| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
11 Oct 2005 : Column 453W—continued
Green Ministers
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the meetings at which his Department has been represented on the delivery of sustainable development across Government as co-ordinated by the Ministerial Sub-committee of Green Ministers. [16193]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Although the Government publish the title, membership and terms of reference of Cabinet Committees, it has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose details of their proceedings.
11 Oct 2005 : Column 454W
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2005, Official Report, column 1672W, on the private finance initiative, what the accounting treatment is of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships; and whether this treatment is compliant with (a) UK generally accepted accounting practices and (b) international financial reporting standards. [16338]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The following table shows how the private finance initiative and public private partnership projects, previously listed in 1672W are accounted for by the Home Office. The balance sheet treatment of our private finance initiative and public private partnership projects are determined by an independent auditor following United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards issued by the independent Accounting Standards Board (ASB). The ASB has a convergence timetable for the adoption of international financial accounting standards, which central Government will follow.
11 Oct 2005 : Column 455W
Private Prisons
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the progress of private prisons in England and Wales in meeting the decency agenda. [14175]
Fiona Mactaggart: Work to assess progress on the decency agenda continues across the prison estate with a number of projects involving consideration of the contracted estate. These include:
A large scale longitudinal survey of prisoners (the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction Survey), which will address decency issues across the estate, including in contracted prisons. Work is scheduled to start by the end of 2005 and it is expected that initial data, particularly on prisoners' experiences of the first few weeks of custody, will be available towards the end of 2006.
A new project, funded by the Home Office, is to be conducted by the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge. This will compare prisoner well-being in private prisons against that in public sector prisons, and those factors which may explain any variance.
Telephone Inquiries
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities his Department has to deal with telephone inquiries in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic. [14733]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is as follows.
(a) The Central Home Office telephone points for the Home Office, including the Immigration and Nationality Department, do not have facilities for handling calls in Welsh. Her Majesty's Prison Service will handle calls in Welsh via their regional office. Any caller contacting the UK Passport Service call centre from a land line in Wales will be offered the option of continuing the call in Welsh or English.
(b) and (c) No part of the Department has facilities to handle telephone calls in Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic.
The Department and its agencies do have approved Welsh Language Schemes.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Adoptions
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assurances she has received regarding the legality of British adoptions in other European Union member states that have ratified the European Convention on the Adoption of Children. [15864]
Maria Eagle:
The 1967 European Convention on the Adoption of Children aims to harmonise the laws in contracting states to promote the welfare of children who are adopted. However, the convention does not provide for international recognition of adoptions made in the UK, or in any other country. Since it is the case that this issue is not covered by any European convention, it remains a matter for each European Union member state which has ratified the convention to decide for itself whether to recognise adoptions made outside its jurisdiction.
11 Oct 2005 : Column 456W
Adult Community Learning
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of the demand for adult community learning. [16723]
Phil Hope: We are committed to safeguarding the continued availability of a wide range of learning opportunities for adults for personal and community development. We said in the White Paper "Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work", published in March this year, that the DfES and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) would agree each year an overall indicative budget for such learning programmes.
We have made no national assessment of demand for adult community learning; at local level it is the LSC's responsibility, with its local stakeholders and providers, to plan provision in the light both of local needs and national priorities.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on funding for adult community Learning in (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07. [16851]
Phil Hope: In funding adult community learning we continue to meet the commitment most recently set out in the White Paper "Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work", published in March this year, that the DfES and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) would agree each year an overall indicative budget for such learning programmes. In 2004/05 nationally we provided over £207 million to the Learning and Skills Council in support of this learning. This has risen to £210 million in 2005/06.
We will make announcements about the budgets for 2006/07 and 2007/08 shortly.
Adult Learning (Essex)
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to ensure that the requirement for adult learning in Essex is met. [16724]
Phil Hope [holding answer 10 October 2005]: We will ensure adult learning provision in Essex is provided through the funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to further education colleges, local authorities and other providers. In 2005/06 we have emphasised our priorities for further education which guarantee a place in education or training for all young people and a focus on support for adults without a solid foundation of employability skills. In 2005/06 total funding for FE will increase by 4.4 per cent. compared to 2004/05. Funding for non-vocational learning opportunities for adults, through the Adult and Community Learning Budget has also increased. In 2004/05 nationally we provided over £207 million to the Learning and Skills Council in support of this learning. This has risen to £210 million in 2005/06.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |