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New Deal (Young People)
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he is collecting data on the number of people who leave the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds for employment but subsequently return to jobseeker's allowance after 13 weeks but within (a) 26 weeks and (b) 52 weeks. [95538]
Ms Jowell:
Yes, data are collected on the number of clients who leave the New Deal for 18-to-24 year olds for employment and reclaim jobseeker's allowance both after 13 weeks but before 26 weeks and after 13 weeks but before 52 weeks.
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Botswana
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what current proposals she has to assist Botswana. [95737]
Clare Short: We expect to spend around £3 million this year to support national development strategies which focus on helping to ensure an equitable distribution of the nation's wealth.
Main current projects include improvements in sustainable livelihoods by providing better access to, and the use of, natural resources; improvement of the management of resources for primary education; development of distance learning materials, support for the electoral process and development of community policing. Botswana is also a partner in a regional initiative to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS through increased awareness and improved treatment and prevention systems.
Botswana also benefits through its membership of the South African Development Committee (SADC) from programmes to improve regional integration especially in the areas of HIV/AIDS, trade and customs reform, and improvements in the electoral process.
Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if there are any proposals to amend the departmental expenditure limit for 1999-2000. [97872]
Clare Short:
Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class VIII Vote 1, the Department for International Development's Departmental Expenditure Limit for 1999-2000 will be decreased by £12,000,000 from £1,804,764,000 to £1,792,764,000. The decrease is the net effect of transferring the Chevening Scholarship Scheme from the Department for International Development to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Democracy Initiatives
Mr. Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent in each of the past five years in supporting initiatives to build democracy in other countries. [95752]
Mr. Robin Cook: All FCO programme spending is justified in terms of the FCO's objectives. This includes commitment to spreading the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy, the rule of law and good governance.
The Human Rights Project Fund (HRPF) is the FCO's dedicated fund for human rights projects around the world. Since the inception of HRPF in April 1998 the fund has allocated some £9.7 million to support over 300 projects (£5.05 million in financial year 1998-99 and
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£4.69 million so far in 1999-2000). Before the HRPF was established there was no comparable funding arrangement for the support of human rights.
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 4,000,000 |
| 1998-99 | 3,000,000 |
| 1997-98 | 2,713,650 |
| 1996-97 | 2,500,000 |
| 1995-96 | 2,500,000 |
Projects under a number of other FCO programmes and budgets contribute to a combination of objectives including, but not exclusively, the promotion of democracy.
Arms Embargoes
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the EU has lifted sanctions against Libya while retaining the arms embargo; if the UN has retained an arms embargo; and if he will make a statement on Government policy on such sanctions and embargoes. [97145]
Mr. Hain: UN Sanctions against Libya, including the arms embargo, were suspended on 5 April 1999, following the UN Secretary-General's report to the Council that Libya had complied with the requirements of Security Council resolution 1192 and the Lockerbie accused had arrived in the Netherlands for the purpose of trial.
On 16 April 1999 the EU suspended its measures implementing the UN sanctions. But it left in place EU measures, including an arms embargo, imposed in 1986 in response to Libya's general implication in terrorism. These measures, with the exception of the arms embargo, were lifted on 13 September 1999, in the light of the UN Secretary-General's report of 30 June 1999, in which he cited several elements suggesting that recent acts by the Libyan authorities were indicative of the Libyan Government's renunciation of terrorism. EU member states will keep the question of the arms embargo under review.
The conclusions of a Government review of sanctions were announced to Parliament on 15 March 1999. The review found that sanctions, including arms embargoes, had an important role to play in responding to challenges to international peace and security, and should be tailored to fit the circumstances.
Mr. Sarwar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current human rights situation in Kashmir; and what representations he has made to the Indian Government. [97581]
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Mr. Hain:
We are concerned about the abuses of human rights which bring suffering to the population of Kashmir, and have urged an improvement. We also call for an end to all external support for violence in Kashmir. The late Derek Fatchett raised the human rights issue with the Indian Home Minister during his visit to India in November last year. Senior officials have raised the issue at various levels.
Ann Keen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any proposals to amend the departmental expenditure limit/running costs limit for 1999-2000. [97871]
Mr. Hain:
Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class VII Vote 1 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departmental Expenditure limit for 1999-2000 will be increased by £59,218,000 from £1,112,022,000 to £1,171,240,000 and the running costs limit has been decreased by £1,000,000 from £531,968,000 to £530,968,000. The increase is the net effect of:
(i) additional provision of £36,702,000 on Section B for UK contributions to United Nations Missions in the former Yugoslavia (includes UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the former Soviet Union, United Nations Special Commission on Iraq, United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, United Nations Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara, United Nations Police Mission in Haiti, United Nations Mission in East Timor, United Nations Observe Mission in Angola, United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Central African Republic, United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Community Monitoring Mission and Western European Union Police Mission in Albania. This is partially offset by a reduction of £1,000,000 in Section A;
(ii) an increase in provision of £3,000,000 to support an independent media in Serbia, civil society in Serbia and to continue the provision of forensic teams to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia;
(iii) a transfer of £12,000,000 to Section A from DfID (Class VIII, Vote 1), in respect of Chevening Scholarship;
(iv) take up of end year flexibility of £8,516,000 for assistance to Sierra Leone as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to House of Commons on 27 July 1999, Official Report, column 393.
The increase will be offset by a transfer from another Departmental Expenditure Limit (DfID) and a change on the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has
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had with the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions about the funding of regional museums. [95135]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 25 October 1999]: I have not had discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions about the funding of regional museums. However, funding from DCMS is available indirectly through the Area Museums Councils (which received a total of £4 million in 1998-99, most of which was given to individual museums and galleries). Through the Museums and Galleries Commission, the Department provides funds for the PRISM Fund (71 grants worth £292,567 in 1998-99) and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund (227 grants worth £1 million) which assist regional museums in acquiring objects for their collections. For the first time, this Government have been able to provide £15 million over three years (1999-2002) to pre-eminent regional collections through the Designated Museums Challenge Fund.
In addition, the Heritage Lottery Fund supports regional museums through the Capital Grants Programme and the Museums and Galleries Access Fund (£7 million).
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement about his powers and responsibilities in relation to regional museums. [95137]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 25 October 1999]: Apart from the museums sponsored by my Department, Ministers do not have specific powers and responsibilities in relation to regional museums (some of which are independently run, while others are administered by local authorities). The Department's responsibility is to play a strategic role in championing the interests of the museum sector as a whole.
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