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8 Jun 2004 : Column 292W—continued
Drug and Alcohol Misuse
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from secondary school because of (a) drug-related and (b) alcohol-related behaviour in each year since 1997. [176623]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My Department started to collect data on the reasons for exclusions, including drug and alcohol related incidents, from summer term 2003. There are concerns about the reliability of the first term's data but initial findings are expected to be released within the next few weeks. The first set of annual figures, relating to 2003/04, will not be available until 2005.
DEFENCE
BAE Systems
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the investigation by the Ministry of Defence police into allegations that a member of the Saudi armed forces project of the Ministry of Defence was provided with free holidays and gifts by BAE Systems between 2000 and 2002; and if he will make a statement. [176052]
Mr. Hoon: The Ministry of Defence Police investigation is continuing and I am therefore unable to comment on progress.
Iraq
Sir Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the status of detainees held by UK
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forces under Article 78 of the IV Geneva Convention (1949) will be after the transfer of Iraqi sovereignty on 30 June; and if he will make a statement. [173909]
Mr. Hoon [holding answer 24 May 2004]: We will not be detaining anyone under Article 78 of the IV Geneva Convention after 30 June. The United Kingdom will cease to be the occupying power on 30 June and Article 78 of the IV Geneva Convention will no longer be relevant. The case of each of the 125 security internees currently being held is reviewed regularly and those no longer posing an imperative threat to security are released. Post 30 June detention policy will need to be discussed with the Iraqi Interim Government.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to provide the British public with information on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. [173227]
Mr. Hoon: The Ministry of Defence provides as much information as it is able to through the media and Parliament. Where allegations are subject to investigations and potentially judicial proceedings, it is necessary to limit what is said in order not to prejudice that process.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions Ministers had with (a) Coalition partners and (b) the armed forces, and when, about the handling of prisoners in Iraq. [173521]
Mr. Hoon: The handling of prisoners captured by UK forces in Iraq is determined by our obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
In March 2003, a Memorandum of Understanding was concluded by the US, UK and Australia dealing with the procedures for the transfer of custody of prisoners of war (PWs) between them. This covered not only PWs but all internees and detainees as well. It emphasises the importance of compliance with the relevant Geneva Conventions and customary international law. A copy was placed in the Library of the House on 15 November 2003.
Ministers have regular discussions with Coalition partners on a wide variety of issues concerning Iraq and I am withholding details of the discussions under Exemption 1 b of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I am withholding details of the advice to Ministers from the Armed Forces under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Medical Downgrading
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel in all three services have been medically downgraded as a result of service in the Gulf since January 2003, broken down by reason for downgrading; and if he will make a statement. [176803]
Mr. Caplin:
As of 20 December 2003, centrally held records show that 1,669 military personnel had been medically downgraded subsequent to their arrival in the Gulf region on deployment on Operation Telic. The main reasons for downgrading are as follows:
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| Causes of medical downgrading | Number of military personnel medically downgraded 1 |
|---|---|
| Musculoskeletal disorders | 587 |
| Injuries | 468 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders | 140 |
| Respiratory system disorders | 87 |
| Pregnancies | 83 |
| Other causes | 294 |
| Cause not recorded | 10 |
| Total | 1,669 |
(4) Numbers of Service personnel deployed on Op Telic and subsequent medical downgradings during 2003 excludes Special Forces personnel.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Cultural Services Excellence Network
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which councils have been included in the Cultural Services Excellence Network; and what the criteria for inclusion were. [176461]
Estelle Morris: The Cultural Services Excellence Network is an informal grouping hosted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The network is open to Cultural Beacon Councils, local authorities that have an "excellent" overall score in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment or perform well in the cultural and leisure services part of the assessment, and authorities that receive an excellent Best Value Inspection score in cultural services. The following councils currently meet the criteria, although not all choose to attend meetings:
Barnet London Borough Council
Birmingham City Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Bromley London Borough Council
Camden London Borough Council
Cheshire County Council
Chichester District Council
City of London
Colchester Borough Council
Cornwall County Council
Derbyshire County Council
Dorset County Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Greenwich London Borough Council
Hambleton District Council
Hampshire County Council
Hartlepool Borough Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough Council
King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
Kingston upon Thames, Royal Borough of
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Leeds City Council
Liverpool City Council
New Forest District Council
Nottingham City Council
South Hams District Council
Stockton on Tees Borough Council
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Suffolk County Council
Sunderland City Council
Sutton London Borough Council
Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
Wandsworth London Borough Council
West Sussex County Council
Westminster London Borough Council
Worcestershire County Council.
Departmental Administration Budget
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made towards the five per cent. reduction in real terms in her Department's administration budget by 2008 announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331. [176501]
Tessa Jowell: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 2006–08 to be announced in detail later this year.
Honours
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much time her Department spent dealing with Honours in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by civil service grade. [173035]
Tessa Jowell: We have a centralised team dealing with Honours work, the complement of which for the year to 31 March 2004 was 10 per cent. of a Grade A post (Grade 7), two Grade Cs (EO) and three Grade Ds (AO). The team undertakes virtually all of the work on honours within the Department and information is not available on time spent by other staff who are not members of this team.
The input from senior civil service officials in the Department is estimated at 16 per cent. of one post.
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