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3 Feb 2004 : Column 846W—continued
UN Corruption Convention
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what measures the Government are taking to ensure that the UK will be able to meet its commitments under the UN Convention on Corruption; [151510]
- (2) when the UK Government will ratify the UN Convention on Corruption. [151516]
Mr. MacShane: Government officials from, in particular, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office and the Department for International Development are working to ensure that the UK is in a position to meet its obligations under the UN Convention Against Corruption. Once we have ensured that UK legislation and administrative arrangements satisfy these obligations, the UK Government will seek to ratify the Convention at the earliest opportunity.
UN General Assembly Resolutions
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy considerations dictated the UK's vote against UN General Assembly resolution 58/51, Towards a Nuclear Weapon-Free World; and if he will make a statement. [151674]
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Mr. Straw: Government policy on nuclear weapons remains as set out in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the 2003 Defence White Paper. We are committed to working towards a safer world in which there is no requirement for nuclear weapons and continue to play a full role in international efforts to strengthen arms control and prevent the proliferation of nuclear—as well as chemical and biological—weapons.
Resolution 58/51, Towards a Nuclear Weapon-Free World, has been tabled over several years and contains many important elements that we support. However, as we explained in our Explanation of Vote, the text presented to UNGA 58 contained several elements that were inconsistent with the consensus reached at the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The UK remains committed to the NPT, which we regard as the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK is taking in support of UN General Assembly Resolution 58/36, on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space; and if he will make a statement. [151675]
Mr. Straw: The UK traditionally votes in favour of an annual UN 1st Committee Resolution on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS).
We have signed and ratified the Outer Space Treaty that places important constraints on the basing of weapons in space, including a prohibition on the deployment of weapons of mass destruction. However, we derive considerable military and security benefits from the use of space, and would not like to see a general prohibition on the military use of space.
In addition, we support agreement of a programme of work at the Conference of Disarmament (CD) in Geneva, which includes issues relating to PAROS. We also participated in a recent informal seminar on PAROS at the CD.
Visa Applicants (Fingerprinting)
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated cost is of extending the fingerprinting of visa applicants announced on 21 January. [151414]
Mr. Mullin: The cost of introducing fingerprinting in our visa sections in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda is estimated at £325,000 for the current financial year and £410,000 for the 2004–05 financial year. Costs are being met from the budget allocated to the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The costs will include initial
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start-up expenses such as procurement and deployment of equipment, IT development, additional staff and accommodation changes. Running costs thereafter are estimated at £117,000 per year.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Affordable Housing
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many units of affordable housing for (a) rent and (b) sale were built with funding generated by recycled capital grant in (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03, broken down by Government Office Region. [152024]
Keith Hill: The total number of affordable housing dwellings built with recycled capital grant in England for 2001–02 and 2002–03 are as follows:
| Rent | Sale | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 555 | 234 |
| 2002–03(30) | 365 | 418 |
(30) Subject to validation
Information on the split of these dwellings by region is being collated. I will write to the hon. Member and make a copy available in the Library of the House.
In addition, Registered Social Landlords built affordable housing dwellings by combining recycled grant with new social housing grant from local authorities or the Housing Corporation. Dwellings produced in this way are not counted in the table and appear in the record of dwellings produced through the Approved Development Programme or the former local authorities' social housing grant programmes.
As well as building additional affordable housing, registered social landlords recycled grant into major repair and improvement of their older, existing housing.
Area-based Initiative Budget
Mr. Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budget was for each area-based initiative for (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04, broken down by English region; and what the total budget was for each region in each year. [151878]
Mr. Raynsford: The allocations issued to area-based initiatives totalled by region for the years sought are tabled as follows.
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| Neighbourhood Management(31) | Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | Neighbourhood Wardens/Street Wardens(31) | New Deal for Communities | Total allocation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 1.9 | 39.73 | 1.2 | 25.27 | 95.85 |
| North West | 2.3 | 81.18 | 3.5 | 26.60 | 186.40 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 1.5 | 45.48 | 2.05 | 23.67 | 125.91 |
| East Midlands | 1.3 | 19.51 | 1.2 | 14.86 | 53.22 |
| West Midlands | 0.9 | 40.51 | 0 | 18.27 | 92.26 |
| East of England | 0.4 | 2.64 | 1.3 | 15.05 | 25.16 |
| London | 1.03 | 61.60 | 4.6 | 9.18 | 87.01 |
| South East | 0.60 | 3.24 | 1.9 | 11.17 | 19.36 |
| South West | 1.07 | 6.11 | 1.5 | 41.93 | 67.72 |
| Total | 11.00 | 300.00 | 17.25 | 186.00 |
(31) For some programmes not all of the budget has yet been allocated to individual initiatives.
(32) Figures for 2003–04 are for the provisional allocations as agreements have not yet been completed.
| Region | Coalfields(33) | Community chests(33) | European Regional Development Fund Areas | Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders(33) | Liveability(34) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | |||||
| North East | 2.8 | 3.55 | 24.5 | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| North West | 1.4 | 6.49 | 71.7 | 28.0 | 0.8 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 6.0 | 3.36 | 52.0 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| East Midlands | 4.8 | 1.79 | 14.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| West Midlands | 1.8 | 2.89 | 29.9 | 8.0 | 0.8 |
| East of England | 0.0 | 0.34 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| London | 0.0 | 5.3 | 9.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| South East | 0.2 | 0.58 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| South West | 0.0 | 0.73 | 19.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Total | 17.0 | 25.03 | 228.9 | 44.0 | 7.0 |
| Neighbourhood Management(33) | Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | Neighbourhood Wardens/Street Wardens(33) | New Deal for Communities | Total allocation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 2.57 | 52.97 | 1.25 | 31.21 | 123.55 |
| North West | 1.71 | 108.20 | 2.76 | 52.50 | 273.56 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 2.52 | 60.63 | 1.84 | 30.06 | 161.21 |
| East Midlands | 1.73 | 26.00 | 0.52 | 24.22 | 74.36 |
| West Midlands | 1.61 | 53.98 | 1.38 | 30.53 | 130.89 |
| East of England | 1.15 | 3.50 | 0.91 | 9.60 | 22.20 |
| London | 0.85 | 82.04 | 2.88 | 62.79 | 164.26 |
| South East | 0.88 | 4.56 | 1.26 | 13.27 | 23.05 |
| South West | 0.73 | 8.12 | 0.92 | 10.82 | 41.32 |
| Total | 13.75 | 400.00 | 13.72 | 265.00 |
(33) For some programmes not all of the budget has yet been allocated to individual initiatives.
(34) Figures for 2003–04 are for the provisional allocations as agreements have not yet been completed.
In 2001, the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) was subsumed into the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) Single Programme ('Single Pot') from which RDAs will continue to fund existing SRB commitments. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's contribution to the RDAs Single Pot is £4,679 million for 2003–06 and £1,523.7 million for 2003–04.
Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs)
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not directly fund URCs as funding is channelled through non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and other delivery agents.
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