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Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets his Department has set in relation to reducing truancy in each year up to 2006; and what levels of funding will be made available in each year. [177886]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 14 June 2004]: Promoting regular school attendance and reducing levels of absence are key components of the Government's strategy to raise educational standards. The current national Public Service Agreement (PSA) target is to reduce the 2002 level of unauthorised absence by 10 per cent. in this school year; and to sustain the new lower level and improve overall attendance levels thereafter.
To help achieve the current PSA target, the Department set the 56 LEAs facing some of the greatest challenges individual stretching targets to reduce unauthorised absence in 2003/04. These LEAs received extra resources to assist in improving support to schools and pupils with poor attendance and in devising better strategic approaches to attendance management.
In all, the National Behaviour and Attendance Strategy is investing around £120 million in 200405 and £155 million in 200506 on measures to reduce exclusions or provide education for excluded pupils, to support vulnerable and disaffected pupils back into the classroom, to improve behaviour and to tackle truancy and improve school attendance. As many of the measures schools and LEAs implement will improve both pupils' behaviour and their attendanceand action in respect of one will often have an impact on the otherit is not possible to identify separately the level of expenditure allocated to tackling truancy alone.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what action he has taken as a result of his meeting with Lockerbie relatives on 24 May; and what next steps he proposes to take. [179210]
The Prime Minister: We are taking forward issues raised by the representatives of the Lockerbie families at the meeting on 24 May. The families will be informed of the outcome.
Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what opportunities have been given, and what further opportunities are planned, to allow bidders for the Airfield Support Services Project to explain their proposals to relevant trade union officials and to respond to any concerns raised. [178930]
Mr. Ingram: The opportunity for trade union involvement with the Airfield Support Services Project has been continuous throughout the project and remains ongoing. Each bidding consortia formally briefed the trade union side during September 2002 and it is believed that at least one consortium subsequently arranged additional meetings. There is no restriction on the bidding consortia in this regard and they are free to engage with the trade unions if requested or if they see fit to do so.
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff have been employed at the Army Medal Office to assist in the issuing of the Iraq medal since the beginning of the year; and how many are on (a) casual and (b) fixed-term contracts. [178995]
Mr. Caplin: The Army Medal Office established a section to deal specifically with the Iraq medal on 4 May 2004. The section comprises eight staff, including four on casual contracts and one on a fixed-term appointment.
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications for the Suez Canal Zone (a) medal and (b) clasp have been (i) received and (ii) processed by the Army Medal Office in Droitwich Spa. [179020]
Mr. Caplin: As at 11 June 2004, the Army Medal Office has received over 28,500 applications for the Suez Canal Zone medal or clasp. Information that would distinguish applications for the medal and the clasp is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Of the 6,650 applications that have been processed, 5,315 medals and 418 clasps have been issued.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he first became aware of a letter from the then director of the Serious Fraud Office written on 8 March 2001 to Sir Kevin Tebbit, the Permanent Secretary of his Department, regarding allegations of fraud involving BAE Systems. [176076]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1613W.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the investigation into the death of Baha Musa. [177578]
Mr. Ingram: The investigation into the death of Baha Musa has been completed and the case is currently under consideration by Army Legal Services. It is therefore not appropriate for me to give any further details at this stage.
Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any members of the British armed forces have (a) received training and (b) been involved in providing
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training at the United States army training school at Fort Benning in Georgia for the interviewing of detainees. [174014]
Mr. Ingram: No members of the British armed forces have received training, or been involved in providing training, at Fort Benning for the interviewing of detainees.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the issue of the hooding of detainees was raised by officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross during meetings with British Army officers in 2003. [174281]
Mr. Hoon [holding answer 25 May 2004]: Details of discussions between the armed forces and the International Committee of the Red Cross are confidential, but the issue was discussed.
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he first made representations to his US counterpart regarding the International Committee of the Red Cross report on maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US forces in Iraq. [174592]
Mr. Rammell [holding answer 20 May 2004]: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Glenda Jackson) on 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 163SW.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department provided the classified examples on targets chosen in the war to which reference is made at paragraph 30 of the Government's response to the Defence Committee report on Lessons of Iraq, HC635. [178745]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence wrote to the Committee on 14 July 2003.
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 45WS, on Iraq, what the average time between an allegation by an Iraqi civilian of (a) ill-treatment, (b) injury and (c) death as a result of British military action and the opening of investigations into the allegations has been. [179018]
Mr. Ingram: The Royal Military Police have a standard target of initiating an investigation within 24 hours of notification of an incident or allegation and this target has been met in all 75 cases investigated in Iraq which I referred to in my statement on 8 June 2004, Official Report, column 45WS.
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 663W, on Iraq, on what date in March 2003 Mr. Zaher died. [179027]
Mr. Ingram:
Mr. Zaher Sabti Zaher died on 24 March 2003.
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Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) the names of the individuals and (b) the (i) date and (ii) nature of the incident concerned is in each of the 75 cases of civilian deaths that are subject to investigation in Iraq. [179052]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 June 2004]: Of the 75 investigations of incidents involving civilians, 37 relate to deaths. The names of the deceased individuals (where known), together with the date and nature of the incident, are shown in the following table:
Date of incident | Name | Nature of incident |
---|---|---|
24 March 2003 | Zaher Sabti Zaher | Operations |
12 April 2003 | Kuwaiti nationalfurther details unknown | RTA |
12 April 2003 | Tanik S. Mahmud | Detainee |
29 April 2003 | Ather Khalaf Mohammed | Operations |
3 May 2003 | Ali Salaam | Operations |
7 May 2003 | Dyab Rehman Nasser | RTA |
8 May 2003 | Radhi Nama | Detainee |
11 May 2003 | Nadhem Abdullah | Operations |
17 May 2003 | Abdul Al Jubba Mousa Ali | Detainee |
18 May 2003 | Hamza Abdul Hussein Al Askary | RTA |
18 May 2003 | Ahmed Jabber Kareem | Detainee |
24 May 2003 | Said Shabram | Detainee |
26 May 2003 | Wael Jaber Raheem | Operations |
15 June 2003 | Jassim Yassim Jabbar Al Shimillwy | RTA |
2 August 2003 | Hassan Abbad Saied | Operations |
7 August 2003 | A. J. Khalif | Detainee |
21 August 2003 | Hanan S. Matrud | Operations |
24 August 2003 | W. F. Muzban | Operations |
15 September 2003 | Baha Daoud Salim Musa | Detainee |
27 December 2003 | N. S. Khoulief | Operations |
1 January 2004 | G. G. H. D. Roomi | Operations |
2 February 2004 | S. A. Maltouf | Operations |
3 February 2004 | S. Kazim | RTA |
18 February 2004 | M. D. Habash | RTA |
5 March 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
7 March 2004 | S. A. A. Hamdy | Operations |
27 March 2004 | A. A. A. Abdullah | RTA |
4 April 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
6 April 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
6 April 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
7 April 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
12 April 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
3 May 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
8 May 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
8 May 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
10 May 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
14 May 2004 | Unknown | Operations |
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the families of Iraqi individuals whose deaths are or have been the subject of Special Investigation Branch inquiries have been given copies of official autopsy reports or equivalent documents. [177580]
Mr. Ingram: In the majority of cases under investigation by the Special Investigations Branch into deaths of Iraqi civilians, families have refused to allow autopsies to be conducted on their relatives.
A United Kingdom pathologist has carried out autopsies on two Iraqi civilians whose deaths are being investigated by the Special Investigation Branch. Once these investigations are complete, and subject to the permission of the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, these reports could be made available to the relatives, if requested.
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