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Army (Ethnic Minorities)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers from ethnic minorities there are in each of the Guards regiments; how many soldiers from ethnic minorities there are in the British Army not including the Gurkhas; and if he will make a statement. [20983]

Mr. Ingram: The number of soldiers from ethnic minorities, not including Gurkhas, in each of the Guard regiments and in the British Army as a whole is set out in the tables:

Strength of Army soldiers in Guards regiments by ethnicity as at 1 November 2001

	White(1)	Non-white(1)	Unspecified	Total
Grenadier Guards	713	22	5	740
Coldstream Guards	816	7	5	828
Scots Guards	719	10	7	736
Irish Guards	614	22	10	646
Welsh Guards	660	9	3	672

Strength of all Army soldiers by ethnicity as at 1 November 2001

	Number
White(1)	88,974
Non-white(1)	2,309
Unspecified	4,546
Total	95,829

⁽¹⁾ Provisional

Notes:

1. The ethnic origin marker is currently being re-surveyed to align with the codes used in the 2001 Census. During this process all current intake is being recorded as being of unspecified origin. Strength figures are therefore shown as provisional.

2. The figures provided are based on UK Trained Army Personnel (UKTAP) only; this does not include Full Time Reserve Service, Royal Irish Home Service or Gurkhas.

3. Figures provided include Commonwealth personnel.

The Army remains firmly committed to its long-term aim of achieving levels of ethnic minority representation which more closely reflect the population it serves. This

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was recognised earlier this year in a report following the Business in the Community's Race for Opportunity campaign, which rated the Army as Britain's top public sector organisation for race equality.

HMS Glorious

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent revisions he has made to the account of the sinking of HMS Glorious. [22103]

Dr. Moonie: There has been no revision to the account of the tragic sinking of HMS Glorious placed in the Library of the House in February 2000.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bushmeat

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made

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of the impact the trade in bushmeat has on the environment in West and Central Africa. [20562]

Clare Short: We have not made any specific assessments of the impact the bushmeat trade per se has had on the environment in West and Central Africa. However, we are conscious that the unsustainable escalation in the commercial bushmeat trade is a growing problem that is in large part a result of poverty and is facilitated by the expansion of the forestry and mining industries into natural forest areas.

We are aware of the dangers posed to eco-systems by the unregulated expansion of these industries in west and central africa and are concerned to ensure that the long-term interests of poor people in sustainable natural resource management are addressed. DFID is currently working closely with DEFRA and other international, National and Civil Society bodies to address this issue. To this end we are involved in various initiatives that contribute to the conservation of wild animals and their habitats (see Annex 1).

Annex 1: Examples of DFID-supported bilateral projects, and research and studies, that have a strong focus on wildlife/bushmeat species

Name of project	Country	Period of support	£000
Mbomipa Community Wildlife Project	Tanzania	1997–2001	1,973
Wildlife Intensification for Livelihood Development (WILD)	Namibia	1999–2002	1,040
Madikwe Community Wildlife Management	South Africa	1997–1999	622
Amboro Rural Development	Bolivia	1996–2000	3,200
Mount Cameroon Project	Cameroon	1995–2002	10,602
Community Forest Development Project	Cameroon	1999–2002	1,049
Indonesian Multi-Stakeholder	Indonesia	1998–2005	25,150
Cross River State Community Forestry Project	Nigeria	1996–2001	2,000
Forest Sector Development Project Phase II	Ghana	2000–04	11,963
Joint-funding scheme with WWF
Gashaka-Gumpti/Kupe	Nigeria/Cameroon	1991–2001
Coastal forests/Bogoria/Udzungwa	Kenya/Tanzania	1990–2001	6,289
Kunene/Caprivi	Namibia	1998–2001
Mamiraua/Varzea	Brazil	1991–2000
Studies and research:
Livestock-wildlife interactions	Africa	1997–2001
Illegal hunting in Serengeti NP	Tanzania	1997–2000	575
Bushmeat in rural livelihoods of west Africa	Ghana/Cameroon	2000–01

China

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what investigation she has made into the funding provided by (a) the United Nations Population Fund and (b) the International Planned Parenthood Federation to China's population control authorities: and if she will make a statement. [22102]

Clare Short: The United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) programme in China is one of the most scrutinised of their global portfolio. UNFPA Executive Board members including the United Kingdom, United States, European Union and developing countries, have reviewed the programme with the UNFPA representatives in Beijing and visited programme counties on five occasions since December 1997. My Department, including the DFID Health Adviser in Beijing, closely monitors the development of the programme.

My Department also receives periodic reports from the International Planned Parenthood Federation on its work to promote awareness and implementation of international standards in reproductive health and greater respect for reproductive rights through its affiliate the China Family Planning Association (CFPA). The work of the CFPA was the subject of an independent review in 1996 led by Professor John Hobcraft of the London School of Economics who concluded that the IPPF was playing an effective and valuable role in influencing the work of the CFPA.

British Council Scholarships

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many British Council scholarships have been awarded to students from Southern Sudan in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001. [21521]

Clare Short: There were no British Council scholarships awarded to Sudanese students during this period.

However, there were (a) 22 students from Sudan managed by the British Council in calendar year 2000; and (b) 22 in 2001. These 44 were funded either by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Chevening Scholarships) or the United Nations.

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The British Council figures do not identify which Sudanese students are from the south.

War Against Terrorism

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how she expects her Department's development policy to be affected by the war against terrorism. [21872]

Clare Short: Tackling the poverty and ignorance which feed extremism and violence is vital to ending global terrorism. It has never been more evident that ending world poverty is in all of our self-interests. The 1997 and 2000 White Papers on international development set our policies for eliminating poverty and making globalisation work for the world's poor. The need to tackle terrorism provides additional impetus to my Department's efforts to implement these policies.

Sierra Leone

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the work of her Department in Sierra Leone. [21871]

Clare Short: In Sierra Leone, my Department is engaged primarily in promoting security and good governance. We are providing long-term support to the police, strengthening the Ministry of Defence to ensure the armed forces are more democratically accountable, and helping reintegrate ex-combatants wishing to return to civilian life. We are supporting the Anti-Corruption Commission, helping to reform the judiciary, training the media, assisting the Government to prepare for elections next year, and providing budgetary support to help meet the running costs of government. We also provide substantial support to meet the ongoing humanitarian needs of those displaced by the conflict.

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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Ministerial Meetings

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister for Sport on 3 December 2001, Official Report, column 14, who (a) attends and (b) chairs the ministerial meetings on sports issues. [21598]

Mr. Caborn: The meetings are attended by ministerial representatives from: the Department for Education and Skills; the Department of Health; the Home Office; the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. In addition senior representatives from Sport England, and the New Opportunities Fund attend. Sue Campbell, the joint adviser for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education and Skills, and Ben Chapman MP also attend. As Minister for Sport I chair the monthly meetings.

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