House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 6 Mar 2006 (pt 14)

6 Mar 2006 : Column 1117W—continued

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Tanzania

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been allocated to the Government of Tanzania for 2006–07. [55460]

Hilary Benn: DFID has allocated £115 million of bilateral development assistance to Tanzania in the financial year of 2006–07. Of this, £90 million will be provided directly to the Government of Tanzania in the form of budget support.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Saints' Days

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what special arrangements are made by the Refreshment Department to mark (a) St George's Day, (b) St David's Day, (c) St Andrew's Day and (d) St Patrick's Day. [56488]

Nick Harvey: The Refreshment Department regularly runs special promotions in some or all of its restaurants and bars. These may be run as part of a national campaign, such as the 'Fairtrade Fortnight' to be celebrated 06–19 March 2006, or in response to consumer interest in a particular type of product or food, such as the 'Healthy Eating Awareness Day' held in Portcullis House in January, or to mark a special occasion, such as the celebration of a national saint's day.

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The decision as to whether to mark a particular national saints' day depends on a number of factors, including whether the House will be sitting on that day, and whether there are any competing bids for special promotions to run at the same time.

This year, St David's day was marked by serving Welsh dishes and products in the cafeterias and Members' Dining Room. A selection of Welsh cheeses was served throughout the week, Penderyn Welsh Whisky was offered for tasting in the Members' Dining Room, and Brains' Bitter, brewed in Cardiff, is the Regional Ale being served throughout March in the Strangers' Bar.

There are no plans to mark St George's day this year, as it falls on a Sunday, nor are there plans to mark St Patrick's day, which falls during the Fairtrade Fortnight. No plans have yet been made for promotions to be mounted in the autumn, so no decision has yet been reached about St Andrew's day on 30 November 2006.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent by the Cabinet Office on media training in each year since 1997–98. [55222]

Mr. Jim Murphy: The information requested is not collected centrally.

All Cabinet Office Units have delegated responsibility for spend against their training budgets. There has been no centrally organised media training for Cabinet Office staff.

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The National School for Government (NSG) deliver courses related to media training. These courses are open to all civil servants.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Anti-poverty Strategy

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he plans to publish the anti-poverty strategy. [54850]

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Angela E. Smith: The Government plans to publish its strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion later this year.

Child Care

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many child care places there are in each ward in Northern Ireland. [55544]

Mr. Woodward: Information on childcare places is not collected according to ward in Northern Ireland. The information is, however, available according to Health and Social Services Trust area, and is shown in the following table in respect of the number of registered places at 31 March 2005.

Places available with:

Health and Social Services Trust Day nurseries Child-minders Playgroups Out of school clubs Holiday schemes⁽²²⁾ Total

North and West Belfast 717 1,024 1,264 941 77 4,023

South and East Belfast 1,994 2,280 1,286 772 404 6,736

Ulster 772 2,188 1,283 198 65 4,506

Down Lisburn 741 2,439 1,370 520 211 5,281

Causeway 437 1,692 854 487 0 3,470

Homefirst 2,080 4,485 2,517 864 140 10,086

Armagh and Dungannon 322 899 936 436 108 2,701

Craigavon and Banbridge 801 1,014 786 674 486 3,761

Newry and Mourne 364 130 740 265 332 1,831

Foyle 501 960 1,447 549 0 3,457

Sperrin Lakeland 468 954 1,287 582 0 3,291

Northern Ireland Total 9,197 18,065 13,770 6,288 1,823 49,143

⁽²²⁾ Information on holiday schemes relates to the number of places in schemes open at any time during the year ending 31 March 2005.

