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29 Apr 2004 : Column 1248W—continued
British Irish Council
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what work is being undertaken by the British Irish Council in the field of languages; what the objectives of this work are; which Government Departments are involved; what contribution non-governmental organisations in the minority languages sector are making to this work; and how the work will contribute to the delivery of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. [168010]
Mr. Lammy : The work of the British-Irish Council (BIC) in the area of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages is subject to agreement between all member administrations and is led by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The BIC at its meeting in Cardiff in November 2003, which was attended by the Prime Minister, agreed that Members should:
Jointly consider outcomes of research into intergenerational language transmission;
Carry out an assessment of structures supporting indigenous language learning in adult education in each of the BIC administrations;
Work together to identify priorities for their respective indigenous languages in relation to Information and Communication Technology development;
Consider together the potential benefits of co-operating on the development of language use surveys;
Share information on their experiences of the relationship between planning policy and linguistic considerations.
The language covered by the BIC in its work in this field to date include:
Cymraeg/the Welsh language
Gaelic in Scotland
Gaelg/the Manx language
An Ghaeilge/the Irish language
Guernesiais/Guernsey-French
Jerriais/the Jersey language
Ulster Scots
The members of the Council are the British and Irish Governments; the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man. (Since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Northern Ireland interest within the British-Irish Council have been represented by Northern Ireland Office Ministers as part of the UK delegation).
Each of the BIC member administrations is responsible for determining the nature of the involvement of its own administration.
The Welsh Assembly Government lead the work in the languages sector and it is open to any member administration to suggest a contribution from a non-governmental organisation. Work in this field will
29 Apr 2004 : Column 1249W
include input from various language boards, adult education providers and community-based language groups such as the Welsh Mentrau Iaith.
Delivery of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages is a matter for each of the Charter's ratified signatories including the UK Government. The work of the BIC in this area will complement current UK initiatives in respect of the Charter.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the hon. Member for Walsall North will receive a reply to his letter of 11 March ref.147849. [168885]
Mr. Lammy: I wrote on 29 April to my hon. Friend, the Member for Walsall North in response to his letter of 11 March. I apologies for the delay.
Immigration
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the costs to the Legal Aid Fund on immigration matters were in each financial year since 1996–97. [167180]
Mr. Lammy: In the time available, it is not possible to identify separately the cost of immigration from asylum cases. The costs to the Legal Aid Fund on immigration and asylum matters in England and Wales for each financial year since 1996–97 are as follows:
| £ million (net) 1 | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 26.1 |
| 1997–98 | 35.2 |
| 1998–99 | 53.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 61.4 |
| 2000–01 | 81.1 |
| 2001–02 | 129.4 |
| 2002–03 | 176.2 |
| 2003–04 | (30)204 |
(29) Approximately 10 per cent. of the total cost of immigration and asylum matters relates to immigration and nationality cases.
(30) Provisional figure, subject to end-of-year adjustments.
Small Claims
Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2004, Official Report, column 1417W, on small claims, what research projects the Department has conducted. [168621]
Mr. Lammy: The Department's Research Unit has commissioned and published two reports by Professor John Baldwin on small claims. They are:
No. 1/97 Monitoring the rise of the small claims limit: litigants' experiences of different forms of adjudication
No 8/02 Lav and judicial perspectives on the expansion of the small claims regime
A report by Professor Joanna Shapland, Angela Sorsby and Jeremy Hibbert: A Civil Justice Audit was published by the Department in 2002. This looked at the value, nature and progress of cases through the County Court in Sheffield and included data on small claims.
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The DCA Research Unit has recently begun a study of a scheme to mediate small claims in Exeter County Court. The DCA's Consumer Strategy Review has also looked at small claims as part of its project on debt.
Welsh Medium Service
Hywel Williams: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Welsh medium service provided by the Social Security Commissioners. [167683]
Mr. Lammy: The Chief Commissioner has asked for the Social Security Commissioners' electronic database to be amended to have the functionality to identify cases received from Wales. There is a Welsh page available on the website available at http://www.osscsc.gov.uk/pages/cymru.htm giving information on the procedures of the Social Security Commissioners. The website is currently undergoing substantial revision. The relevant appeal form, and an information leaflet are being re-developed for the Welsh medium.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Sure Start (Chatham)
10. Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the Sure Start programme in Chatham. [169214]
Margaret Hodge: Sure Start Chatham is starting to make a difference to the children and families in the area. The programme has launched a highly successful programme where mothers encourage other mothers to breast-feed; breast-feeding rates are now up by about 20 per cent. And the uptake rate for hearing tests which was about 33 per cent. before the programme began, now stands at 97 per cent.
Nationally we are undertaking a major and comprehensive evaluation of the Sure Start Programme. Results will become available over the next 12 months. But to give just one example of the impact, we know that in Sure Start local programme areas, there has been a 6 per cent. reduction in percentage of mothers who smoke during pregnancy; and we know that that will make a real difference to the health and well being of a child.
Educational Attainment (East Midlands)
11. Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will rank the local education authorities for the East Midlands by their level of educational attainment. [169215]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Performance tables for each local education authority are published each year showing the level of educational attainment at Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, GCSE/GNVQ and A/AS level. I am today placing details of the nine East Midlands authorities in Library.
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Civic Awareness
12. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to promote civic awareness through educational activities for students aged 14 to 19 years. [169216]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The National Curriculum provides citizenship learning for students up to age 16. We have also been investigating the scope for introducing an entitlement to active citizenship in the post-compulsory phase; development work continues. Mike Tomlinson's Working Group sees young people's active contribution to the community within the core of 14–19 learning; The Group's final report is due out in the autumn.
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