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4 Oct 2004 : Column 1823W—continued

Supporting People Programme

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2004, Official Report, column 1172W, on the Supporting People programme, what (a) monitoring and (b) research he has conducted on the operation of the Supporting People programme in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [189118]

Keith Hill: The Supporting People programme has been in operation since 1 April 2003. Since this time, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has undertaken—and continues to undertake—comprehensive monitoring and research of its operation to enable the Government to better understand the programme and to ensure that it is meeting the housing related support needs of vulnerable people. This includes:

(a) continuing and regular monitoring of the effectiveness of the Supporting People programme on a variety of information including progress with reviews, contracting and the operation of the Commissioning Body. Data are collected from Administering Authorities on a quarterly basis and analysed, this helps us to ascertain if any authorities are struggling and what support they might need. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also now collecting and analysing data
 
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on a quarterly basis from Administering Authorities in relation to Supporting People key performance indicators.

(b) Undertaking research into the Supporting People programme. Research that has been published, or is due for publication includes:

Sustainable Communities Plan

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on progress with the Government's Sustainable Communities Plan. [189233]

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is making excellent progress with the Sustainable Communities Plan. Following the 2004 Spending Review, we will spend £38 billion on creating sustainable communities over five years to March 2008. Since 2002, this money has already helped to increase housebuilding by 10 per cent., delivered 34,553 affordable homes for rent and assisted over 10,000 key workers into home ownership. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has cut rough sleeping by over 70 per cent. since 1998 and we are exceeding our target to build 60 per cent. of new homes on brownfield land. Since 1997, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has made around £1 million social homes decent and increased grant to local authorities by 30 per cent. in real terms. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will celebrate this success with the international Sustainable Communities Summit, in Manchester, in January 2005.

Telecommunications Masts

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions in each of the last five years a local planning authority has paid costs to the communications industry as a result of losing an appeal following refusal of permission for new or additional antennae. [189558]


 
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Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Planning Inspectorate maintains an annual statistics report, but these figures cannot be obtained from that report. This question could not be answered without specific research.

Unauthorised Roadside Sales

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he has given to local authorities on dealing with unauthorised sales carried out on roadside sites; and if he will make a statement. [187984]

Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.

Defra is currently consulting through it's 'Clean Neighbourhoods' document on a raft of measures that will improve the suite of powers available to local authorities in the management of our local environment. These would be taken forward once a suitable legislative opportunity arises. The document includes proposed measures on nuisance vehicles.

The proposal is to create a definition of 'nuisance' vehicle that would include vehicles that were detrimental the amenity of an area or causing a nuisance. Local authorities would have the power to remove these vehicles immediately and recover the costs of doing so. It would become a prosecutable offence for being responsible for such a vehicle.

What constitutes a nuisance or detrimental to the amenity of an area would be clarified in regulations and will be subject to the results of the consultation. Vehicles which are placed on the highway for sale is being considered as part of this process.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the human rights of women and children jailed in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime for misdemeanours who remain in prison. [189501]

Mr. Rammell: Life has improved in Afghanistan for all, including women and children, since the fall of the Taliban. Prison conditions have also improved, although there is still a lot to do, and the UK remains concerned about some of the reported conditions in prisons across Afghanistan. We are aware that there are still cases where women remain in prison who have been jailed for committing 'crimes' such as being raped or being abandoned by their husbands. We are pushing the Afghan Government to implement fully international human rights standards, including the humane treatment of prisoners. We welcomed President Karzai's decree on prisoner release last month and are pressing for this to be enforced. In practical terms, the UK has given £1 million to support the work of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), which has a particular focus on the rights of women and children. The UK has also supported the NGO Womankind, whose projects included working with inmates at a women's prison in Kabul.
 
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Bangladesh

Mr. Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Bangladesh; and if the UK will assist in dealing with attacks on political activists. [189298]

Mr. Alexander: We are concerned about the current political situation in Bangladesh and the poor relationship between the two main political parties. This continues to detract from the proper functioning of the country's democratic institutions. We regularly urge the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to take a constructive and co-operative approach to tackle the key challenges that Bangladesh faces.

We have been shocked by recent violence in Bangladesh, especially the attack on an opposition rally in Dhaka on 21 August. In a public statement on 22 August, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary condemned this attack and called on all concerned to refrain from further violence and to exercise restraint. A copy of this statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk/news/press-releases. He also called on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. On 26 August EU Heads of Mission, including the British High Commissioner, called on the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister to deliver an EU declaration condemning the attack, and affirming the importance of adequate protection to all political groups. We continue to emphasise these messages through our High Commission, and remain ready to assist the Bangladeshi authorities where we can.

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