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NORTHERN IRELAND
Education Qualifications
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if RSA Stage II is equivalent to at least GCSE grade C for purposes of employment or entry into further education. [50]
Mr. Worthington: There are no general equivalents between RSA Stage II and GCSE at grade C and above as the course content, assessment methods and standards required may differ. Work is currently under way between the various examining bodies, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications and the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority in relation to the placing and equivalence of all qualifications within the National Framework recommended by Sir Ron Dearing.
Civil Service (Ethnic Minorities)
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants, of each grade, in her Department, were of Asian origin, on 5 May. [734]
Mr. Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office is based in both London and Northern Ireland, and employs staff from the Home Civil Service and the Northern Ireland Civil Service groups. Monitoring of ethnic origin is currently limited to Home Civil Service employees in Great Britain. As at 5 May 1997, there were eight employees, up to Grade 7, out of an eligible monitoring group of 108, who had identified themselves as being of Asian origin.
It is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The Northern Ireland Civil Service monitors its workforce in terms of religion, sex and disability. It does not undertake any ethnic monitoring of its workforce. The Service will be reviewing its monitoring policies to take account of the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and the guidance on best practice which will be produced following its implementation.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals she has to increase the number of ethnic minority employees in her Department. [735]
Mr. Murphy:
The Northern Ireland Office staff group includes 108 Home Civil Service employees based in London who are eligible for ethnic monitoring. Over the last three years there has been a 6 per cent. increase, to 19.5 per cent., in the number of employees who have identified themselves as being of Black or Asian origin. Recruitment sources have included inter-departmental trawis, absorption of surplus staff from other departments and the use of the Recruitment and Assessment Service instant recruitment scheme. The Northern Ireland Office will continue to use all of these methods to meet its obligations to recruit on the basis of fair and open competition.
The Northern Ireland Civil Service is committed to ensuring equality opportunity in employment irrespective of any extraneous factors not pertinent to job requirements. The NICS equal opportunities policy embraces all staff and applicants for employment, including those who are members of ethnic minority groups.
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Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations she has received from (a) the Royal Ulster Constabulary and (b) other regarding the incidents of fire and theft at the Mosque in Craigavon, County Armagh. [745]
Mr. Ingram:
No representations have been received regarding this matter.
Mr. Tipping:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average payment made under the arable area payments scheme in 1996-97. [1721]
Mr. Murphy:
Maximum, minimum and average payments made under the Arable Area Payments Scheme in Northern Ireland in 1996-97 were (a) maximum--£61,772.70, (b) minimum--£73.32 and (c) average--£2,6111.87.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to visit Uganda. [1458]
Clare Short:
While I have no firms plans for a visit to Uganda at this stage, I hope to visit in the coming months.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to review British aid to Tanzania. [1490]
Clare Short:
As part of the Department's comprehensive spending review, we are reviewing all our expenditure programmes, including that in Tanzania.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries in receipt of aid from the United Kingdom, indicating the level of grant aid given to each. [1463]
Clare Short:
Britain gives bilateral aid to over 160 countries. All new bilateral aid is provided on grant terms. Details are set out in Table 7 of the 1996 edition of British Aid Statistics (deposited in the Library of the House in January 1997). These and other countries also benefit from UK contributions to the multilateral development institutions of which we are a member.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received from non-Governmental organisations working in Afghanistan regarding freedom of access for women in Taliban-held areas. [1450]
2 Jun 1997 : Column: 26
Clare Short:
The Department for International Development supports the work of many non- governmental agencies in Afghanistan and has consulted closely with them on the question of human rights.
We subscribe to the common donor position that all parties in Afghanistan should recognise, protect and promote the equal rights and dignity of men and women, including access to education, employment outside the home, personal security and freedom from intimidation and harassment.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what emergency aid she intends to make available to the Government of Bangladesh following the recent cyclone. [1476]
Clare Short:
Following consultations with the Government of Bangladesh we have approved grants totalling £212,000 to NGOs to provide assistance for shelter for families in the worst-affected areas. We will consider further grants to Government or NGOs as needs become clearer.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what means her Department makes available its publications in (a) Braille, (b) audio tape, and (c) large print; and how this is publicised. [1659]
Clare Short:
The Department for International Development produces only a small number of publications most of which are for educational purposes only. Consideration has been given in the past to producing publications for the visually handicapped but insufficient demand has so far been identified. We will keep the question under review.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the allocation of funding for the UK membership of UNESCO. [1094]
Clare Short:
Our first contribution to UNESCO about £5 million covering the period 1 July--31 December 1997, will be met from the contingency reserve in the development budget. Future contributions will be considered in the next resources round. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham, (Mr. Hogg) Hansard 20 May 1997, column 37.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of (a) the number of refugees in Iran and (b) the countries from which these refugees have come; and what assistance she is providing to those refugees. [1339]
Clare Short:
Current estimates are that there are 1.4 million Afghan refugees and 580,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran.
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In the last three financial years, the UK Government has spent in Iran, £10,065 million on Afghan refugees, £422,000 on Kurdish refugees and £685,000 on other Iraqi refugees.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to ensure that her Department's computer systems will be millennium compliant; and if she will make a statement.[1251]
Clare Short:
The core computer systems of the Department will be millennium compliant by October 1998. We are currently investigating the smaller systems. A costed action plan to ensure the compliance of the latter will be available this October.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the recent trial in Ghana of a newly invented self-adjusting pair of spectacles known as superspecs; and if she will make a statement. [1323]
Clare Short:
The technology looks a promising way of tackling impaired eyesight in developing low income countries. We are continuing to support field testing, an introductory marketing programme, and, further development of the design and manufacturing technology of the adaptive spectacles to the point where they can be produced commercially in significant quantities.
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