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Written Ministerial Statements
Wednesday 22 June 2005
DEFENCE
Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Don Touhig): Subsequent to a proposal by the agency's owner, the Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, I have today set the 2005–06 key targets for the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency (NRTA) as follows:
To deliver RN personnel to the trained strength (or to other training organisations), to the required quality standard, within 5 per cent. variance from the tasked requirement.
To maintain success rates of 95 per cent. in career training (including targeted employment modules) and 97 per cent. in examined pre-joining training.
To achieve net benefits of £15.9 million in FY 2005–06 from the partnering arrangement with Flagship Training Ltd.
To improve to 102 the index of performance in phase 2 and phase 3 training delivered to Army and Royal Air Force personnel in the Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Local Area Agreements
The Minister for Local Government (Mr. Phil Woolas): I am today announcing the rollout of local area agreements (LAAs) to all local areas in England. LAAs are three-year agreements that set out the priorities for a local area agreed between central Government, represented by the Government office, and a local area, represented by the local authority and local strategic partnership (LSP) and other key partners at local level. LAAs represent a new approach to improve co-ordination and partnership working between central Government and local authorities and their partners, working through the LSP.
LAAs were piloted with 21 areas last year. Some 66 areas have been selected to negotiate their LAA this year. These agreements will come into effect in April 2006. These areas are listed in a table entitled "Local area agreements—areas participating in summer 2005". Of these, 13 will be able to operate a single LAA pot. These areas are listed in a table entitled "Single pot local area agreement". Single pot LAAs will have freedom to spend any funding on the achievement of any of the outcomes that have been agreed as part of the LAA. All remaining areas will be eligible to agree LAAs during 2006–07 with an April 2007 start date.
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Both tables "Local area agreements—areas participating in summer 2005" and "Single pot local area agreement" are available in the Libraries of both Houses and on the ODPM website: www.odpm.gov.uk.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Bangladesh (Rural Electrification)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas): On 7 June 2005, I approved a grant of £50 million for rural electrification in Bangladesh which will help to connect over one million households and businesses to electricity supplies in underserved areas of the country.
At present, only 25 per cent. of the rural population of Bangladesh has electricity and frequently the poor are left out. We will support a micro credit programme that will ensure that poorer people can afford the costs of connection and take up new income generating activities. The benefits of rural electricity include new jobs, better schools and health services and an improved quality of life.
The Rural Electrification Board, which will undertake the construction work, has an excellent reputation for efficiency and effectiveness. Local electricity cooperatives manage the service at the district level. The DFID programme will help improve their performance by funding training for directors and members.
Indonesia and Sri Lanka (Post-Tsunami Reconstruction)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas): Last week I visited Indonesia (Jakarta and Banda Aceh) and Sri Lanka (Colombo, Ampara in the east and Galle in the south) to track progress in post-tsunami reconstruction; assess our and the wider UK NGO response; and investigate the impact on peace processes.
Immediate humanitarian relief has been generally effective. The UK's contribution has helped to save lives by preventing disease, providing water and sanitation and temporary shelter. The UN, NGOs and military are widely considered to have done a good job in the first few weeks as the enormity of the disaster became clear. But the problems caused by sheer scale of the disaster, numbers of dead, the lack of NGO or UN staff on the ground in Banda Aceh before the tsunami due to the conflict and the logistical difficulties cannot be overstated.
The Government have reorganised so the transition from relief to reconstruction is led by the Aceh reconstruction agency (BRR). I discussed the scale of the reconstruction challenge with Mr. Pak Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (head of the BRR) and how donors can assist BRR's efforts to improve supplies, housing and infrastructure rebuilding amongst other areas, as well as measures to prevent corruption. The UK has provided approximately £7 million in support of BRR so far, and I announced a further £30 million to be made available from within the £65 million for reconstruction that we set aside in February.
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After a break following the tsunami, the conflict has worsened with almost daily reports of fighting between GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) and Government forces. The tsunami has, however, helped to kick-start new negotiations facilitated by the Finnish Government. There are encouraging signs of progress. Through our presidency of the EU we will continue to support this process.
Much has been achieved by the relief effort so far that benefited from a huge and more immediate influx of NGO and international support: 30,000 transitional homes constructed so far; of 182 schools damaged, contracts have been signed to rebuild 176; 95 per cent. of children affected by the tsunami are now back at school; and roads, railways and electricity supplies (where they existed) have been restored. The major area lagging now we are in the recovery phase is livelihoods, which is being addressed now, with funds to rebuild and recapitalise the fishing industry (the main livelihood of those affected) and micro-credit becoming available, although coordination issues remain.
Broadly speaking the transition to reconstruction has begun in fuller force than in Indonesia. Industry is expected to have recovered by the end of the year. Reconstruction needs as identified by the international financial institutions are fully financed by donors, (expected cost $2 billion: pledges from donors and NGOs exceeding $3 billion). I have specifically requested assurances from Government that debt relief resources (including £41 million from the UK Government) and sufficient counterpart funding on the Government side be channelled through the budget and spent on tsunami-related reconstruction activities.
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A major constraint to faster progress is the lack of land for permanently resettling tsunami displaced persons. There is a Government proposal to forbid any rebuilding within a designated "buffer zone" stretching 100–200 metres from the sea. I raised concerns over the robustness of the rationale for this with the Government of Sri Lanka, given the large number of family homes, schools and clinics within the zone, affecting more than 70,000 people. I received reassurances that the buffer zone will be implemented in a flexible way depending on local circumstances, and improved consultation mechanisms are being put in place.
Inevitably assistance is reaching some communities more quickly than others, but the context of the conflict makes this hugely significant. In the north and east areas contested by the LTTE, much assistance is through NGOs and the UN and progress has been slower than in some parts of the south due in part to relatively little private sector funds and poor infrastructure. Perceptions that assistance is being inequitably delivered continue. For this reason, the joint mechanism (GoSL/LTTE/Muslim) that should facilitate bilateral donor funding to the north-east is hugely significant as providing the first framework for a long time within which dialogue between the parties could take place. Further work to finalise the agreement and to put it to a parliamentary debate is expected this month. If it can be established then the UK Government stand ready to provide support as needed.
The area remains disaster-prone. We have allocated £7.5 million for disaster risk reduction measures. This will support community level work to raise awareness of danger signals from early warning systems and ensure they know how to respond to best protect themselves and their families.