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Sixth Forms

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK remained in education after the completion of their GCSEs in each year since 1997. [133226]

Mr. Miliband: Data on the percentage of students staying on in full-time education and education and training is not calculated for areas smaller than LEAs as reliable estimates cannot be made.

The percentage of 16-year-olds participating in full-time education, and in education and training, in South Tyneside local education authority, the North East and the UK for end 1997 to end 2000, the latest available year, are shown in the table.

Participation by 16 year olds

	End 1997	End 1998	End 1999	End 2000
Full-time education
South Tyneside LEA	52	53	57	57
North East Region	60	61	64	65
United Kingdom	70	71	72	73
Education and training
South Tyneside LEA	—	76	81	78
North East Region	78	82	86	87
United Kingdom(2)	80	79	80	79

⁽²⁾ Great Britain only up to end 1999, and England and Wales only for end 2000. The education and training figures in this row do not include part-time education.

Note:

Participation rates by LEA for 16 and 17 year olds are published in an annual statistical bulletin, 'Participation in Education and Training by Young People Aged 16 and 17 in Each Local Area and Region, England'.

Teachers/Assistants

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants were employed in (i) the West Midlands and (ii) Coventry in each of the last three years. [133583]

Mr. Miliband: The numbers of teachers and teaching assistants in the West Midlands Government office region (GOR) and Coventry local education authority (LEA) in the last three years are given in the following tables.

Teachers ⁽³⁾

Region	2001	2002	2003
Coventry LEA	2,870	2,920	2,910
West Midlands GOR	47,400	47,800	48,200

⁽³⁾ Full-time equivalent regular teachers in service in the maintained sector in January of each year.

Source:

618G

Teaching Assistants⁽⁴⁾

Region	2001	2002	2003
Coventry LEA	800	670	640
West Midlands GOR	10,410	11,120	13,050

⁽⁴⁾ Full-time .equivalent teaching assistants in maintained primary, middle and secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units in January of each year. Includes nursery assistants, special needs support staff, minority ethnic pupil support staff.

Source:

Annual Schools' Census

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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Contracts

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last three years in excess of £100,000, giving the names of the successful bidder and the purpose of the contract. [133002]

Hilary Benn: The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Development Agencies

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what response the Government has made to the Brazilian President's suggestion of a global arms trade levy for funding development agencies. [132743]

Hilary Benn: The Government welcomes in principle any idea which seeks to reduce global hunger, and believes that all such proposals should be properly assessed. We are committed to finding the most effective way of mobilising the additional development resources which are needed if the Millennium Development Goals are to be met. This is why the UK has proposed an International Finance Facility.

The Government endorses the work which the IMF and World Bank are currently carrying out on development financing mechanisms. This work will include all proposals for international taxes designed to generate additional development resources. The IMF and Bank have been asked to report to the Development Committee at the 2004 Spring Meetings, and to the IMFC at the 2004 Annual Meetings.

International Housing Rights

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his Answer of 25 September, if he will list representations (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) other representatives of the Government have received since 1997 on international housing rights law and breaches thereof; what (i) countries and (ii) regions these representations referred to; and if he will make a statement. [133212]

Hilary Benn: Data on representations made to Government, since 1997, on international housing rights law and breaches thereof, is not held centrally, and it would incur a disproportionate cost to obtain the information the right hon. Member is seeking.

I can however confirm that DFID has no record of representations made to members of my department or to me, since 1997, concerning international housing rights law, or breaches thereof, other than the hon. Member's question, reference 133212, to which I provided a written answer on 25 September.

22 Oct 2003 : Column 605W

Iraq

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 15 July 2003, Official Report, column 176W, on Iraq, which medical drugs are in short supply in Iraq; and in what quantities. [132417]

Hilary Benn: Recent assessments by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Health indicate that there are no major shortages of essential medical supplies in Iraq. There are however still reported shortages of some very specialised supplies such as antisera (eg anti snake venom) and some anti-cancer medicines. The supply of anti-tuberculosis medicines has improved after a period of shortage immediately after the war. Some health facilities have reported intermittent shortages of local anaesthetic, probably caused by periods of high demand.

New medicine supply systems in Iraq are not yet fully operational and clear data remains difficult to obtain. WHO is working closely with the Ministry of Health, Kimadia (the Iraqi medical supply distribution agency) and the CPA to address immediate shortages and to establish formulae for likely consumption rates of priority medicines.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether families who have lost their primary earners as a result of coalition forces' military action against Iraq have been identified as part of the process for prioritising targeted aid to Iraqi civilians. [133315]

Hilary Benn: DFID's policy is to provide assistance which responds to the needs of people, especially the poorest, irrespective of the causes of those needs. The main current form of support for vulnerable Iraqis is the Public Distribution System for food rations. DFID is providing assistance to the Ministry of Trade to ensure the continued smooth-running of the system. We are also assisting with plans to reform the system in the medium-term, with a view to ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable continue to be met.

Kosovo

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment has been made of the human rights situation in Kosovo; what plans he has with European colleagues to address abuses in the region; and if he will make a statement. [132941]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which forms part of the United Nations Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo, is the lead agency responsible for the monitoring and protection of human rights in Kosovo. OSCE reports regularly on human rights concerns with regard to, for example, property rights, ethnic minorities and the judicial system.

DFID engages with these assessments to ensure that our activities consider important human rights issues. In particular, we share the OSCE's view that the development of an effective justice system that operates in accordance with international standards is an essential step in improving the human rights situation in

22 Oct 2003 : Column 606W

Kosovo. We are funding two major programmes, one on justice-sector policymaking and another on community policing, to help improve the safety, security and access to justice of the people of Kosovo, through the inter-ministerial Global Conflict Prevention Pool.

In addition, our contributions through the European Commission are also being used to strengthen justice systems in Kosovo. The European Agency for Reconstruction is supporting the improvement of court administration, and is also funding a highly successful civil legal aid programme that has so far assisted some 11,000 vulnerable people.

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