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10 Oct 2006 : Column 667W—continued
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that statistics are collected by sex, ethnicity, location and severity of their needs on (a) pupils with statements and (b) pupils with special educational needs but without statements. [90266]
Mr. Dhanda: Information on the characteristics of pupils with special educational needs is collected via the Department’s Schools’ Census (SC). The pupil characteristic data collected via SC include indicators relating to gender, ethnic group, home postcode, type of special educational need and whether the pupil is supported through a statement or at “School Action or School Action Plus”. The latest Statistical First Release on Special Educational Needs was published in June 2006 and is available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000661/SFR23-2006v2.pdf
Local authority level data on pupils with special educational needs have also been published on the Department’s Research and Statistics Gateway at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000661/index.shtml
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mainstream schools did not have a special educational needs co-ordinator in post on 1 September in (a) Gravesham, (b) Kent and (c) England. [92435]
Mr. Dhanda: This information is not collected centrally. Under the Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations 1999, the governing body of every maintained school must publish prescribed information, including the name of the person who is responsible for co-ordinating the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), whether or not the person is known as the SEN co-ordinator.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental Budget
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what areas of his Department’s budget are being reduced in 2006-07. [92340]
Barry Gardiner: DEFRA has faced a number of budgetary pressures this year estimated to be in the region of £200 million. In order to accommodate these pressures all areas of the Department’s spend have been subject to rigorous scrutiny as part of a budget review. The review was comprehensive in nature and has ensured that DEFRA’s funding for the current year is placed where it can have the greatest impact. The overall budget for the Department remains unchanged and will be subject to the normal parliamentary approval and scrutiny.
Departmental Offices (Guildford)
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 439W, on departmental offices (Guildford), whether a recommendation has been made to the Management Board on the review of the offices at Epsom Road, Merrow, Guildford; and when he expects a decision to be made by the Management Board on the future of the Guildford site. [91807]
Barry Gardiner: A recommendation has not yet been made to the Management Board as the review of the offices at Epsom Road has not yet been finalised. The review is anticipated to be completed by the end of October and at that time a recommendation based on the review and consultations with key stakeholders will be made to Management Board.
Departmental Speech Publications
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many copies of his speech at the Royal Show on 3 July were distributed by post; and what was the total cost of this initiative. [92456]
Barry Gardiner: The speech, “One Planet Farming—Towards a shared agenda for the future of farming”, was sent to 53,000 farmers. The total cost of the typesetting and print of the document was £10,490 excluding VAT. It was distributed by post with the British Farmer and Grower publication by the NFU, at no additional cost to DEFRA.
Regulation (Full Cost Recovery)
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the cost to the Environment Agency of the exemption given to the policy of full cost recovery for regulation to farming. [90448]
Barry Gardiner: There is no general exemption given to the policy of full cost recovery for the environmental regulation enforced by the Environment Agency (EA) that applies to agriculture.
In general, the legislation across all industries that involves permits, licences, consents or authorisations provides for charges to be made; other rule-based regulation, which makes general provisions for all (rather than requiring a site-specific approach) does not. A significant part of farm regulation is based on rule-based legislation. The EA's work on rule-based regulation is generally funded by Grant in Aid (GiA).
There are three areas where special arrangements have been made for the agriculture sector relating to charges. All these originate from the Action Plan for Farming 2000 . They are:
“The waiving of charges for groundwater authorisations from their initial implementation until they were reinstated after four years in 2005. In this case the shortfall in charges replaced by GiA was of the order of £1 million per annum.
The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 (Agricultural Waste Regulations) which came into force on 15 May 2006. The Action Plan for Farming (2000) included a Government commitment that registration of exemptions for the agriculture sector would not be chargeable. No estimate on the cost to the EA is available. The Environment Agency and DEFRA are exploring low cost approaches to achieve the desired environmental outcomes in this area.
The Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 which require that intensive livestock installations of relevant size thresholds hold a permit. The Action Plan for Farming included a commitment that application and subsistence
charges for permits for the intensive livestock sector should be as low as possible. The Environment Agency, in consultation with DEFRA and industry organisations, has developed a low cost approach to PPC for the intensive livestock sector consistent with the lower charges.”
Rural Payments Agency
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) budget allocation and (b) actual expenditure of the Rural Payments Agency was in each year since 2000. [91301]
Barry Gardiner: The gross running costs and budget allocation associated with the administration of the payments by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) since its formation in October 2001 are listed in the following table.
| £ million | ||
| Actuals | Budget | |
The above costs associated for 2003-04 were prior to re-statement which occurred as a result the merger of a division of DEFRA into RPA.
Slaughterhouses
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what security is provided for brain stem samples, taken under the sampling procedures in place since the removal of the over 30 month bovines ban, in the time between sampling and despatch to the testing laboratory; [91386]
(2) which agency is responsible for carrying out and collecting brain stem samples under the sampling procedures introduced following the lifting of the ban on over 30 month bovines entering the human food chain. [91388]
Barry Gardiner: The taking of brain stem samples and their subsequent packaging, despatch and transportation to the laboratory is the responsibility of the slaughterhouse operator. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) carry out periodic checks on the sampling and packaging process.
New controls are being introduced to strengthen arrangements to ensure the authenticity of any sample taken. These include (i) notification to the MHS when slaughterhouse staff are trained using brain stems from cattle aged under 30 months; (ii) MHS supervision of the destruction of these samples; (iii) monitoring by MHS of the sealing of biohazard bags containing samples; (iv) the introduction of a unique serial number for such bags; (v) and the introduction of tamper-evident sample pots.
