK
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many immigrants and asylum seekers from Iraq have been allowed into the United Kingdom in each of the past five years. [HL1460]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): The information available is (i) the number of journeys made to the United Kingdom and (ii) the number of applications made for asylum by Iraqi nationals in each of the years 1997 to 2001 and is given in the table.
Detailed information on general immigration can be found in the Home Office publication, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2001, available in the House of Commons Library and via the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/commandpubs1.html The 2002 edition is due to be published later this year.
| of whom: | ||||
| Total | Visitors | Passengers returning after a temporary absence abroad | Others given leave to enter | |
| 1997 | 7,650 | 2,920 | 3,800 | 930 |
| 1998 | 6,520 | 2,400 | 2,870 | 1,250 |
| 1999 | 6,190 | 2,880 | 2,220 | 1,090 |
| 2000 | 8,050 | 3,030 | 2,820 | 221 |
| 2001 | 8,890 | 3,240 | 3,910 | 1,740 |
Data rounded to the nearest 10.
(1) Does not necessarily relate to the year of arrival.
(2) May exclude some cases lodged at local enforcement offices between January 1999 and March 2000.
P denotes provisional.
Data rounded to the nearest 5.
Total Applications Applied at port
Applied in country
1997 1,075 785 290
1998 1,295 1,085 210
1999(2) 1,800 1,385 415
2000(2) 7,475 1,920 5,555
2001(P) 6,705 2,350 4,350
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