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Criminal Convictions (Army)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many soldiers have been discharged from the Army in each of the last five years for (a) murder and (b) possession, use or trafficking in drugs; [141018]
- (2) how many members of the Army have been retained in service in each of the last five years having been convicted of (a) murder and (b) possession, use or trafficking in drugs; [141014]
(3) how many soldiers found to be (a) in possession of, (b) using and (c) trafficking drugs have been retained in service for exceptional circumstances; and what are the circumstances in each case. [141016]
Dr. Moonie: The Army monitors centrally only statistics of those who have been tried by court martial. Records of those who appear in civilian courts are held at individual regiments and to interrogate those would incur disproportionate costs. We are aware, however, of two people who have been retained in the Army following a conviction of murder in a civilian court. Any murder committed in the UK or Cyprus comes under the jurisdiction of the civil police and is tried in a civilian court. Any murder committed in Germany would, however, be subject to court martial action. No soldier has been tried for murder, by court martial, in the last five years.
Up to May 2000, the Army monitored only those cases tried by court martial and those drug offences related statistics are set out in the table:
| Date | Number to trial | Discharged |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 38 | 31 |
| 1996 | 34 | 27 |
| 1997 | 14 | 12 |
| 1998 | 17 | 14 |
| 1999 | 19 | 17 |
| 2000 (to date) | 8 | 7 |
Those who have been convicted by court martial and retained in the Army for drug offences are in the following table:
| Date | Numbers retained | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4 | Not recorded |
| 1996 | 2 | 1 Not recorded/1 Possession |
| 1997 | 0 | n/a |
| 1998 | 2 | Possession |
| 1999 | 2 | Possession |
| 2000 (to date) | 1 | Possession |
The retention of individual soldiers in relation to drug offences is a matter between the employer and employee. Disclosure of the personal circumstances of such cases is inappropriate.
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Soldiers caught using drugs can also be tried summarily by their Commanding Officer. Since May 2000, the Army has been monitoring cases of summary dealing and recorded figures to date show that 24 soldiers have been dealt with summarily. The Commanding Officer's powers of discipline do not include the power to dismiss. There is, however, a system for administrative dismissal which could be implemented as a result of the soldier's overall performance.
The Army's Compulsory Drug Testing programme also highlights those guilty of drug abuse and those caught will normally, but not always, be administratively discharged.
Military Training
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when he last discussed the Otterburn training area with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions; [141254]
- (2) what has been the impact on (a) Catterick Garrison, (b) Salisbury Plain Training Area and (c) other training areas of the delay in constructing new infrastructure at Otterburn training area. [141252]
(3) what assessment he has made of the impact on military training in respect of (a) the MLRS system, (b) the AS90 gun and (c) other training of the delay in constructing new infrastructure facilities at Otterburn in Northumberland. [141251]
Mr. Spellar: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Rwanda
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what has been the Government's response to Rwanda's appeal for emergency assistance to famine stricken regions. [139770]
Clare Short: WFP are about to launch an appeal totalling US$8.2 million for food aid to 270,000 vulnerable people in the south and south-east of Rwanda affected by drought. In the meantime, we are in close contact with our office in Kigali, other donors and non-government organisations in order to monitor the situation carefully, including the effect of the recent floods. The UK will give very careful consideration to the WFP appeal and be ready to respond as necessary.
Child Labour
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries with whose Governments she has discussed the use of child labour during the last 12 months. [139454]
Clare Short: The focus of our recent work on child labour has been to encourage the International Labour Organisation to extend the number of countries in which
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it operates and to sharpen its targeting on children in the worst forms of child labour through a series of "Time-Bound Programmes". Our support has allowed the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour to extend into a regional programme in the Arab States and in Eastern Europe over the last year. These are in addition to our ongoing IPEC support in India and South East Asia and our direct collaborative support to governments, civil society organisations and international bodies such as UNICEF.
Sex Tourism
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries to which she has offered help and advice about combating sex tourism; and if she will make a statement. [139460]
Clare Short: Combating sex tourism is one aspect of a wider set of issues in which poor people--particularly young women and children--are vulnerable to the interests of the sex industry, national and international trafficking and associated illegal activities. It is an international problem which requires internationally coordinated action. Much of our focus is on reducing the vulnerability of young people being recruited into this industry. With other Government Departments, we are supporting efforts of regional and international agencies to combat trafficking, strengthen law enforcement and improve the mechanisms for prosecution of those who commit sex offences abroad.
Most recently in May 2000, a meeting of Law Enforcement agencies in Seoul followed up the ASEM Child Welfare Experts' recommendations from October 1998. China has offered to host the next ASEM Child Welfare Experts' Meeting. There is wide regional support for this initiative.
We very recently reviewed the ILO programmes we support in Northern Thailand as part of an initiative to combat trafficking in the Mekong basin of South East Asia. Good progress has been made in establishing offices, staff and ground level activities in Laos, Cambodia, China as well as Thailand.
Congo
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is providing to British NGOs working in the Democratic Republic of Congo to assist people who are dependent on food aid as a result of conflict. [139771]
Clare Short: Since the current conflict began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, the UK has committed over £3.5 million in humanitarian assistance, targeted towards the most vulnerable sections of the population on both sides of the conflict. Our combinations are channelled through well-established UK-registered NGOs. This year, for example, we have worked with the Save the Children Fund, the British Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Medecins sans Frontieres and Oxfam. Our assistance has focused mainly on emergency health and nutrition, and water and sanitation.
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Technical Co-operation and
Training Scholarships
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many technical co-operation and training scholarships for study in the United Kingdom were offered by her Department in (a) 1990 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available. [140729]
Clare Short: In financial year 1990-91, 12,619 students studied in the UK financed from our bilateral country programmes. The figure for 1999-2000 was 2,878. This reflects a shift over that period from UK-based training to in-country and regional training.
PRIME MINISTER
Correspondence
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Prime Minister when Mr. A. Blee, a constituent of the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, will receive answers to his letters of 17 February 1998, 12 February, 23 February, 18 April and 26 September. [134144]
The Prime Minister: I understand that Mr. Blee supplied my office with copies of the letters referred to by my hon. Friend and that a response has now been sent.
Conflict Prevention Review
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the objectives of his cross-departmental review of conflict prevention, indicating the size of the (a) overall budget and (b) budget to be spent on peacekeeping. [138703]
The Prime Minister: The outcomes of the Government's cross-departmental review of conflict prevention were set out in Chapter 36 of the Spending Review 2000 White Paper (Cm 4807) published in July, copies of which are available from the Library.
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