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Cycle Spaces
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many secure cycle spaces there are in his Department. [22687]
Mr. Fatchett: This Department has 166 secure cycling spaces--84 in London and 82 at Hanslope Park, near Milton Keynes.
Travel Insurance
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of United Kingdom citizens who travelled abroad without travel insurance in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996 and (iii) 1997; and if he will make a statement. [22598]
Mr. Fatchett: We have no accurate way of measuring this. For our own purposes we estimate that 10 per cent. to 15 per cent. of Britons still do not take out travel insurance when they travel abroad. Our estimates for 1995, 1996 and 1997 are similar. We strongly advise that all travellers take out insurance.
Immigration (Cubans)
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visitor visas for entry into the United Kingdom from Cuban nationals have been turned down in each of the last two years. [22497]
Mr. Fatchett: The number of visit visa applications from Cuban nationals refused in Havana in the last two years was: 65 (5.1 per cent.) in 1995; 63 (4.5 per cent.) in 1996 and 99 (5.4 per cent.) in the first 11 months of 1997. Records are not kept of applications from Cuban nationals applying in other countries.
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications in each of the last two years for visitor visas have been from Cuban nationals. [22496]
Mr. Fatchett:
The number of visit visa applications from Cuban nationals in Havana in the last two years was: 1,975 in 1995; 1,420 in 1996 and 1,822 in the first 11 months of 1997. Records are not kept of applications from Cuban nationals applying in other countries.
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Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the annual budget for his Department's Arms Control Disarmament Research Unit in the last two years. [22507]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
There is no specific budget for the two staff of the Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit. Their costs are included in the overall budget of the FCO's Non-Proliferation Department. For much of financial year 1996-97, there was an additional part-timer member of the Unit; the costs for that year totalled approximately £125,000. In financial year 1997-98, costs to date total approximately £80,000.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what work his Department is currently carrying out to support and implement arms control treaties in the fields of (a) chemical weapons and (b) nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement. [22508]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
This Department works closely with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that the UK remains in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which the United Kingdom ratified in 1996, and to promote the universality and effective implementation of the Treaty. This involves coordinating and preparing positions for, and leading the UK Delegation at, the periodic Conferences of States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague; and preparation for and attendance at the regular meetings of the OPCW's Executive Council.
The UK is a Depositary State for and a leading member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This Department leads and co-ordinates UK participation in the review process for the treaty, which includes a Review Conference every five years and Preparatory Committee meetings in the three years preceding each Conference. The FCO is also sponsoring legislation to enable the UK to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The UK is also a member of the Australia Group and Nuclear Suppliers Group, which formulate and implement export controls for materials, equipment and technology relevant to chemical weapons and nuclear programmes respectively. The UK will become chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in April 1998.
This Department also leads on a range of actions in other multilateral fora (e.g. the European Union, NATO) and in bilateral action with individual states in support of the objectives of these treaties and bodies.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what work is being carried out by his Department to support the negotiations to strengthen the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. [22509]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
This Department is working closely with the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry in support of international efforts to establish
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a legally binding Protocol to strengthen compliance with the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. Our officials lead the UK delegation at these negotiations in Geneva and chair the key sessions on compliance measures. They also pay a key role in consultation within the European Union on these issues. One of the priorities for our EU Presidency is to promote decisive progress in the negotiations in 1998.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy on Israeli requests to the EU to extend the scope of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement to include jointly produced Israeli-Palestinian goods in exemption to customs duties. [22546]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
We strongly support efforts by Israeli and the Palestinian Authority to establish cumulation of rules of origin under the EC/PLO and EC/Israel agreements. This would allow goods jointly produced in Israel and the Palestinian Authority preferential accession to EU markets. To allow such cumulation, both sides must harmonise their rules of origin. The European Commission has held technical talks with both sides to assist them in this task.
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated value of goods jointly produced by Israel and Palestine and imported by the EU; and what proportion have been imported at zero tariff. [22547]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
No statistics are available for imports of goods jointly produced in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Cohen :
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of (a) the total amount received by Iraq under oil sale-related agreements and (b) the amount taken as reparations. [23042]
Mr. Fatchett:
Since December 1996 when Iraq accepted the "oil for food" scheme, Iraq has been permitted to sell US dollars 4 billion worth of oil. UNSCR 1143, which renewed the scheme in November 1997, allows for the sale of a further US dollars 2 billion worth of Iraqi oil. Thirty per cent. of the proceeds from Iraqi oil goes to the UN compensation fund which pays compensation claims from individuals, corporations and governments who suffered direct loss, damage or injury as a result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government plans to incorporate the Ottawa Landmine Treaty into United Kingdom law; and what steps it is taking to persuade other countries to ratify the treaty. [23611]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We intend to introduce legislation as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows. We shall continue to take every opportunity to urge as many
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countries as possible to sign the Ottawa Convention and to encourage those that have signed to ratify the Convention as quickly as possible.
Mr. Mullin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government intend to ratify the land mines treaty; and if he will make a statement. [23298]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We intend to ratify the Convention as soon as the necessary legislation is in place. We shall continue to take every opportunity to urge as many countries as possible to sign the Ottawa Convention and will press for complementary action to promote a global ban on anti-personnel landmines in international fora, including the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on how, at what level and when the human rights problem in Turkey is being raised with the Turkish government. [23574]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
We regularly raise human rights in our Ministerial and official level contacts with the Turkish authorities.
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