§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement as to the circumstances in which the proposed compensation package for slave labour victims of the Nazis to be met by the German Government have been proposed to be reduced in respect of claimants in the "rest-of-the-world" group, including United Kingdom residents. [126032]
§ Mr. VazI understand that the sum of money earmarked at one stage of the negotiations for allocation to "rest-of-the-world" claimants was reduced subsequently in discussions between the German and US Governments.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received(a) from and (b) on behalf of slave labour victims of the Nazis, in respect of the German compensation fund. [126030]
§ Mr. VazI have received a number of letters from colleagues in the House, on behalf of their constituents.
My officials have spoken regularly with representatives of former Poles and Ukrainians who were former slave/forced labourers.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the original estimate of compensation levels for Nazi slave labour victims under the German compensation scheme(a) in total and (b) in respect of each category of case; and what is the current estimate under the revised proposals put forward by the German Government as to (a) and (b). [126033]
§ Mr. VazAgreement on a fund totalling DM10 billion was announced in December 1999.
The amount of compensation intended for allocation to former slave labourers has been set at a maximum of DM15,000 per claimant. Former forced labourers may receive a aximum of DM5,000.
Current uncertainty about the availability of funds and the process of disbursement mean it is not possible at this stage to predict the sum which will be available in practice to individual claimants.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the German Government concerning the regulations over the compensation scheme for slave labour victims of the Nazi regime. [126029]
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§ Mr. VazOur Ambassador in Berlin has written recently to the German Government to express concern that UK claimants have free, fair and equal access to the compensation fund. We remain in close touch with the German Government on this.
§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made as to the number of rest-of-the-world claimants resident in the United Kingdom, who are likely to qualify for compensation from the German fund for slave labour victims of the Nazis. [126031]
§ Mr. VazWe have no exact numbers for the UK, but understand that there may be 2,000 or more potential claimants.