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16 Sept 2003 : Column 678W—continued
Uganda
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning the human rights situation in Northern Uganda. [129323]
Mr. Mullin: We deplore the actions of the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, in northern Uganda. In their 17 year war against the Government of Uganda they have been responsible for the abduction of over 20,000 children, many of whom become child soldiers, and massacres of thousands of local civilians. We are also concerned about reports that the Ugandan Army has been involved in recruitment of child soldiers, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of detainees and have failed to protect the local population. The conflict has resulted in over one million displaced persons now living in refugee camps. We have raised these issues with the Ugandan government. The UK has responded to the worsening humanitarian situation by working with the international donor community and the World Food Programme (WFP) to bring relief to the affected region. Total UK support was £2.5 million in 2002–03.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the UN Security Council concerning the situation in Northern Uganda; and if he will make a statement. [129324]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised the situation in northern Uganda with the UN Security Council. While we recognise the Government of Uganda's need for a security response to the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, we are concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the region caused by the fighting. We have raised our concerns with the Ugandan
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Government and have encouraged them to consider other solutions to a military one. The UK is also liaising with EU partners and members of the donor community to consider how to help the Government of Uganda resolve the conflict.
UN Arms Embargoes
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has responded to the requests by the United Nations Security Council for information on violations of arms embargoes in Rwanda by UK companies discussed in the United Security Council document Third Report of the International Commission of Inquiry (Rwanda) (S/1997/1010). [129880]
Mr. Mullin: The Government takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure UK companies respect arms embargoes. Document S/1997/1010 mentions two requests for information: one to HM Customs and Excise (paragraph 64) and one to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) (paragraph 65). The MOD letter was answered, although the International Commission of Inquiry did not have enough time to follow up on it. The letter to HM Customs and Excise was unanswered at the time of the report, but it is very unlikely that any information about alleged criminal activity or any investigation could be made available. The report did not refer to any unanswered letters addressed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of traditional tribal demarcations and affinities in developing countries on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes. [130183]
Mr. Rammell: No formal study of the impact of traditional tribal demarcations and affinities in developing countries on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes has been made by Her Majesty's Government.
UN Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United Nations on the use of reputable transport suppliers for UN peacekeepers. [130193]
Mr. Rammell: The Government maintains an on-going dialogue with the United Nations about all aspects of UN peacekeeping missions, including logistics.
Western Sahara
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects a UN authorised referendum to be held on the future of Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [130022]
Mr. Rammell: The United Kingdom supports fully the efforts of the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy, James Baker III, to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute that provides for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
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In July this year the Security Council called upon the parties to the dispute to work with the United Nations and with each other towards acceptance and implementation of James Baker's Peace Plan which provides for a UN organised referendum after a transitional period. We are encouraging the parties and states of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary-General and his personal envoy to this end.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Broadband
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in rural areas have a broadband connection. [129359]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is not yet held in the format requested but feedback from Regional Broadband Consortia currently indicates that a significant number of rural schools are already connected to broadband using a range of technologies including radio and satellite. The Department has requested specific information from Regional Broadband Consortia and local education authorities, which, when compiled by November 2003, will give the percentage of rural schools connected.
In England, 91 per cent. of secondary schools are connected at a minimum of 2 megabits per second, as are 26 per cent. of primary schools.
The Department is supporting the Government's Broadband Aggregation Project launched in July 2003, which will see the formation of nine Regional Aggregation Bodies tasked with aggregating demand and procuring broadband across the public sector. The project's two key aims are to ensure best value for the public sector's 1 billion investment in broadband and to help stimulate supply in areas where very little broadband is available. The Regional Aggregation Bodies and the Broadband Aggregation Project should significantly improve access to broadband by rural schools.
Circulars
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the circular documents that were sent by his Department to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools between 1 July and 31 August; and how many pages each document contained. [129722]
Mr. Miliband: We did not send any documents automatically to either primary schools or to secondary schools in the period, 1 July 2003 to 31 August 2003. The last mailing of documents to schools occurred in June 2003.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 5 August regarding a constituent, ref: 2003 0050920. [129734]
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Mr. Miliband: I replied to my hon. Friend's letter of 5 August on 10 September.
Crosby
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the projects to which
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his Department has allocated funding in Crosby in each year since 1997. [129458]
Mr. Miliband: The table shows the total recurrent and capital funding allocated to Sefton local education authority between 1997–98 and 2003–04. Separate figures for Crosby are not available.
| Pupils aged 3–19 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education Formula Spending —general funding for schools and LEAs | 116.5 | 122.2 | 128.2 | 132.0 | 129.6 | 143.0 |
| Standards Fund — is paid to LEAs and schools to support national education priorities, focussing on key strategies for reform and improving standards. | 1.6 | 3.2 | 6.0 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 13.9 |
| 3yo Nursery Education Grant—to assist LEAs to reach universal (participation) provision of all 3 year olds. | — | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 | — |
| 4yo Nursery Education Grant— to assist LEAs to reach universal (participation) provision for all 4 year olds. | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | — | — | — |
| Class Size Reduction—to assist schools to reduce class size in ks1 and 2. | — | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | — |
| Teacher Green Paper Grants—the main grants in this category are Teacher Threshold payments and Performance pay | — | — | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.0 | N/a |
| Schools Standard Grant—to help schools improve standards and is allocated based on the number, size and type school in each authority. | — | — | 1.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.8 |
| Learning and Skills Council—is responsible for planning and funding education and training of 6th form school provision. | — | — | — | — | 9.1 | 9.8 |
| School Budget Support—paid to LEAs in a particular year to cope with particular school budgetary pressures. | — | — | 0.3 | — | — | — |
| Education Budget Support—paid to LEAs in a particular year to additional education budget support. | — | — | — | 0.9 | — | — |
| Post 16 Budget Support—paid in order assist the transition of post 16 funding to the LSC. | — | — | — | — | 0.6 | — |
| Capital Funding—to improve school buildings. | 0.7 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 9.1 |
| Total | 119.2 | 127.8 | 143.7 | 159.3 | 169.1 | n/a |
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many classroom assistants were employed in Crosby in each year since 1997. [129459]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| FTE teaching assistants(9) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 89 |
| 1998 | 92 |
| 1999 | 103 |
| 2000 | 123 |
| 2001 | 145 |
| 2002(10) | 131 |
| 2003 | 157 |
(9) Includes teaching assistants, special needs support staff and minority ethnic pupil support staff
(10) Changes in the collection of support staff data in 2002 may have altered the distribution of staff between "teaching assistants" and "other staff" categories, affecting, comparisons with other years.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times he has visited Crosby in his official capacity; and what the purpose was of each visit. [129461]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have not visited Crosby in an official capacity since taking up post as Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
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