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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Pollution (South-East Asia)
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken in respect of the recent pollution incident in the Malaysian Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra. [15047]
Mr. Foulkes: We reacted swiftly to the environmental emergency in South East Asia with a grant of £62,066 to the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs to provide relief goods to those affected. We offered to send aircraft with infra-red reconnaissance capability to pin-point the location of fires but these were no longer required. We have also provided two experts to support the United Nations' disaster assessment and co-ordination role and a fire-fighting and logistics expert to lead the Technical Co-ordination Group established to co-ordinate international assistance for the provision of ground fire-fighting equipment and training.
UNESCO
Mr. Faber:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development from where savings have been found in her Department's budget to fund membership of UNESCO. [14824]
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Mr. Foulkes:
Our contribution of £5 million for the period 1 July to 31 December 1997 has been met from DFID's in-year contingency reserve. Future annual contributions are being considered in the current resources round.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list all (a) secondary, (b) other delegated legislation and (c) all deregulation orders her Department made during the summer adjournment. [14383]
Mr. Foulkes:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 5 November, Official Report, column 216.
Ms Abbott:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what technical assistance has been provided to St. Lucia, Dominica and Grenada to help diversify their economies; and if he will make a statement. [14995]
Mr. Foulkes:
Current UK Technical Assistance aims to strengthen exportable food crop research, macro economic policy and public sector development. This
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complements substantial EC resources, to which Britain contributes, to promote agricultural and broader economic diversification initiatives in these islands.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the UK's aid to Montserrat. [14989]
Mr. Foulkes:
Since the start of the volcanic crisis some £45.8 million of emergency aid, development assistance and budgetary aid has been committed by Her Majesty's Government to the needs of Montserrat. We are currently working with the Government of Montserrat to develop a sustainable development plan for the north of the island and doing all we can to improve the services provided by Government of Montserrat for the people and the Island. We are also providing assistance to those who wish to leave Montserrat.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a list of the e-mail addresses of all Ministers; and if he will make a statement on whether Ministers are accessible by e-mail. [13767]
Dr. David Clark:
A list of Ministers' e-mail addresses is not held centrally. However, if Ministers would like a central list set up then I would be happy to take this forward. Individual departments are responsible for providing their Ministers with e-mail addresses.
Employment
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for maximising (a) employment levels and (b) employability across the European Union. [14421]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Unemployment is Europe's most acute problem. A special European Council (the "Jobs Summit") is to take place in Luxembourg on 20/21 of this month, and my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary will attend for the UK. The main challenge for the Jobs Summit is to produce agreement on the areas where Member States should be taking measures to tackle unemployment and to promote a high and sustainable level of employment. The Summit will discuss draft Employment Guidelines, which are required under the provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty. The Guidelines are central to the efforts of Member States and the EU in the field of employment. We shall want the agreed Guidelines to reflect the paramount importance of employability and job creation. The Commission's draft, published on 1 October, provides a good basis for discussion in it's key themes of adaptability, employability, entrepreneurship, and equal opportunities. We shall want the Summit to commit Member States to take positive action which can be realised during our Presidency and carried forward in the Presidencies that follow.
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The UK Presidency of the Council in the first half of next year gives us a real opportunity to shift the European agenda in a new direction. Our intention is for the Presidency in the Social Affairs and Education fields to have employability as a key, shared theme. There will be a joint informal Council meeting in London next March of next year, formal Councils later in the Presidency and a range of key conferences. Education and Social Affairs Ministers across Europe will be working together and we will be looking to engage many people in our discussions and in taking work forward.
The Presidency will encompass work on lifelong learning and on innovative ways of tackling unemployment and combating social exclusion. Following the Jobs Summit we intend to set the framework for the Community's new education and training programmes and to focus on the role of the member states and the Community in improving skill levels. During our Presidency we intend to shift the European agenda decisively and to make a concrete start in giving people the skills and adaptability needed for successful careers in the flexible labour markets which are a key part of ensuring the competitiveness of Europe.
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he will take to ensure that black and Asian young people benefit from the Government's welfare to work proposals. [14402]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The Government are committed to ensuring that the New Deal will actively promote equality of opportunity for young people of all ethnic and racial groups. Delivery arrangements for each element of the programme--the Gateway, the four options and follow-through support--will promote racial equality and are based on detailed consideration of how best to deliver provision for young people from ethnic minorities, including consultation with the Commission for Racial Equality and encouragement to Race Equality Councils to be involved in local arrangements. Further details of the arrangements particularly relating to ethnic minority participants are set out in the New Deal Design document which has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what sanctions he proposes to impose on those aged under 25 years who are unemployed who refuse to take up any of the options offered to them under the Welfare to Work scheme. [14683]
Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 7 November 1997]: We intend that young people who are judged by an Adjudication Officer to have refused a New Deal place without good cause will lose their Jobseeker's Allowance for two weeks. If they refuse a further offer at any time in the following twelve months they will lose JSA for four weeks.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list all (a) secondary, (b) other delegated legislation and (c) all deregulation orders his Department made during the summer adjournment. [14380]
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Dr. Howells:
The following items of secondary legislation were made during the period in question:
No other delegated legislation or deregulation orders were made.
The Education (School Leaving Date) Order 1997;
The Education (School Inspection) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Grants) (Music, Ballet and Choir Schools) (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Assisted Places) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Assisted Places) (Incidental Expenses) Regulations 1997;
The Nursery Education (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Nursery Education (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1997;
The Education (School Performance Information) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Education (School Performance Information) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1997;
The Education (London Residuary Body) (Suspense Account Properties) Order 1997;
The Education (Grants for Education Support and Training) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Further Education Institutions Information) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Education (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for Wales) (Transfer of Property and Designation of Staff) Order 1997;
The Education (Grant-Maintained Special Schools) (Amendment) Regulations 1997;
The Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3) (England) (Amendment) Order 1997;
The Education (Funding for Teacher Training) (Designation) (No. 3) Order 1997;
The Education (Individual Performance Information) (Prescribed Bodies and Persons) Regulations 1997.
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