TNAG-1747-FCO40-2466-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1988 — Page 207

1978-79 1979-80

585

Water Authority

Mr. Footryan

N 913

Written Answers

PA

2 MARCH 1988

Written Answers

586

587

1980-81

1981-82

1982-83

1983-84 1984-85

1985-86 1986-87 1987-88

TUB

027/2

1

Welsh

National average

100.00

112.83 135.63

163.36

200-88

209-84

100.00

112-43

139.76

158.56

174.72

183-62

190.55

209.84 231-59 242.57 267-84

186.97 227-49 241.28

Fore

he h

tow:

Ν

Arms Control

and

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Sessional Index

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will seek the reintroduction in the Library of a sessional running index using the strip index system of written and oral answers in departmental date order of reply.

Mr. Wakeham: No. An index by subjects and Members' names of written and oral answers is already provided on POLIS, the Library's Parliamentary On-Line Information System. The reintroduction of the strip-index system referred to, which was discontinued on 1 June 1981 in accordance with the Resolution of the House of 26 January 1978, would have additional staffing implications, and would serve only to duplicate the information already available on the Library's computer-based system.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

2. Mr. Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when next he plans to meet the secretary general of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to discuss foreign policy issues confronting the Alliance.

Mr. Mellor: My right hon. and learned Friend is today attending with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister the NATO summit meeting in Brussels, at which these issues are being discussed.

Persian Gulf

13. Mr. Peter Archer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate discussions at the United Nations with a view to establishing an international peace-keeping force in the Persian Gulf.

Mr. Mellor: No. Discussions in New York are rightly concentrating on finding ways to implement Security Council resolution 598. This may well require the imposition of an arms embargo. Until there is a peace to keep, discussion of a peace-keeping force is entirely premature.

16. Mr. Sackville: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement about the situation in the Gulf.

Mr. Mellor: The situation in the Gulf remains tense. Although there is currently a lull in the Gulf itself, though not of course in the land war, this year so far there have already been a large number of successful attacks on shipping by both Iran and Iraq. We continue to urge both sides to end these attacks through the implementation of Security Council resolution 598. DATE.33

14. Mr. Riddick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement about British arms control policy with particular reference to achieving a verifiable worldwide ban on chemical weapons.

Mr. Mellor: We continue to play an active role at the negotiations at the conference on disarmament in Geneva for a comprehensive, verifiable and global ban on all chemical weapons. Some progress was made last year. However, complex issues remain to be resolved in order to construct a resilient international security agreement.

Hong Kong

*15. Mr. Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to visit Hong Kong to discuss the future of the colony.

Mr. Eggar: At present my right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to visit Hong Kong. We are in close touch with the Governor of Hong Kong over all aspects of the territory's future. My right hon. and learned Friend will be seeing him in three weeks' time during one of his regular visits to London.

32. Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the people of Hong Kong on the proposed timetable for direct elections.

Mr. Eggar: On 10 February the Hong Kong Government published their White Paper announcing the decision to introduce 10 directly elected seats into the Legislative Council in 1991. We have since received no representations from the people of Hong Kong concerning this timetable.

68. Mr. Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will bring forward proposals for human rights legislation in Hong Kong, together with proposals to make it justiciable in the courts of Hong Kong.

Mr. Eggar: It is for the Hong Kong Government to introduce legislation in Hong Kong. We are not aware that the Hong Kong Government at present have any intention to introduce such legislation.

Mr. Allen McKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the question of timing of direct elections in Hong Kong since the publication of the White Paper on 10 February.

Mr. Eggar: None.

poli

forc the

from

For

Un the

du

Jar

Fo

282

COI

CO

m:

Fo

a

be

ai

01

h

fi

4

h

a

(

298

COL.

526

12.8

VOL.