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27 Jan 2005 : Column 493W—continued

Ugandan Refugees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of (a) the number of refugees in Uganda from neighbouring countries and (b) the number of repatriations and new arrivals per month since July 2004; how much humanitarian assistance has been delivered to Uganda for the corresponding months by (i) the UK, (ii) the EU and (iii) the UN; and if he will make a statement. [210716]

Hilary Benn: Uganda currently hosts 230,194 refugees. These are drawn mainly from Sudan, Rwanda and the Congo. The largest number, approximately 130,000, are Sudanese. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is unable to provide a monthly break down of the number of repatriations and new arrivals. Since January 2004, 2,449 refugees have been repatriated and there have been approximately 19,027 new arrivals.

In 2004, humanitarian assistance to Uganda totalled £81 million. During this period, the UK provided over £10 million, which was channelled through the UN system and the Red Cross. Other EU member states and the European Commission provided £14.1 million and
 
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£18.4 million respectively. In both cases this support was channelled through the UN system, the Red Cross and NGOs. In total the United Nations Consolidated Appeal received funding of £66.8 million, which represented 100 per cent. of its requested requirements.

The UK was the third largest humanitarian donor to Uganda in 2004. Addressing humanitarian needs will remain an important objective for our Uganda programme.

Vietnam

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to help the Vietnamese Government in tackling HIV/AIDS. [210528]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has approved £16.4 million to help the Government of Vietnam prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. This support began in January 2004 and will, over a 5-year period, seek to raise the level of protection of high-risk groups by promoting condom use, and use advertising campaigns to get HIV/AIDS prevention messages across to the country at large. It is too early to gauge results a year in, but around 40 million condoms were distributed to selected sites in 2004 which is expected to help reduce the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among high-risk groups. This support is co-financed with the Norwegian Government and managed by the World Health Organisation and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

DFID, together with other key donors has established a co-ordination mechanism to help promote the UNAIDS Three Ones" approach to tackling HIV/AIDS (that is One" action framework, One" national coordinating authority, and One" national monitoring and evaluation system. This will reduce the fragmentation of donor support and maximise the capacity of Government to respond to HIV/AIDS.

DFID is planning to double its contribution to the HIV/AIDS Global Fund. Vietnam has received US$12 million from this fund over the period 2002 to 2005, US$7 million of this amount for HIV/AIDS.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Coventry, South have received (a) full and (b) partial grants from the Access to Work programme in each year since its introduction. [210702]

Maria Eagle: Access to Work is a specialist disability programme, which provides practical advice and support to help disabled people enter or stay in paid employment. The support is aimed at overcoming work related obstacles resulting from disability. It does this through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support. The amount of support available to any individual will depend on their work related needs resulting from disability.
 
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Information is not available at constituency level. The available information for the west midlands region is in the table.
Number of people helped by the Access to Work programme in the West Midlands region

	2002–03	2003–04
New beneficiaries	1,492	1,279
Existing beneficiaries	1,679	1,426
Total beneficiaries	3,171	2,705

Notes:
1.Figures broken down by region are not available for earlier years.
2.New beneficiaries are people who receive access to work assistance for the first time ever within the financial year. Existing beneficiaries are people who received access to work assistance in a previous financial year, and continue to receive financial support.
Source:
Jobcentre Plus internal Management Information

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK in each year since 1997. [210083]

Jane Kennedy: The following table provides information for gas related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning fatalities:
Number of fatal injuries relating to the supply and use of flammable gas⁽²³⁾

	CO poisoning
1996–97	31
1997–98	28
1998–99	37
1999–2000	26
2000–01	25
2001–02	22
2002–03	20
2003–04(24)	12

⁽²³⁾The table shows the number of fatalities reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 in Great Britain.
⁽²⁴⁾Provisional.
Notes:
1.Mainly piped gas but also includes bottled liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
2.The figure for CO deaths in 2003–04 is the lowest on record.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that householders (a) obtain and (b) use certified carbon monoxide detectors. [210085]

Jane Kennedy: HSE provides the public with free information regarding the advantages of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors through publications and a telephone helpline. The gas industry has also advised householders of the advantages of CO detectors.

CO alarms conforming to British Standards are a useful supplementary precaution but cannot be regarded as a substitute for the safe installation and maintenance of gas equipment by competent installers registered with the Council for Registered Gas Installers(CORGI.
 
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British Gas is currently developing a programme for supplying vulnerable groups with free CO detectors.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with gas suppliers on (a) the need for regular gas checks and (b) the efficient operations of gas appliances in domestic homes. [210086]

Jane Kennedy: The Health and Safety Executive met with the Energy Retail Association on 18 January 2005 about these matters. The Association is developing a national gas safety strategy that includes publicity about the need for regular maintenance of gas appliances. Regular maintenance and checks for safety assist the efficient functioning of gas appliances and systems.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last 10 years of landlords whose neglect of gas appliances caused the death of their tenants. [210087]

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table provides information about the number of prosecutions of landlords instituted by HSE following deaths related to the supply and use of flammable gas.

	Number of cases
1996–97	0
1997–98	4
1998–99	3
1999–2000	5
2000–01	2
2001–02	1
2002–03	0
2003–04 (Provisional)	0

Note:
Data relates to cases under (i) Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 relating to duties owed by employers and the self employed to persons who are not their employees and under (ii) regulations 35 and 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994 and 1998 respectively that place specific duties on landlords and regulation 3(1) of both that relates to the competence of people carrying out gas work. Information from earlier years is not readily available.
Source:
Health and Safety Executive, Safety and Enforcement Statistics

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