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Chesswood Harris
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Solicitor-General for what reason the Treasury Solicitor has not provided the substantive reply promised on 6 January 2000 in the case of Chesswood Harris v. Ministry of Defence; when the Treasury Solicitor will provide the reply; and if he will make a statement. [156066]
The Solicitor-General: I regret that the Treasury Solicitor has not provided the substantive reply referred to in the letter of 6 January 2000. I have today written to the hon. Member.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sudan
Sir Patrick Cormack: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will increase her Department's funding for NGOs working in southern Sudan. [156155]
Clare Short: We increase funding to NGOs for humanitarian purposes in any part of Sudan when circumstances dictate this is necessary, and where we believe NGOs will provide the most effective channel to relieve urgent needs. We are also willing to consider support for grass-roots peace-building initiatives.
Palestinian Authority
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will place copies in the Library of (a) European Union and (b) United Kingdom assessments of the effectiveness of aid given to the Palestinian Authority since 1995. [156069]
Clare Short: I have arranged for copies of the following reports to be placed in the House of Commons Library:
- Evaluation of the European Community's programme of development assistance to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 1999.
- European Court of Auditors Special Report 19/2000 on the management by the Commission of the programme of assistance to Palestinian society.
WALES
Foot and Mouth
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on compensation for
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consequential losses being suffered by (a) the tourist industry and (b) rural business in general as a result of foot and mouth disease; and if he will made a statement. [154180]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I maintain close contact with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on a variety of issues including foot and mouth disease.
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales is a member of the UK Government Rural Taskforce set up to examine the effect of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease across the rural economy as a whole. Following the initial meetings of this taskforce, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment announced on 20 March a package of UK-wide measures to help businesses cope with the impact of foot and mouth. These included a new information campaign to get the public back to areas of the countryside which they can safely visit and an immediate package of short-term practical help for rural businesses, involving the Small Business Service and the banks.
In addition, the National Assembly for Wales has already issued a Tourism Charter and announced a £1.5 million marketing package through the Wales Tourist Board aimed at reassuring visitors to Wales. They have also made available £12 million to local authorities to enable them to grant rate relief to businesses affected by foot and mouth disease, £1 million additional funding to help the agri-food sector in Wales recover from the effects of foot and mouth disease, and £0.5 million to match pound for pound voluntary donations from the public to help relieve rural distress.
Aiwa Factory
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the prospect of job losses at the Aiwa factory in Newbridge in Wales. [156577]
Mr. Paul Murphy: None and I understand that the company has issued a statement rebutting the reports of possible job losses at Newbridge.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Departmental Policies (Southwark)
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the London borough of Southwark, the effects on the London borough of Southwark of his Department's policies and actions since May 2 1997. [155980]
Mr. Wills: The details have been placed in the Library.
School Funding (Bury)
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the total allocation of direct payments to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Bury local education authority for 2000-01 and 2001-02. [156668]
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Ms Estelle Morris: The tables show the amount of School Standards Grant and devolved formula capital grant payable in 2000-01, and the estimated amounts payable in 2001-02, by sector.
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | 2001-02 | |
| Nursery | 3,000 | 7,000 |
| Primary | 552,000 | 1,482,000 |
| Secondary | 544,000 | 956,000 |
| Pupil Referral Units | 6,000 | 14,000 |
| Special | 45,000 | 68,000 |
Note:
A typical primary school will receive £24,000 School Standards Grant in 2001-02, and a typical secondary school, £70,000
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| (7)2000-01 | 2001-02 | |
| Nursery | 3,941 | 6,976 |
| Primary | 859,749 | 692,622 |
| Secondary | 436,045 | 360,645 |
| Pupil Referral Units | 8,493 | 27,360 |
| Special | 34,763 | 15,043 |
(7) Part of the 2001-02 grant is intended to be spent in 2001-02 and reflected a once-off increase in the Pre-Budget report
Note:
A typical primary school will receive £9,750 in devolved formula capital grant in 2001-02 and a typical secondary school, £28,500.
Modern Apprenticeships
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will indicate the (a) areas, (b) total sums allocated in each area, (c) number of modern apprenticeships to be created and (d) number of additional computer training places in each of the five information technology pilot areas. [156472]
Ms Jowell: The Ambition:IT initiative will run in five pilot areas which will be selected from a current shortlist of 10: London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, South Yorkshire, Liverpool, Tyneside, Cardiff, Glasgow, and Edinburgh and the Forth area. We will announce the five pilot areas later in the Spring.
Allocations have not therefore been made to individual areas. Details of overall funding and opportunities for each of the three prongs of Ambition:IT are:
- Career Ambition--a total of £34 million over three years for a technician training pilot to place 5,000 individuals in the ICT sector over those three years;
- First Ambition--a total of £15 million over three years to train New Deal participants to European Computer Driving Licence standard, starting in October 2001 and help 15,000 in its first year; and
- A £2.5 million Challenge Fund to test the use of innovative technology to increase the quality and efficiency of services throughout the New Deal.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many ministerial meetings with hon. Members have been cancelled by Ministers since 1 January. [155236]
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Mr. Wills: None, although various meetings have been rescheduled.
School Governing Bodies
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will publish the results of his most recent consultation on school governing bodies. [155946]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 March 2001]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment announced on 17 March 2001 that he has asked me to set up and chair a high level group, which will include governor, head teacher, local authority and church representatives, to consider the responses to the consultation. The Group will look particularly at the proposals for changing governor responsibilities and governing body constitutions.
In accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation, we are proposing to publish a summary of the results of the Consultation in due course. As we received over 6,500 responses a full analysis will not be ready for publication until early June. We are planning to send out interim feedback summarising headline data to chairs of governors and head teachers in the April mailing to schools.
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