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Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he has taken to ensure that schools provide two hours or more per week of time-tabled National Curriculum physical education for their pupils. [34210]
Ms Estelle Morris: It is for schools to decide how much time to allocate to individual subjects.
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he has taken to ensure that further education institutions publish details of the sports facilities and opportunities they offer. [34224]
Dr. Howells: The Charter for Further Education advises colleges to publish information about their sporting opportunities and facilities.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action has been taken to encourage best practice in the provision of sports facilities in further education institutions following the Further Education Funding Council audit of existing sports provision. [34200]
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Dr. Howells:
The Further Education Funding Council Inspectorate's Good Practice Report "Sport in Colleges", published in June 1996, was widely disseminated.
Mr. Wigley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps she is taking to impose a more rigorous system of control over armaments exports from the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [30423]
Mrs. Roche: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary announced on 28 July 1997, Official Report, columns 26-29 the criteria to be used in considering individual applications for licences to export goods entered in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order (the so-called "Military List"), or dual-use goods where there are grounds for believing that the end-user will be the armed forces or the internal security forces of the recipient country.
In addition, the Government's Strategic Export Controls Review is likely to include proposals to extend controls in certain areas. Options currently being considered include controls on the transfer of technology by intangible means and on the trafficking and brokering of certain goods. We expect these proposals to be set out, probably in the form of a White Paper, before the end of the year.
Mr. Bruce George: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the export licences granted to Iraq by Britain since 2 August 1990, separately identifying those for the export of growth medium broken down by (i) size and (ii) value of shipment and by stated end use; what are the current rules controlling the export of growth medium to Iraq; and what changes have been made to them since 2 August 1990. [30919]
Mrs. Roche [holding answer 23 February 1998]: The export to Iraq of any goods, unless under authority of an export licence, is prohibited by the Export of Goods (Control)(Iraq and Kuwait Sanctions) Order 1990 [SI 1990/1640], which came into force on 9 August 1990.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 9 August 1990 to 31 December 1990 | 5 |
| 1991 | 154 |
| 1992 | 418 |
| 1993 | 334 |
| 1994 | 635 |
| 1995 | 467 |
| 1996 | 349 |
| 1997 | 564 |
| 1 January 1998 to 31 January 1998 | 47 |
16 Mar 1998 : Column: 488
In addition, there are five Open General Export Licences (OGELs) under which specified goods may be exported to Iraq subject to the conditions of the licence: OGEL (Ships' stores: Aircraft stores); OGEL (Personal effects); OGEL (Documents); OGEL (Specified medical goods to the Red Cross); OGEL (Human remains). Copies of all of these licences are in the Library of the House. Formulated complex growth medium is not covered by OGEL (Specified medical goods to the Red Cross).
16 Mar 1998 : Column: 489
However, as details of all of the goods covered by individual applications are not recorded on the relevant database, it is possible that other licences covering formulated complex growth media might have been issued during this period. Any such other licences could be identified only by examination of the paper records of all licences issued since 9 August 1990, which would entail disproportionate cost.
Since 1 October 1996, the UK has issued nine licences covering the export of formulated complex growth media to Iraq, which is covered by the Import and Export (IMPEX) Mechanism established under UN Security Council resolution 1051, which came into force in October 1996. In each case, in accordance with our obligations under UN Security Council resolution 661, the Government confirmed that the applications were to export supplies strictly for medical purposes. The UN Sanctions Committee was notified, as was the UNSCOM-IAEA Joint Unit. The IMPEX Mechanism covers specified goods with the potential for use in the development and production of weapons of mass destruction and provides for monitoring of their use in Iraq by the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM).
For six of the nine licences referred to in the paragraph above the consignees were UN agencies. For the three other licences, the exports were specifically authorised by the UN Sanctions Committee under the "Oil for Food" programme based on UN Security Council resolution 986 and successor resolutions. The date of each licence, the quantity of formulated complex growth medium covered and the stated end-use are in the table.
16 Mar 1998 : Column: 490
| Date of issue | Quantity | Approx. value of shipment | Stated end-use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.02.97 | 5 litres | £500 | World Health Organisation (WHO) poliomyelitis diagnosis project |
| 07.05.97 | 10kg 0.5 litre | £1,000 | WHO tuberculosis control project |
| 21.05.97 | 10kg | £750 | WHO nutrition research project |
| 21.07.97(5) | 1,670.7kg | £54,000 | Hospital laboratories under the UN "Oil for Food" Programme |
| 09.10.97 | 27kg | £1,000 | UNICEF urban and semi-urban water project |
| 14.10.97 | 14 litres | $500 | Hospital laboratories under the UN "Oil for Food" Programme |
| 11.11.97 | 3 litres | $50 | International Atomic Energy Agency rinderpest surveillance project |
| 28.01.98 | 40kg | £1,000 | WHO primary healthcare project |
| 30.01.98 | 40kg | $4,000 | Hospital laboratories under the UN "Oil for Food" Programme |
(5) This licence expired before the goods concerned were exported, and a new licence with the same coverage and for the same end-use was issued on 19.12.97.
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