§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the ambassador of the United States of America regarding the forthcoming elections in Nicaragua; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MaudeNone. We are continuing to monitor the election closely and we await the report of our official observer, Dr. David Browning. Like others, including ONUVEN and the OAS observers, we have been concerned by reports of harassment of the opposition, of misuse of state resources by the Sandinista Front and of continuing inequality of access to the media and to funding. In particular, there was a long delay in releasing304W prohibit differences in treatment on the grounds of homosexuality. I shall write to the hon. Member about the other matters he has raised.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the years 1988 and 1989, how many men were given custodial sentences in the United Kingdom for consenting homosexual acts with males between the ages of 16 and 21 years; and what were the durations of those sentences in each individual case.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 25 January 1990]: Information for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.
In England and Wales in 1988, 10 males of, or over, 21 were sentenced to immediate imprisonment for buggery or attempted buggery of a male of, or over, 16 but under 21, with his consent. Thirteen males of, or over, the age of 21 were sentenced to immediate imprisonment for an act of gross indecency with a male under the age of 21. The durations of the sentences imposed are given in the table.
Similar information is not readily available for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
the $1.5 million which the National Endowment for Democracy paid into the Central bank for UNO's use in December.