	Places available with:
Health and Social Services Trust	Day nurseries	Child-minders	Playgroups	Out of school clubs	Holiday schemes⁽²²⁾	Total
North and West Belfast	717	1,024	1,264	941	77	4,023
South and East Belfast	1,994	2,280	1,286	772	404	6,736
Ulster	772	2,188	1,283	198	65	4,506
Down Lisburn	741	2,439	1,370	520	211	5,281
Causeway	437	1,692	854	487	0	3,470
Homefirst	2,080	4,485	2,517	864	140	10,086
Armagh and Dungannon	322	899	936	436	108	2,701
Craigavon and Banbridge	801	1,014	786	674	486	3,761
Newry and Mourne	364	130	740	265	332	1,831
Foyle	501	960	1,447	549	0	3,457
Sperrin Lakeland	468	954	1,287	582	0	3,291
Northern Ireland Total	9,197	18,065	13,770	6,288	1,823	49,143

Civil Servants (Travel Costs)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of official air travel for civil servants employed in each Department in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years. [53145]

Angela E. Smith: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

However, information pertaining to the period from 1 October 2004 to 20 February 2006 is available and is provided in the following table.

Department 2004⁽²³⁾ 2005⁽²⁴⁾ 2006⁽²⁵⁾

Department of Finance and Personnel⁽²⁶⁾ 80,355 300,254 31,472

Department of Employment and Learning⁽²⁶⁾ 15,464 154,045 3,691

Department for Regional Development⁽²⁶⁾ 79,809 421,670 39,518

Department of Education⁽²⁶⁾ 12,664 42,062 1,306

Department for Social Development⁽²⁶⁾ 105,369 430,150 34,319

Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety⁽²⁶⁾ 70,122 257,852 26,951

Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment⁽²⁶⁾ 95,672 346,714 30,115

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure⁽²⁶⁾ 17,504 81,007 9,919

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development⁽²⁶⁾ 86,930 317,533 20,675

Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister⁽²⁶⁾ 46,017 157,245 12,074

Northern Ireland Office 385,624 1,568,503 245,008

⁽²³⁾ October to December.
2 January to December.
3 January to 20 February.
4 These figures relate only to flights booked through Northern Ireland civil service contracted travel agency service since 1 October 2004 when the current contract commenced. They do not include any journeys undertaken that were booked through other channels as this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Department	2004⁽²³⁾	2005⁽²⁴⁾	2006⁽²⁵⁾
Department of Finance and Personnel⁽²⁶⁾	80,355	300,254	31,472
Department of Employment and Learning⁽²⁶⁾	15,464	154,045	3,691
Department for Regional Development⁽²⁶⁾	79,809	421,670	39,518
Department of Education⁽²⁶⁾	12,664	42,062	1,306
Department for Social Development⁽²⁶⁾	105,369	430,150	34,319
Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety⁽²⁶⁾	70,122	257,852	26,951
Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment⁽²⁶⁾	95,672	346,714	30,115
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure⁽²⁶⁾	17,504	81,007	9,919
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development⁽²⁶⁾	86,930	317,533	20,675
Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister⁽²⁶⁾	46,017	157,245	12,074
Northern Ireland Office	385,624	1,568,503	245,008

The Northern Ireland Office figure reflects the need for regular travel between the London and Belfast offices in connection with the range of official duties.

Dangerous Wild Animals

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 to Northern Ireland. [55153]

Angela E. Smith: A Commencement Order has to be made before the Dangerous Wild Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 comes into force and it is expected that this will be made later in 2006.

Article 9 of the Order makes provision for a 'Surrender Period' during which a keeper of a Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) can give up their ownership to the Department of the Environment. In such circumstances the Department must have safe holding facilities in place to accept and house such animals while attempts are made to re-home them.

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Article 6 will give the Department the powers to seize DWAs should the owners be in breach of licence conditions. Again holding facilities are required to hold DWAs in safety while attempts to re-home the animals are made.

In the operation of this legislation the health and safety of the public is paramount while the welfare of the animals must be considered at all times. The Department is currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with a potential provider of a DWA holding service. The breadth of species listed in the Schedule of the Order requires a range of facilities to cater for the special needs of these creatures. It is expected that these negotiations will be completed shortly and the facilities will be developed to allow for the making of the Commencement Order.

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