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Women Prisoners (Hospital Treatment)
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners in each year since 1990 have escaped from escort while attending hospital for antenatal care, childbirth or post-natal care; if he will list the circumstances of their escape; and from which prisons they were attending the hospital. [7539]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 15 January 1996]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 29 January 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many women prisoners in each year since 1990 have escaped from escort while attending hospital for antenatal care, childbirth or post-natal care, giving the circumstances of their escape and from which prisons they were attending hospital.
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In this period there have been seven escapes from hospital for the stated reasons. The information is shown in the attached table.
Since 1990 there is one recorded case of a pregnant woman (32 weeks) attempting to escape from a hospital escort (Risley prison). There is another where a pregnant woman attempted to escape from a hospital escort, the pregnancy was not the reason for the hospital visit. On two occasions there were attempted escapes where the reason for the hospital visit is not known.
Aid Budget
26. Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the size of the overseas aid budget in 1996-97. [10007]
Mr. Hanley: We always receive a number of representations from hon. Members and the general public and this year is no exception.
33. Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations he has had with non-governmental organisations concerned with the use of overseas aid, regarding the consequences of the reduction of the overseas aid budget. [10014]
Mr. Hanley: My right hon. and Noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development and her officials have frequent contact with NGOs on a wide range of policy-related issues, including the size of the aid budget. We have informed the NGO's that the joint funding scheme will be increased in 1996-97 to over £36 million from £34 million this year.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary met chief executives from major NGOs on 23 January.
35. Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of the total overseas aid budget for the current year is devoted to educational purposes. [10016]
Mr. Hanley:
Expenditure on education from the bilateral aid programme is identifiable only up to 1994-95. In that year a total of £227 million was spent on educational activities, which was 20 per cent. of the total bilateral aid expenditure.
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32. Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent changes he has made to the aid budget to Nigeria. [10013]
Mr. Hanley:
Bilateral aid spending will be about £6.4 million in 1995-96 compared with an estimated £7.9 million before the EU measures taken in December 1995. EC aid is limited to tackling poverty through non-governmental organisations.
34. Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will commission studies into the role of private capital in fostering economic development. [10015]
Mr. Hanley:
I am pleased to inform the hon. Member that the Overseas Development Administration is in the process of commissioning a major research programme on the policy options facing developing countries in attracting private capital.
Mr. Home Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the delays experienced by non-governmental organisations delivering aid in Bosnia as a result of customs and other procedures required by the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Herceg-Bosnan authorities; what is his assessment of the effect of these delays on
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deliveries of aid in Bosnia; and if he will ask the Bosnian authorities to minimise such restrictions. [10860]
Mr. Hanley:
We know from running our own ODA aid programmes in Bosnia of the delays caused to aid organisations by complicated local customs procedures. Aid organisations registered with the Croatian and Bosnian Governments find that advance clearance from the relevant Ministries usually takes about six days. Further customs checks en-route lengthen aid journeys. We recognise the rights of the Croatian and Bosnian Governments to exercise proper customs controls but have asked them to apply them as efficiently as possible or to relax them for aid. In the new conditions following the Dayton peace agreement access is much improved but we will continue to urge the local authorities to apply customs controls on aid as lightly as possible.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Nigerian police officers have received police training in the United Kingdom in each year since 1990; and if he will list (a) the names and ranks of the trainees, (b) the cost and duration of each officer's training, (c) which United Kingdom police forces provided the training and (d) which Government department provided the funding for the training. [11576]
Mr. Hanley:
Twenty-one Nigerian police officers have received training in the United Kingdom since 1990, funded by the Overseas Development Administration. The further details requested have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
29 Jan 1996 : Column: 503
29 Jan 1996 : Column: 503
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