Terrorism
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautionary protective measures have been taken to secure food stocks against an agro-terrorist attack. [92389]
Barry Gardiner: It is not Government policy to publicise the detail of such measures. However, I can confirm that DEFRA works closely with the food industry, the Food Standards Agency and other parts of the Government to anticipate threats, and to assist the food industry in taking measures to reduce the risk from agro-terrorism.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government hope to achieve in Afghanistan over the next three years; and what yardsticks will be used to assess (a) progress and (b) success. [92128]
Dr. Howells: The UK, along with the Afghan Government and our international partners, is committed to a secure, stable and democratic Afghanistan. The framework to achieve this is set out in the Afghanistan Compact, agreed and adopted in London in January 2006. The Compact provides a clear framework for progress, measured against a series of benchmarks. Under the Afghanistan Compact, a Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) has been established to oversee strategic co-ordination of the implementation of the Compact. The JCMB provides regular public reports on progress made against the benchmarks and is the apparatus by which the international community, including the UK, will measure success in Afghanistan. A copy of the Afghanistan Compact has been placed in the Library of the House and is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at http://www.fco.gov.uk/serv1et/Front?pagename=Open Market/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=l134650705195.
In addition, the Enduring Relationship Declaration, agreed between the UK and Afghanistan in July 2005 provides for an annual review of goals and priorities, as well as a strategic review of future co-operation in 2015. A copy of this has also been placed in the Library of the House.
Burma
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what powers are available to the Government to require disclosure of which companies are importing what goods from Burma. [92326]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
Council Regulation EEC 2913/92 and its implementing provisions Commission Regulation 2454/93, require all goods being imported into the United Kingdom from a third country to make a customs declaration. The
declaration must include details of the origin of the goods, a description of the goods and the name and address of the importer.
Goods cannot be entered into free circulation without the submission of a customs declaration and subsequent clearance by Customs. There are both civil and criminal sanctions for incorrect or false information provided in a customs declaration.
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will require companies importing goods from Burma to label them as such. [92327]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
All importers are required under European Community legislation to declare the country of origin of goods on the import Customs declaration.
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to prevent British dependent territories being used to channel inappropriate investments into Burma. [92329]
Dr. Howells: The British Overseas Territories have the responsibility for ensuring that companies based in their territories do not invest in the Burmese state-owned enterprises named in The Burma (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2004 (Statutory Instruments (SI 2004/1979) and The Burma (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2004 (SI 2004/3333). These two orders prohibit, amongst other things, making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to the extensive list of individuals listed under Council Common Position 2004/423/CFSP. The orders also ban, with certain exemptions, new investment in listed Burmese state-owned enterprises. These orders do not however apply in Bermuda and Gibraltar. In the case of Gibraltar, the EU Common Position is applied through Gibraltar's Export Control (Sanctions, etc) Orders 2005 and 2006, and the Burma, Freezing of Funds and Economic Resources, (no.2) Regulations 2005. The Government of Bermuda has not yet implemented the necessary legislation, but we are discussing this with them. We have seen no evidence that investments covered by the EU Common Position have been successfully routed through any of the Overseas Territories.
Cambodia
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the passing of the proposed law imposing a prison term for adultery in Cambodia on human rights in that country. [92117]
Dr. Howells:
We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Cambodia. It is too early to make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed law criminalising adultery. However, our Embassy in Phnom Penh has raised our concerns with the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The Minister has indicated that she, along with most women in Cambodia, also has some concerns about some aspects
of the law, which she intends to address in a meeting with law experts, leading donors and non-governmental organisations.
Chad
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she is planning to make representations to the World Bank arguing that loans should be halted to Chad following the expulsion of Chevron and Petronas. [92134]
Dr. Howells: We have no plans to make representations to the World Bank. Chad has not implemented its threat to expel Chevron and Petronas since both have now settled the disputed tax payments. Both companies are now free to resume operations in Chad.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of President Deby's decision to expel Chevron and Petronas from Chad. [92135]
Dr. Howells: Both companies will remain in operation in Chad, as a result of their settling the disputed tax payments. We look to host Government authorities to put in place fair and transparent tax regulations and to have proportionate systems of redress should such regulations be violated.
Child Soldiers
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that UNSCR 1612 is effective in preventing the continued recruitment of child soldiers around the world. [90184]
Mr. Hoon: Child rights are one of the top three human rights priorities for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. An important focus is the issue of children affected by armed conflict, including the recruitment of children into armed forces and armed groups. The UK supported the establishment of a UN monitoring and reporting mechanism on this issue and is actively involved in the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, established by UN Security Council Resolution 1612, to follow up reports from this mechanism. The UK welcomes the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict to advocate the rights of children affected by armed conflict. The UK encourages all states who have not yet signed or ratified the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts to do so as soon as possible.
Ministers and officials have made representations on this issue. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney), raised our concerns on a number of issues in Burma including the recruitment of child soldiers with the Burmese ambassador in London in June, and in writing to the Burmese Foreign Minister in July. During 2005, officials were active in a series of EU démarches in countries where the use of child soldiers
is a particular problem, such as Burundi, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nepal, Sudan and Uganda. The UK has also sought to ensure that disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes are sustainable and make appropriate provision for the particular needs of children. This has included specific assistance in a number of the countries listed—for example, the Ministry of Defence’s assistance in reforming recruiting practices in the Sierra Leone army.
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