asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the United Kingdom is playing in the anti-piracy programmes so far as assistance to Thailand is concerned.

The United Kingdom continues, with others, to help combat the scourge of piracy against boat refugees in the Gulf of Thailand. Since 1982 we have made annual contributions, totalling £335,000, to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for use in the Thai Government's anti-piracy programme. The incidence of piracy remains distressingly high, but since the inception of the anti-piracy programme there has been a welcome reduction in the number of incidents.