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Millennium Volunteers Programme
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the millennium volunteers programme; [67236]
- (2) what plans he has to extend the millennium volunteers scheme to Leicester; [67237]
(3) if he will list the (a) areas and (b) projects which have been involved in the millennium volunteers programme to date. [67238]
Ms Hodge:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I launched Millennium Volunteers on 21 January. We announced that the programme will have a budget of £47.75 million; £12.75 from the windfall levy and an additional £35 million for the period 1999-2000 to
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2001-02 which has been secured through the Comprehensive Spending Review. We have also published guidance inviting organisations to bid for funds to run Millennium Volunteers in England. It will be open to organisations in Leicester to make applications for
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funding if they wish to. There are thirteen Millennium Volunteers demonstration projects; eleven have already contracted with us and we are in discussion with two more. The areas and organisations managing the projects are:
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| Area | Organisation | Contracted/in discussion |
|---|---|---|
| Inner city areas of Bradford and Shipley | Bradford Council for Voluntary Service | In discussion |
| Cambridge | Youth Action Cambridge | Contracted |
| Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire Association of Youth Clubs | Contracted |
| Exeter | British Trust for Conservation Volunteers | Contracted |
| Herefordshire | Hereford and Worcester Rural Community Council | Contracted |
| Liverpool | John Moores University | Contracted |
| London Borough of Southwark | Community Service Volunteers | Contracted |
| London Borough of Tower Hamlets | Voluntary Action Tower Hamlets | Contracted |
| Greater Manchester | Prince's Trust Volunteers | Contracted |
| Newcastle | The National Trust | Contracted |
| Nottingham | City of Nottingham | Contracted |
| Sunderland | Community Service Volunteers | Contracted |
| Hastings and Rother | Sussex Police | In discussion |
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University Entrants
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were the proportions of pupils from (a) comprehensive and (b) private schools who went on to university education in each of the last four years. [67141]
Mr. Mudie [holding answer 25 January 1999]: The information is not available in the form requested. The table gives the prior educational establishment of students who accepted full-time and sandwich undergraduate places through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
| Year of entry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
| Previous establishment | ||||
| Independent | 29,441 | 30,006 | 31,342 | 30,602 |
| Maintained | 90,074 | 94,049 | 100,226 | 103,310 |
| Other/not known | 146,021 | 144,234 | 171,750 | 164,308 |
| Total | 265,536 | 268,289 | 303,318 | 298,220 |
| As percentage of total acceptances | ||||
| Independent | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Maintained | 34 | 35 | 33 | 35 |
| Other/not known | 55 | 54 | 57 | 55 |
New Deal (Disabled People)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have found work as a result of the New Deal for the Disabled. [67259]
Ms Hodge:
Early results indicate that so far over 100 people with disabilities have found work as a result of the New Deal for Disabled People.
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Departmental Papers
(Access for Visually Impaired)
Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has for departmental (a) White and (b) Green Papers to be made available on floppy disk format in a form which facilitates access for the visually impaired. [67851]
Mr. Kilfoyle: The Cabinet Office is about to issue revised guidance to departments on the arrangements for publishing White and Green Papers. This will highlight that, when considering the publishing arrangements for such documents, the information is accessible to people who might otherwise not be able to receive it in printed form. There are a number of options for making such documents available to those who are visually impaired, including braille, large print, audio formats and on floppy disk in plain text format. We will ensure that for all future White and Green Papers produced within the Cabinet Office that, when requested, we will be able to provide floppy disk versions to the visually impaired.
PRIME MINISTER
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will assess the impact of the statement of Archbishop O'Brien of the Archdiocese for US Military Services on moral law on the bombing of Iraq, a copy of which has been sent to him. [67624]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 25 January 1999]: I have read Archbishop O'Brien's statement with interest. I am satisfied that the military action against Iraq was necessary on this occasion, had a sound legal basis and achieved its objectives. I believe the region and the international community is safer as a result.
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Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 1999, Official Report, columns 484-85, on the review of the work of the JCCC, when he expects the review to be completed. [67685]
The Prime Minister:
No date has been set for completion of the review.
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 20 January 1999, Official Report, columns 907-08, on what basis he stated that half the Tory Group in Europe voted with his party in the censure vote on the European Commission in the European Parliament. [67902]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 26 January 1999]: On the basis that over half of the European People's Party (the group with which the Conservatives associate themselves) in the European Parliament voted with the Socialist Group against the motion of censure on 14 January.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Government's policy with regard to the prosecution of those who commit business and personal fraud. [67319]
The Prime Minister:
The Government have, for the first time, established overarching aims for the criminal justice system which include reducing crime and the fear of crime, and their social and economic costs. Individual Departments set their own aims and objectives within that framework, and that of the Serious Fraud Office is to contribute to the reduction of fraud and the cost of fraud and the maintenance of confidence in the United Kingdom's business and financial institutions. It seeks to achieve this through the investigation and prosecution of suitable cases as quickly as individual circumstances allow.
Fraud takes many forms and other specialist agencies (e.g. Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue and the Benefits Agency) as well as the police devote a significant portion of their resources to combating it through investigation and prosecution.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the current procedures for resolving disputes between Ministers in his Government. [67321]
The Prime Minister:
The Cabinet and its Committees provide a mechanism for reaching agreement between Ministers on issues which cannot otherwise be resolved.
Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 27 January. [66296]
Sir Peter Tapsell:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 27 January. [67398]
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The Prime Minister:
This morning I had meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I will have further such meetings later today.
Mr. Tyler:
To ask the Prime Minister how many times he has paid official visits to Cyprus since May 1997; and what was the purpose of each visit. [67702]
The Prime Minister:
I have not visited Cyprus since 1 May 1997.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his policy on whom he invites to Chequers for official engagements. [67322]
The Prime Minister:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 30 October 1997, Official Report, column 858.
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