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19 Sept 2002 : Column 70W—continued

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the EU Committee for implementation of the action programme to tackle discrimination is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive (a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if he will make a statement. [67746]

Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.

The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 27 November 2002.

The Scottish Executive is regularly consulted on, and is fully involved in discussions, at official and Ministerial level, with the Department on the formulation of EU policy which touch on matters which fall within the responsibilities of the Scottish Executive.

Public Disorder

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target to reduce the level of disorder will be met by March. [47400]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 10 April 2002]: There is no Public Service Agreement target for disorder. However, the Government is committed to the reduction of disorder and anti-social behaviour in our neighbourhoods. Among the important steps we have taken are the measures in the Police Reform Act 2002 to: improve the effectiveness of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs); create community support officers and to stop nuisance use of motor vehicles. The majority of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships now have anti-social behaviour co-ordinators in place to ensure effective local delivery of reduction in anti-social behaviour.

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Ethnic Minorities

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the ethnic groups enjoying separate monitoring; and if he will estimate the size of each such group. [63612]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 21 June 2002]: There is no central record of monitoring of ethnic or religious groups taking place in Great Britain. The key source of population data for monitoring ethnicity is the Census. Census 1991 data is the latest available and Census 2001 data should become available from the Office for National Statistics for the United Kingdom in 2003.

The ethnicity question in the 2001 Census is based on a "self-classification" coding system. Individuals can identify themselves against the existing 16 ethnic Census categories, and if none of these capture the individual's ethnicity, additional space is provided where they can identify their ethnicity. As such, the Census captures the full breadth of ethnic groups.

For each ethnic group, the Census can provide information on demographic profile, household structure and type of accommodation, health, educational achievement and employment.

In relation to the new Race Relations (Amendment) 2000 Act, the Specific Duty requires, among other things, that public bodies carry out ethnic monitoring.

Narcotics and Psychotropics

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the EU Committee for the

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application of the rules on the manufacture and placing on the market of certain substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive (a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if he will make a statement. [70913]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The procedures and guidance for meetings of the Drug Precursor Committee are contained in Articles 10 of both European Union Council Regulation 3677/90 and European Union Council Directive 92/109.

The Committee usually meets every quarter and the next meeting is scheduled to take place in Brussels on 19 September 2002.

The United Kingdom Government is a member of the Committee, represented at all meetings by the Home Office, the lead United Kingdom Government Department for this Committee. When necessary other Government Departments also attend and it is open to the Scottish Executive to do so.

The Scottish Executive is regularly consulted on, and is fully involved in, discussions with the Home Office at official and Ministerial level on the formulation of European Union policies that touch on matters falling within the responsibilities of the Scottish Executive.

Faith Communities

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list projects involving faith communities which are supported by his Department. [71844]

Beverley Hughes: The Home Office supports projects involving the following faith-based groups:

Name of organisationFaithAmount of grantPeriod of fundingPurpose of grant
Care for the FamilyChristian£94,4572002–04Developing training resources for parenting and marriage enrichment among South Asian communities.
Children's SocietyChristian£120,8882002–04Developing parenting education for fathers, particularly those from Asian Muslim communities.
Churches Community Work AllianceChristian£44,500
(annual)OngoingStrategic funding for core operartions
Council for Mosques Day CentreMuslim£149,9842002–05Enables voluntary and community organisations to employ person to capacity-build community by increasing number of local volunteers.
Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in BirminghamSikh£138,4212002–05Enables voluntary and community organisations to employ person to capacity-build community by increasing numbers of local volunteers.
Family Matters InstituteChristian£122,4002001–03Mobilising community resources from voluntary groups attached to churches and faith communities to strengthen family life
Gujarat Hindu Society (Preston)Hindu£8,2002002–03Fostering community cohesion by bringing together young people from different communities and providing sports and leisure activities during the summer holidays which lessen the likelihood of them being involved in crime.
Gurdwara Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib (Dudley)Sikh£49,9502002–05Enables voluntary and community organisations to employ person to capacity-build community by increasing numbers of local volunteers.
Interfaith NetworkBaha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian.£180,0002001–04Strategic funding for core operartions
Interlink FoundationJewish£75,000
(annual)OngoingStrategic funding for core operations
KJ AcademyChristian£20,0002001–02Helping the African-Caribbean community in East London to develop good parenting skills, to improve parental participation in their children's education and promote male role models.
Lancashire Council of MosquesMuslim£172,5522000–03To support building mutually respectful and understanding relationships between minority ethnic communities in Lancashire and Lancashire Constabulary, so people from those communities will see the police as a worthwhile career option.
Langley House TrustChristian£1,260,000
(annual)OngoingProvision of accommodation for hard-to-place offenders who are otherwise refused accommodation.
Langley House TrustChristian£500,000
(annual)OngoingAdditional funding to enable enhanced supervision of highest risk offenders who are accommodated.
League of British MuslimsMuslim£41,540
(annual)OngoingStrategic funding for core operations
Liverpool Church of England Council for Social AidChristian£429,000
(annual)OngoingRunning an approved bail hostel
Muslim Khatri Association (Leicester)Muslim£17,2502002–03Foster community cohesion by bringing together young people from different communities and providing sports and leisure activities during the summer holidays which lessen the likelihood of them being involved in crime.
Muslim Welfare House (Finsbury Park)Muslim£133,9562000–03Providing facilities for women-only employment, training and education opportunities to address language and cultural barriers faced by minority ethnic women, and emotional and practical help for those with domestic or marital difficulties; and helping minority ethnic young men, access a wider range of employment, training and education opportunities than otherwise available.
Preston Muslim ForumMuslim£8,8002002–03Foster community cohesion by bringing together young people from different communities and providing sports and leisure activities during the summer holidays which lessen the likelihood of them being involved in crime.
Ripon Diocesan Church of England Council for Social ConcernChristian£852,000
(annual)OngoingRunning two approved bail hostels
Shree Hindu Community AssociationHindu£138,0932002–05Enables voluntary and community organisations to employ person to capacity-build community by increasing numbers of local volunteers.
Society of St Vincent de PaulChristian£826,000
(annual)OngoingRunning two approved bail hostels
Talking Matters AssociationJewish£45,0002002–04Tackling social exclusion of Orthodox Jewish communities by increasing linguistic, cultural and educational opportunities.
Tranmere Community Project of Tranmere Community ChurchChristian£84,6202002–05Enables voluntary and community organisations to employ person to capacity-build community by increasing numbers of local volunteers.
West London MissionChristian£422,000
(annual)OngoingRunning an approved bail hostel
YMCA EnglandChristian£113,3602001–03Developing quality standards in parenting education and providing a mentoring service to YMCAs and other groups wishing to undertake work in this field.
YMCA EnglandChristian£113,3602001–03Providing time for carers to reflect on their parenting experiences, working with families during school holidays and offering support on specific parenting issues.

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