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18 Dec 2006 : Column 1503W—continued

Departmental Expenditure

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on recruitment advertising in each of the last three years. [105229]

Paul Goggins: Detailed in the table are the total amounts spent on recruitment advertising in the NIO Core Department during the calendar years 2004to 2006.

Spend on recruitment advertising (£)

2004

159,956

2005

74,544

2006 (to date)

40,204


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Homelessness

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland who are classed as homeless are in employment; and what accommodation facilities are available for those people. [110071]

Mr. Hanson: The information cannot be provided in the format requested as information regarding the employment status of homeless applicants is not readily available. The employment status has no bearing on the assessment of homelessness or the type of assistance, including accommodation, that can be provided.

At 14 December 2006 there were 9,546 homeless full duty applicants on the waiting list of which 6,692 applicants were awarded full duty status this financial year (since April 2006).

The temporary accommodation supply available to the Housing Executive, with regard to provision for the homeless is as follows:

Sector Number Units (houses/flats) Bed spaces

Housing Executive hostels

23

206

693

Voluntary sector hostels

71

1,272

Self contained properties (houses/flats)

552

1,800

Bed and breakfast/houses in multiple occupation

42

397

688

4,162


Social Fund

Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many community care grants from the Social Fund were awarded in each of the26 district council areas in each of the last three years. [110088]

Mr. Hanson: It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested as Social Fund data cannot be broken down by district council. The following table shows the number of community care grants from the Social Fund that were awarded in each of the six social security districts in each of the last three years.

District 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

North

4,285

3,673

3,765

South

4,741

4,314

4,133

East Down

3,801

3,687

3,652

West

5,922

5,960

5,912

Belfast North and East Antrim

4,912

4,826

5,062

Belfast West and Lisburn

5,089

5,035

5,718

Total

28,750

27,495

28,242


18 Dec 2006 : Column 1505W

Water and Sewage Services

Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the domestic rate in Northern Ireland is used to fund water and sewage services. [110170]

Mr. Hanson: The regional rate is an un-hypothecated tax and is not allocated to specific areas of expenditure, but instead contributes to the overall resources available to the Secretary of State to allocate to regional public services in Northern Ireland.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Afghanistan

Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2006, Official Report, column 239W, on Afghanistan, when she expects the first annual review of the Enduring Relationship Declaration between the UK and Afghanistan to be concluded; and if she will place a copy of the review in the Library upon completion. [104852]

Margaret Beckett: To allow for full consultation with the Afghan Government, the first annual review of the Enduring Relationship Declaration between the UK and Afghanistan will be completed by the end of January 2007. The review, in the form of the Enduring Relationship Action Plan, will be published and a copy placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to her answer of 27 November 2006, Official Report, column 479-80W, on Pakistan, how many Taliban members were extradited to Afghanistan from Pakistan in each year since January 2003. [104854]

Margaret Beckett: Media reports and our contacts with the Government of Pakistan suggest that Pakistan continues to arrest and return to Afghanistan people that they suspect to have links with the Taliban and militancy against UK and International Security Assistance Force forces in Afghanistan. We do not have records for numbers of Taliban members extradited to Afghanistan by the Pakistani authorities. As he discussed with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 19 November 2006, President Musharraf is committed to combating the Taliban and al- Qaeda in Pakistan.

Antananarivo

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the effect on her Department's costs has been of the closure of the British embassy in Antananarivo in 2005; and how much income was received from the sale of the embassy (a) property and (b) chattels. [109082]


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Mr. Hoon: Following the closure of the embassy in 2005, the combined savings from our running, staff and programme costs amount to approximately £679,000 a year.

The residence was sold for £265,000 in November 2005. All other properties, including the office, were leased.

Antiques and Works of Art

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what items were included under the heading Antiques and Works of Art in Table 11 of her Department's Annual Report 2006; what the 10 most expensive purchases were in this category during the period covered by the report; and if she will make a statement. [109386]

Mr. Hoon: The value of the Antiques and Worksof Art held by the Foreign and CommonwealthOffice (FCO), and referred to in Table 11 of theFCO's Annual Report 2006 was £19.84 million on31 March 2006. These include antique furniture, rugs, silverware, works of art, chandeliers and other items. No purchases of items in this category (over £3,000) were made during the period covered by the report.

Bangladesh

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Bangladesh authorities on the level of violence in that country. [110245]

Dr. Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) on 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 68-69W.

BBC World Service

Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries are covered by the BBC World Service. [108158]

Mr. Hoon: BBC World Service (BBCWS) categorises its services by regions and languages rather than individual countries as, by their very nature, broadcasting signals do not stop at national boundaries. The BBCWS’s English language service is broadcast globally and is accessible via a range of mediums depending on location (Short-wave, Medium-wave, FM, the Internet). There are also 32 vernacular language services that are targeted at the geographical regions where those languages are spoken. A list of all the vernacular language services is as follows.

List of BBCWS vernacular language services


18 Dec 2006 : Column 1507W

British Council

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Russian Government concerning the temporary closure of the British Council's offices in St. Petersburg. [109772]

Mr. Hoon: On 7 December 2006, a St. Petersburg court ruled that the British Council offices inSt. Petersburg be closed down for a period of 15 days, citing infringement of fire and safety regulations.Our ambassador in Moscow raised this issue withthe Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on11 December. The British Council has lodged an appeal against the judgement against it, which will be heard on 19 December. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the British Council's procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse by its employees. [109907]

Mr. Hoon: The British Council policies and procedures for investigating such matters comply fully with UK law and best practice guidelines. The British Council's grievance procedure encompasses harassment, bullying and whistle-blowing. In addition, there is a separate staff disciplinary procedure and a child protection policy.

Coca

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of coca planted near the border of Colombia and Ecuador by rebels and drug traffickers in the last 12 months; what action the UK
18 Dec 2006 : Column 1508W
Government is taking to assist in reducing this figure; and what assessment she has made of Ecuadorian opposition to recent Colombian eradication efforts. [109756]

Dr. Howells: Since late 2005, the Colombian authorities have reported a dramatic increase in coca cultivation in the border area with Ecuador. The Colombian authorities have therefore decided to resume, temporarily, aerial spraying in these areas. Manual eradication methods are not feasible due to the presence of illegal armed groups and drug traffickers in these areas.

The UK is not involved in Colombia’s eradication programmes but has recently committed funds through the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to part-fund the current satellite survey of coca cultivation in Ecuador.

We are aware of Ecuadorian concerns over the environmental and health impact of aerial spraying. Ecuador has delivered a strong protest to the Colombian Government and is threatening to withdraw its Ambassador to Colombia. We also understand that President-elect Correa has raised the issue with the UN and the Organisation of American States. The UNODC is monitoring the situation closely.

This is matter for the Ecuadorian and Colombian Governments and we would encourage them to reach a mutually acceptable solution and to work together to disrupt the production and distribution of illicit drugs.


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