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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 2 March 2005
WALES
Police and Community Support Officers
9. Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment he has made of the numbers of police officers and community support officers in Wales. [218074]
Mr. Touhig: This Government have delivered record police numbers to Wales. There were 7,448 police officers at the end of September 2004, an increase of 856, or around 13 per cent., since March 1997. Funding is now in place for nearly 300 community support officers.
13. Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the numbers of police officers and community support officers in Wales. [218078]
Mr. Touhig: This Government have delivered record police numbers to Wales. There were 7,448 police officers at the end of September 2004, an increase of 856, or around 13 per cent., since March 1997. Funding is now in place for nearly 300 Community Support Officers.
Child Poverty
10. Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment he has made of measures to address child poverty in (a) Wales and (b) Ogmore. [218075]
Mr. Touhig: This Labour Government are delivering on their promise to tackle child poverty:
I can tell my hon. Friend that in his constituency, 6,000 families benefited from the child tax credit.
National Assembly
11. Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to increase the scope of the powers of the National Assembly for Wales. [218076]
Mr. Hain:
The Government of Wales Act 1998 provides for the transfer of additional functions to the National Assembly for Wales; other functions can be and have been transferred by primary legislation. Examples are responsibility for animal health by order under section 22 of the Government of Wales Act; responsibility for the Fire Service in the Fire Services and Rescue Act 2004 and responsibility for CAFCASS in the Children Act 2004.
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Public Service Broadcasting
12. Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the Ofcom report on public service broadcasting in Wales. [218077]
Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues about matters affecting Wales. Ofcom's report addresses the changes necessary to protect Public Service Broadcasting in the run up to the digital age, and in particular in maintaining the plurality of service in the nations and regions.
Coal Health Claims Monitoring Group
14. Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the Welsh sub-group of the coal health claims monitoring group last met; and what progress was reported on payments under the scheme. [218079]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Monitoring Group met on Monday 24 January 2005 and reported progress for the whole of Wales showing that by mid January, a total of over £462 million had been paid out in Wales under both schemes.
This figure has since increased by over £5 million bringing the total to over £467 million under both schemes.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Advertising
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many advertising contracts, and to what value, were signed by his Department in the periods (a) 1 September 2004 to 1 March 2005 and (b) 1 September 2003 to 1March 2004, broken down by (i) television, (ii) radio, (iii) press, (iv) direct mail and (v) other advertising. [219353]
Hilary Benn: DFID has only one advertising contract. This contract has been in place since 22 October 2001 and was extended for a further 12 months in November 2004. Under the terms of the contract no fee is levied on DFID for the services provided by the advertising agency. They negotiate fees on a commission basis with the media. The placement of adverts is agreed by DFID.
Asian Tsunami
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has had discussions with the governments of the tsunami-affected countries about the representation of women on their tsunami reconstruction panels and task forces. [218515]
Hilary Benn:
I have not had any discussions with the governments of tsunami-affected countries specifically about the representations of women on tsunami reconstruction panels and task forces. However, the Department for International Development (DFID) is working to ensure that the international response to the tsunami, which is being led by the affected Governments and international organisations such as the UN and the
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Asian Development Bank (ADB), focus on helping the poorest people and those often marginalised because of gender, caste, age, ethnicity or religion.
For example, donors and the Government of Sri Lanka have agreed a set of Guiding Principles for post-tsunami relief and recovery. These provide the framework for all Government and donor initiatives and stipulate that the allocation of resources should be strictly guided by identified needs and local priorities, without discrimination on the basis of political, religious, ethnic or gender considerations. The taskforces will include Government, civil society, private sector and donor representatives and will reflect gender concerns. In India, we are actively engaging with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to ensure that social inclusion and gender issues are central to the reconstruction and livelihoods work that they will be funding.
Bangladesh
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which civil society organisations in Bangladesh are supported by UK-funded aid programmes. [218630]
Hilary Benn: Department for International Development (DFID)'s Country Assistance Plan (CAP) 2003–06 to Bangladesh, emphasises access for the poor to resources and services, and the realisation of their rights. In working to achieve this, approximately 40 per cent. of DFID Bangladesh's programme is channelled through civil society organisations (CSO)—both through direct grants and indirectly through grants issued by DFID funded organisations, agencies and through large sector programmes. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also supports some CSOs through their Small Grants Scheme (SGS).
Some examples of Bangladesh CSOs funded by DFID are:
Bangladesh Rural Advance Committee (BRAG) (£64 million over 13 years)-Specific BRAG programmes improving the quality of education and livelihoods of the poor.
Nijera Kori (£5 million over 7 years)—An organisation lobbying to give poor people better access to decision making processes, resources and services.
Transparency International Bangladesh Chapter (TIB) (£4 million over 5 years)—Working towards increased citizens' demand for transparency in public, non-profit and private sectors.
Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) (£3 million over 5 years)—Providing legal services and advocacy for greater access to justice.
CARE Bangladesh (£22 million over 12 years)—Enhancing livelihood security of poor people and improving the ability of public and private sectors to deliver more financial services them. Improving the quality and coverage of sustainable HIV/Aids programmes nationwide.
Action Aid (£2 million over 10 years)—Increasing literacy rates and problem-solving skills, particularly for women.
Friends in Village Development in Bangladesh (FIVDB) (£2 million over 7 years)—improving the quality of primary education through action learning.
Under Privileged Children's Education Programme (UCEP) (£5 million over 3 years)—Giving urban working and underprivileged children access to basic education and skills training.
DFID funds umbrella organisations that provide grants to smaller size CSOs/NGOs, for example Manusher Jonno (£14 million over 5 years) which provides grants to CSOs demanding better human rights and governance.
In response to the 2004 floods in Bangladesh, DFID channelled funds to national and international NGOs in Bangladesh through United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) (£15 million) and World Food Programme (WFP)(£10 million).
Several CSOs are funded through the central DFID Civil Society Challenge Fund and through regional and global Partnership Programme Agreements (PPAs) with international NGOs that have representation in Bangladesh.
Some examples of CSOs funded by the FCO SGS are:
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