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26 May 2005 : Column 164W—continued
Immigration
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects his office to reach a decision on the case of Ms Alexis Perreira in respect of her application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. [416]
Mr. McNulty: A decision to regularise Ms Perreira's immigration status in the United Kingdom was taken on the 23 May 2005.
Stephen Byers:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will issue a letter confirming her status to Mrs. Maliheh Sadeghi Boroujerdi, of Newcastle, following the decision of the Immigration
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Appeal Tribunal of 2 February (appeal no. TH/07220/2004) not to grant the Secretary of State permission to appeal against the earlier decision of the adjudicator. [831]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 24 May 2005]: Mrs. Boroujerdi's representative was contacted on 23 May to request the necessary documentation. Her status will be confirmed as soon as the correct documentation has been received.
Mr. Hugh Hickson
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the case of Mr. Hugh Hickson, formerly of the Prison Service, referred to in the letter of 4 April from the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. [449]
Fiona Mactaggart: Mr Hickson took his grievance to an employment tribunal, which found against him in September 2004. There was no subsequent appeal to an employment appeals tribunal and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the due process of law in this matter.
Police Service (Modernisation)
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he plans to have with the Police Federation concerning a reform programme for the police service. [562]
Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I regularly meet the chair and other officials of the Police Federation to discuss all topics including police reform.
Police Vehicles
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving police (a) pursuit and (b) patrol cars and drivers and members of the public resulting in serious injuries or death there were in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [99]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 24 May 2005]: Accidents involving pursuit and patrol vehicles are not recorded separately. Figures for road traffic collisions are currently available from 2002–03.
The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving all police forces in England and Wales is provided in the table.
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Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving (a) Kent police and (b) Metropolitan police (i) pursuit and (ii) patrol vehicles and drivers and members of the public resulting in serious injuries or death there were in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [100]
Andy Burnham: Accidents involving pursuit and patrol vehicles are not recorded separately. Figures for road traffic collisions are currently available from 2002–03.
The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving Kent police and the Metropolitan police is provided in the table.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Afghanistan
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. [888]
Mr. Thomas: The UK has provided over £100 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan since 2001. Afghanistan is gradually moving from being a failed state with urgent humanitarian and relief needs, to a post-conflict state with a growing economy and new state structures in need of sustained support. In response to this process of slow stabilisation, and at the request of the Afghan Government, DFID is increasingly focusing on support to long-term reconstruction and development.
The UK continues to provide some targeted humanitarian support to Afghanistan through international agencies. In 2004–05, DFID gave £2.5 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and £0.5 million to the International Organisation for Migration to help Afghan refugees return to their homes. DFID contributed £3 million to the Afghan Government's drought appeal in September 2004, of which £0.7 million has been reallocated for flood protection following heavy rains in early 2005. Our support to cash for work programmes to help poppy farmers and labourers move to alternative livelihoods (over £20 million in 2005–06) also meets humanitarian needs.
DFID continues to provide substantial multi-annual support to the major multilateral organisations who deliver humanitarian assistance globally. A number of
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these, for example, the UNHCR and the United Nations Children's Fund, are still implementing major humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan.
Darfur
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department has taken in response to the statement by the UN that a rapid deterioration of local coping mechanisms among the local population has taken place in Darfur. [865]
Hilary Benn: The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it will increase its target beneficiaries in Darfur from 2.1 million in April to between 3 and 3.5 million during the July-October hungry season as local coping mechanisms fail. This year as part of its £45 million contribution to humanitarian components of the UN 2005 Workplan for Sudan, DFID has provided £11 million to the WFP across Sudan and £1.2 million to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's programme to increase agricultural and pastoral production in Darfur. DFID has also contributed £5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, who are delivering food aid to 320,000 people in less accessible Darfur communities.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the physical security conditions for humanitarian operations in Darfur. [866]
Hilary Benn: While the security situation is relatively calm in Darfur, banditry is now the biggest security threat to humanitarian operations there. On several occasions during April, clearly marked humanitarian vehicles came under fire, causing the serious injury of one humanitarian worker and considerable damage. Intimidation of humanitarian workers including United Nations personnel throughout April was reported in the UN Secretary-General's April report to the Security Council. This has continued in May: in South Darfur, two truck drivers, contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP), were shot and killed by unidentified attackers on 8 May; and five Sudanese NGO workers were detained by the Sudanese Liberation Army on 11 May.
Developing Nations (Aid)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms are in place to ensure co-ordination between countries which give aid to developing nations; and if he will make a statement. [522]
Hilary Benn:
Donor co-ordination takes place at a number of levels: internationally, regionally and within partner countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is the main international forum for bilateral donors to discuss co-operation and increased effectiveness of development assistance. As well as annual high-level meetings for heads and deputy heads of development agencies, there are a number of working parties and groups dealing with specific subject areas.
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The Paris High Level Forum in March this year brought together Ministers, heads of aid agencies and other senior officials from 60 partner countries, bilateral donors and the main multilateral institutions, to agree ways of making aid more effective. The Paris Declaration is the best statement yet of internationally agreed best practice on aid effectiveness with around 50 commitments, plus indicators and targets, to improve country ownership and donor harmonisation and alignment.
The EU also provides a mechanism to increase coordination and harmonisation among member states. Last year the EU agreed an Action Plan on Harmonisation which included measures to improve co-ordination of EU development assistance at country level. The World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring and annual meetings also provide an opportunity for donors to coordinate policy on aid and development.
There are also co-ordination mechanisms at regional level. For example the Strategic Partnership for Africa seeks to support poverty reduction in Africa by increasing the quality and quantity of aid.
At country level the World Bank led Consultative Groups review overall progress on poverty reduction and donor commitments to help governments achieve their poverty reduction objectives. The development of Poverty Reduction Strategy papers or similar national development strategies provides an opportunity for developing countries to coordinate donor support. In some countries partner governments lead donor co-ordination processes aimed at improving the overall coherence of donor support (for example, the Government of Tanzania are leading a joint assistance strategy). In some countries, donors have begun to undertake joint strategic planning. For example, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and DFID are developing a joint plan in Cambodia. There are also sector co-ordination processes in many countries particularly in health and education where many donors are present.
DFID is working hard to improve the effectiveness of co-ordination and to increase developing country voice at all these levels. A principal concern is that there is no international forum in which total aid allocations to each country are reviewed. We believe that this results in some countries consistently receiving less than their fair share of aid.
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