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20 Dec 2004 : Column 1399W—continued
Sudan
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of recent reports of (a) attacks on aid convoys in Darfur and (b) aerial bombings by the Sudanese military in Darfur; when he last raised these matters with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Sudanese Government; and if he will make a statement. [204640]
Mr. Mullin:
On 12 December, two Save the Children UK (SC(UK)) national staff were tragically killed when a convoy of three clearly marked SC(UK) vehicles was attacked. On 13 December, our Ambassador in
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Khartoum raised the attack with the State Minister for Foreign Affairs. He also offered our condolences to the Save the Children UK Programme Director in Sudan. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) will be writing to the Head of SC(UK) to express this Government's sympathy. African Union monitors reached the site quickly; initial reports indicate that Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) rebels are responsible for the attack. I understand that SC(UK) has suspended its operations in South Darfur until further notice.
On 23 November, our Ambassador in Khartoum raised with the Government of Sudan reports that it had used its air force in response to an SLA attack on Tawilla on 22 November. He made it clear that such attacks violated the Government's commitment in the Abuja Security Protocol to "refrain from hostile military flights in and over Darfur".
On 6 December, at a meeting in London with the Humanitarian Affairs Minister, I pressed him on the need for the Government of Sudan to abide by this and other commitments it has made, particularly the Abuja Security Protocol.
Taskforces
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department in each year since 1997 on taskforces and similar bodies. [204884]
Mr. Rammell: Details of taskforces and similar bodies are not recorded centrally by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and for this reason the cost of these activities could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Uganda
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the meetings held in the last 18 months between (a) himself, (b) members of his Department and (c) UK representatives in Uganda and (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Government of Uganda in which the situation in (A) the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and (B) the Democratic Republic of Congo in general has been (1) the main topic on the agenda and (2) a major topic on the agenda; what proposals (x) he, (y) members of his Department and (z) UK representatives in Uganda made for the involvement of Uganda in stabilising the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo; how these proposals were met by (aa) members and (bb) representatives of the Government of (I) Uganda and (II) the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement. [203815]
Mr. Mullin: We regularly discuss the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the Ugandan Government. I last raised the subject with President Museveni and the Acting Foreign Minister during my visit in August.
We will continue to remind Uganda of its obligations to respect the territorial integrity of the DRC following withdrawal of its troops from Ituri province in June 2003, and to encourage it to play a constructive role in building peace in the Great Lakes region.
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TREASURY
Inland Revenue/HM Customs and Excise Merger
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies he expects there will be when the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise are merged; and if he will make a statement. [205219]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government is committed to achieving efficiencies that will result in a gross reduction of 16,000 posts in the merged Department by 2008, following the report by Sir Peter Gershon. Efficiencies generated by bringing the two departments together are expected to account for around 3,200 of the total. It is too early to say what effect the changes will have on any particular location. We will be exploring all options to redeploy and retrain staff and are committed to working with Trade Unions.
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy to bring Customs and Excise under the remit of The General and Special Commissioners of Tax. [205413]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the White Paper issued in July 2004 by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, "Transforming Public Services: Complaints, Redress and Tribunals". This sets out the Government's plans for The General and Special Commissioners of Income Tax and for the VAT and Duties Tribunal.
Alcohol-related Deaths
Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many deaths within (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey and (b) the London borough of Southwark alcohol was found to be a primary cause in each of the last five years. [205547]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 16 December 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 20 December 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for how many deaths within (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey and (b) the London Borough of Southwark, alcohol was found to be a primary cause in each of the last five years. (205547)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. The attached table shows the numbers of deaths among residents of North Southwark and Bermondsey parliamentary constituency and the London Borough of Southwark where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 1999 to 2003.
(24) For the years 1999–2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed as follows:
291—Alcoholic psychoses
303—Alcohol dependence syndrome
305.0—Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
425.5—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
571—Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
E860—Accidental poisoning by alcohol
(25) Usual residents of these areas.
(26) Deaths occurring in each calendar year.
For the years 2001–03 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
142.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
K70—Alcoholic liver disease
K73—Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
K74—Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol
The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 5–14.
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Child Trust Fund
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber (a) would have been eligible for the Child Trust Fund in 2004 and (b) he estimates will be eligible for the Child Trust Fund in 2005, based on the actual figures for live births between 2002 and 2004. [205852]
Mr. Timms: All children born since 1 September 2002 in families awarded child benefit will receive a Child Trust Fund. In 2005–06 around 700,000 families will benefit from the Child Trust Fund across the country as a whole. No exact estimate is available for the number of children benefiting in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber in 2004 or 2005. However, there were 816 new births in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber in 2002, and 920 new births in the area in 2003. Provisional figures for 2004 to date show 920 new births in the area.
The CTF is intended to encourage parents and children to develop the savings habit. It will ensure that every child, whatever their family background, will have access to a stock of assets from the age of 18, so they can invest in their future.
It will also help children and their parents to understand the benefits of saving and investment and how to engage with financial institutions.
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