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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 22 April 1993
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Khmer Rouge
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has of the number of (a) civilian and (b) UN personnel killed by the Khmer Rouge in March.
Mr. Goodlad : One member of the United Nations transition authority in Cambodia's--UNTAC--military component was killed by the Khmer Rouge in March. UNTAC has no figures for civilian casualties throughout Cambodia. In view of the difficulties involved in identifying the culprits, it is not possible to specify which murders were perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, although there is a strong likelihood that they were involved in the recent attacks on ethnic Vietnamese.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reconsideration the Government have undertaken of their views on the inclusion of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodia peace process.
Mr. Goodlad : Our views on the inclusion of the Khmer Rouge in the peace process remain unchanged. The civil war in Cambodia could not have been brought to an end if the comprehensive political settlement had excluded any of the main parties to the dispute. To have done so would only have prolonged the conflict and condemned the Cambodian people to indefinite misery. We deplore the failure of the Khmer Rouge to live up to its commitments under the Paris agreements.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has of the percentage of Cambodian territory controlled by the Khmer Rouge (a) at the commencement of the UN mandate and (b) at present.
Mr. Goodlad : Because of the dispositions of the factions in Cambodia, it is difficult to determine precisely how much territory is held by each. We do not believe, however, that the Khmer Rouge since October 1991 has been able to extend to any marked degree the villages and territory under its control.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what current estimate he has made of the military threat posed by the Khmer Rouge to the peace process in Cambodia ; and what will be the British contribution to resisting it.
Mr. Goodlad : UNTAC estimates that the current strength of the Khmer Rouge armed forces is somewhere in the region of 12,000 front-line troops. They have shown their ability to carry out guerrilla operations, but their strength lies in the western and north western provinces.
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The United Kingdom has contributed 122 personnel to UNTAC's military component to enable it to implement its mandate under the terms of the Paris agreements.Whaling
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to making further discussions with Norway on EC membership conditional on that country reversing its decision to resume the killing of great whales.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Norway would be expected to respect the terms and conditions of existing Community legislation on whales should she accede to the Community. This policy has been made clear to the Norwegians.
Cambodia
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EC, Japan and the United States of America regarding international help to Cambodia after the proposed elections in May.
Mr. Goodlad : The main forum for international assistance to Cambodia will be the International Conference on the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Cambodia--ICORC. The framework for ICORC was agreed at the ministerial conference in Tokyo in June 1992 at which member states of the European Community, Japan and the United States of America were present. A follow-up meeting was held at official level in Phnom Penh on 25 February 1993. The Japanese Government will be arranging further meetings after the May elections.
Many United Nations agencies and programmes, including the United Nations Development Programme, will retain personnel in Cambodia after the end of the UNTAC mandate in August.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the number of mine- clearing units operating under the UN mandate in Cambodia ; and how many mines have been lifted as a result of those operations.
Mr. Goodlad : On the basis of the most recent UNTAC figures, 12 mine clearance training teams and 16 supervisory teams were operating in Cambodia. UNTAC's mandate does not include the actual lifting of mines. This is to be done by Cambodians trained by UNTAC. The clearing of mines is being co-ordinated by the Cambodian mine action centre which is, in part, funded by UNTAC.
ENVIRONMENT
Radioactive Substances
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many prosecutions Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has made this year under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 ; and if he will give details of the outcome of each prosecution.
Mr. Maclean : Information on prosecutions taken by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 from 1 April 1992 to 16 April 1993 is set out in the table.
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Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution
RSA 1960 prosecutions
1 April 1992 to date
Division |Name |Act |Offence |Date of hearing |Verdict |Fine |Cost
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East |Esselte Letraset |RSA 1960 |Failure to comply with |29 June 1992 |G |100 |1,000
|condition of registration to
|prevent unauthorised access
|to a radioactive source
West |Xidex (UK) Ltd. |RSA 1960 |Breach of conditions relating | 7 September 1992 |G |6,000 |5,000
|to storage of radioactive
|material
West |British Coal |RSA 1960 |Breach of conditions relating |12 October 1992 |G |20,000 |6,410
|to storage of radioactive
|material
West |West Midlands Regional |RSA 1960 |Breaching 17 offences under |18 December 1992 |G |51,000 |8,000
| Health Authority | Section 13(1)(c) of the RSA
Anglian |Nichols Institute |RSA 1960 |Breach of conditions relating to|6 April 1993 |G |10,000 |2,726
| Diagnostics |accumulation of radioactive
|waste without authorisation
Southern and |United Kingdom Atomic |RSA 1960 |Failure to use BPM to limit the |16 April 1993 |G |5,000 |N/a
HMNII |Energy Authority |activity of radioactive waste
|released and to make a record
|of the means employed
Cotgrave Colliery
Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning applications he has received in respect of the future use of Cotgrave colliery and the use of the pit shafts themselves ; and if he will make a statement on the environmental considerations which will be made about future site use.
Mr. Baldry : Planning applications are made to the relevant local planning authorities in the first instance, not to the Secretary of State. However, I understand that neither of the local planning authorities has received any planning applications in respect of this site. If any applications are received the local planning authorities will be expected to take into account all material environmental considerations.
Housing Statistics
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of homes owned by each local authority in Northamptonshire on 31 March for each year since 1978.
Mr. Baldry : Local authorities report the numbers of dwellings they own in their annual housing investment programme returns--HIP1. The figures for 1 April 1978 and 1979 are listed in column B11 of the "HIP1 All Items Print" for those years. For 1 April 1980 and all subsequent years up to 1 April 1992, the latest available, the information is shown in column A11 of each year's "HIP1 All Items Print". Copies of the "HIP1 All Items Print" for each year are in the Library.
Squirrel Monkeys
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what laws govern the use by zoo operators engaging in street photography using squirrel monkeys as props.
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Mr. Maclean : Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, zoo operators must have a valid zoo licence and any animal removed from zoo must be in their personal possession or that of competent persons acting on their behalf. All zoo licences require the operator to notify the local licensing authority before removing a squirrel monkey, or any other animal listed in the schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. The operator must provide details of the destination and method of transportation of the animal and the arrangements for its well-being and public safety.
A zoo keeper would also be bound by the provisions of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 which makes it an offence to cause or, in the case of an owner, permit any unnecessary suffering to a captive animal.
Orimulsion
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce the measures Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will take to ensure the control of emissions from power stations burning orimulsion.
Mr. Maclean : The burning of orimulsion or any other fuel in power stations is subject to control by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under integrated pollution control--IPC--legislation. All IPC authorisations require the operator to use the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost--BATNEEC--to prevent or minimise and render harmless the release of prescribed substances to any environmental medium.
The chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is currently considering two applications from PowerGen to burn orimulsion at Ince power station in Cheshire and Richborough power station in Kent. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has agreed with PowerGen an extension to the determination period for
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both applications until the end of July allowing further time for consideration of the economic and environmental impact of this new fuel.Council House Sales
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each district authority in Northamptonshire the total discounted value of houses and flats sold in each year since 1988 -89.
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Mr. Baldry : The total discounted values of dwellings sold by local authorities in Northamptonshire in the years 1988-89 to 1991-92 are given in the table. Actual cash receipts in any year will depend on the extent to which sales were financed by loans from the authorities. Figures for 1992- 93 are not yet available.
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