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Single Hull Obsolete Tankers

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment the Department has made of the use of single hull obsolete tankers on the West African coast and their impact on the surrounding environment. [126411]

Hilary Benn: We have not made any such assessment.

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental Special Advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126685]

Hilary Benn: One Special Adviser travelled in an official capacity with the former Secretary of State to Angola in April 2002 and to Washington and New York in March 2003. The trips cost £4,022.40 and £4,509.70 respectively.

Staff Costs

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental

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public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years. [122262]

Hilary Benn: Data on staffing levels in the Civil Service are collected from departments and agencies twice-yearly, in April and October. Headline figures are published under National Statistics guidelines via a press notice. Those for October 2002 were published on 27 February 2003.

A copy of the press notice is available on the World Wide Web at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics. Copies of these documents are also placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

More detailed information on the Civil Service is published annually in "Civil Service Statistics", copies of which are laid in the Libraries of both Houses. The last edition, based on April 2001 data, is due to be published at the end of July 2003.

DFID is not responsible for any agencies or for staff in non-departmental public bodies falling within its remit. DFID wholly owns CDC Group plc, but the company is completely autonomous and DFID has no role or responsibility for its staff matters.

Staff costs information are published in DFID's (formerly ODA's) annual Departmental Reports.

Sudan

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what steps he is taking to increase food aid supplies in Southern Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [126848]

Hilary Benn: Urgent humanitarian needs remain in Sudan, including in south Sudan. High rates of malnutrition, epidemic levels of disease, and destitution caused by forced displacement make continued humanitarian assistance necessary. DFID continues to respond by funding humanitarian help. We have committed over £13 million so far in 2003, including a contribution of £2.5 million to the World Food Programme. We recognise that humanitarian needs are likely to increase in Sudan in the event of a peace agreement and are planning for this.

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the health facilities available in the Abyei county of Sudan. [126850]

Hilary Benn: DFID has made no direct assessment of the health facilities in Abyei, nor committed funds for Abyei specifically. However, we have contributed £2,500,000 this year to the ICRC as part of their Sudan Appeal which will be directed towards health where there is the most need. We also provide core funding to UN health agencies (eg WHO and UNICEF) who are working in the area. We support emergency health assistance across Sudan and are monitoring the situation closely—should the conditions deteriorate in Abyei we would consider providing support.

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Uganda

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development which programmes the Department funds to help with the reintegration and care of children who have escaped abduction in Northern Uganda. [126406]

Hilary Benn: Since 1988 the chief recruitment method of the Lord's Resistance Army has been the abduction and forced conscription of children. UNICEF Uganda estimate that 20,400 children have been abducted since 1990 and 6,000 of them are still unaccounted for. DFID supports the work of a number of indigenous civil society groups working for peace, including the religious and traditional leaders. We also support agencies working specifically with child ex-combatants and their communities.

We have provided support to Save the Children Fund (Denmark), which includes help for the re-integration of child ex-combatants and a grant to help improve the conditions for the increasing number of unaccompanied children who are sleeping in town centres at night to avoid abduction. We also support the Uganda Red Cross (URC) via the British Red Cross, which is involved with the provision of relief items, assessment and family tracing and reunion.

Over the last 12 months we have provided £2.5 million in emergency aid through the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the Uganda Red Cross Society and we are currently in the process of programming a further £1 million for urgent humanitarian needs.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent discussions the Department has had with the Government of Uganda in relation to disarmament and the collection of small firearms. [126407]

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development has not had any recent discussions with the Government of Uganda on disarmament and small arms.

Together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), DFID funds two non-governmental organisations, Saferworld and SaferAfrica, which are assisting the Government of Uganda to develop a five-year National Action Plan to control the proliferation of small arms. This includes disarmament and gun collection activities.

£460,000 has also been provided from the GCPP to the Nairobi Secretariat to assist states, including Uganda, to implement the commitments they made in March 2001, on signing the Nairobi Declaration. The Secretariat provides training and advice to National Focal Points set up in signatory countries to prevent the proliferation of weapons and ammunition. This support included participation by the Ugandan National Focal Point Coordinator at the recent United Nations Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms and Light Weapons, held in New York on 7–11 July 2003.

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TREASURY

Cancer

Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new cases of (a) acute myelogenous leukaemia, (b) chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, (c) oesophageal cancer, (d) osteosarcoma, (e) pancreatic cancer, (f) retinoblastoma, (g) sarcoma, (h) stomach cancer, (i) thyroid cancer and (j) Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia have been recorded in each of the last five years. [127019]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. John Baron, dated 22 July 2003:



Registration of newly diagnosed cases of cancer: selected sites, England, 1999

SiteICD-10 code(61)Number
Actute myeloid leukaemia CP2.01656
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemiaC91.11926
Oesophageal cancerC155893
OsteosarcomaC40-C41421
Pancreatic cancerC255882
Retina(62)C69.232
SarcomaC47,C491113
Stomach cancerC167875
Thyroid cancerC731053
Waldenstom's macroglobulinaemiaC88.0249

(61) International Classification Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10)

(62) There may be a small number of additional cases code to C69–9 'eye, unspecified'.

Source:

Office for National Statistics. Cancer statistics—registrations, England 1999 series MBI no 30. London: The Stationary Office, 2002. Available on the National Statistics website at http//wwwstatisticsgovuk/downloads/them helath/Mbi 30/MBI 30 pdf.
The latest available cancer incidence figures are for registrations for newly diagnosed cases of cancer in 1999. These figures are published in Cancer statistics—registrations, England 1999 1 , which includes additional breakdowns by age and sex. This is available on the National Statistics website at http//www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/them health/MBI 30 pdf.

Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest survival rate is for those suffering from (a) childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, (b) acute myelogenous leukaemia, (c) chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, (d) esophageal cancer, (e) osteosarcoma, (f) pancreatic cancer, (g) retinoblastoma, (h) sarcoma, (i) stomach cancer, (j) thyroid cancer and (k) Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. [127020]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

1 Sept 2003 : Column 884W

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. John Baron, dated 22 July 2003:







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