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17 Jun 2004 : Column 1065W—continued

Truancy

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 2004–05 and £155 million in 2005–06 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 attendance—and action in respect of one will often have an impact on the other—it is not possible to identify separately the level of expenditure allocated to tackling truancy alone.

PRIME MINISTER

Lockerbie

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.

DEFENCE

Airfield Support Services Project

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]

 
17 Jun 2004 : Column 1066W
 

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.

Army Medal Office

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.

BAE Systems

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.

Baha Musa

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.

Detainee Interviewing Training

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
 
17 Jun 2004 : Column 1067W
 
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.

Detainees (Hooding)

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.

Iraq

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 4–5WS, 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 4–5WS.

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 national—further 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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