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9 Jan 2007 : Column 509W—continued
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cars run by his Department were manufactured (a) in the UK and (b) abroad. [104808]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency is available on page 14 of its Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Retirement Age
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South of 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 189-190W, on the retirement age, what his Department’s policy is for the setting of retirement ages for staff below the senior civil service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. [108023]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Staff in my Department are seconded from the Department for Communities and Local Government. I therefore refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 903W.
Special Advisers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which notices of external employment have been given by his Department’s special advisers since his Department’s creation. [108477]
The Deputy Prime Minister: My two special advisers are employed on a full-time basis. They have no external employment.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the gifts received by each of his special advisers from third parties which have been declared to his Department since its establishment; and on what date each was given. [108493]
The Deputy Prime Minister:
Since the establishment of the Department, special advisers in this Department have received two gifts—the first in July 2006 and the second in November 2006. The items are both valued
at less than £25 and have been registered and retained by the Department, in accordance with the “Code of Conduct for Special Advisers”.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of his Department’s civil servants work full-time to support departmental special advisers; and what the salary is of each such civil servant. [109841]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 72W.
Communities and Local Government
Arm's Length Management Organisations
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid to arm's length management organisations (ALMOs) in each year since 2000; how much is expected to be paid in each year up to 2010; how many applications for ALMO status are pending; how much is expected to be paid to those applications pending; how many ALMOs have announced they cannot meet the Decent Homes Target by 2010; how much ALMOs have inherited in housing debt; and what plans she has for the development of ALMOs. [109303]
Yvette Cooper: £56 million was allocated to ALMOs in 2002-03, £321 million in 2003-04, £577 million in 2004-05, £854 million in 2005-06 and £845 million is budgeted for 2006-07. Decisions on the 16 applications under round six of the ALMO programme are pending. Communities and Local Government cannot provide forecasts of future funding for existing or proposed ALMOs, which will depend on the outcome of future spending reviews. No ALMOs have formally announced that they will not be able to make all the stock they manage meet the Decent Homes standard by 2010 though, as my right hon. Friend said in her statement on 7 June 2006, Official Report, columns 27-29, we expect some areas to continue beyond 2010 where they are starting late on the Decent Homes programme, or where additional time is needed to ensure value for money, deliver mixed communities and the right balance of refurbishment and new build. ALMOs do not incur housing debt, which remains with local authorities. Our plans for the development of ALMOs were set out in the ‘Review of Arm’s Length Management Organisations’ published on 7 June 2006.
Parliamentary Questions
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many written parliamentary questions to the (a) Department for Communities and Local Government and (b) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the 2005-06 session were not answered wholly or in part on the grounds of disproportionate cost; [112978]
(2) how many written parliamentary questions to the (a) Department for Communities and Local
Government and (b) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation; [112979]
(3) how many written parliamentary questions to (a) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (b) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the 2005-06 session did not receive an answer. [113593]
Angela E. Smith: In the 2005-06 session, the Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received 6,057 written parliamentary questions, excluding questions transferred to other Departments. All questions tabled to the two Departments received an answer. Information on how many questions were not answered wholly or in part on the grounds of disproportionate cost is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Of the 6,057 written questions, 15 (0.25 per cent.) were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation (12 of the 15 questions were tabled only two days prior to prorogation).
Town Centres
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what incentives the Government (a) have in place and (b) are planning to support (i) small and (ii) specialised businesses to remain open in town centres. [103852]
Yvette Cooper: ‘Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres’ provides a positive framework for promoting and enhancing commercial development in town centres. A copy is available in the Library of the House. It is for local authorities to plan actively for and promote the vitality and viability of their town centres, including the need to enhance consumer choice and make provision for a range of business premises (both small and large), by working closely with local businesses and other key stakeholders. The policy and its supporting guidance on design and implementation tools also promote town centre management and the creation of partnerships to develop, improve and maintain town centres so that businesses can thrive.
It is not the aim of the planning system to protect or promote individual commercial interests. Incentives for business are primarily for my right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Constitutional Affairs
Contempt of Court
John Hemming: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how many people have been held in police cells for more than 24 hours in relation to contempt of court proceedings relating to the family courts in each month starting in January 2004; [109852]
(2) how many people aged (a) 18 and over, (b) 16 to 17, (c) 14 to 15 and (d) under 14 were given prison sentences by the family courts in each month since
January 2004, broken down by sex; and what the (i) longest, (ii) shortest and (iii) average sentence handed down to those given prison sentences was in this period; [109953]
(3) how many of those imprisoned after in-camera proceedings in family courts in each month since January 2004 (a) attempted suicide and (b) succeeded in a suicide attempt in prison. [110178]
Ms Harman: The information requested in relation to contempt of court in family proceedings and attempted or actual suicides following imprisonment after in-camera family proceedings is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The only data held concern cases in the county court and High Court for breaches of non-molestation orders and breaches of occupation orders under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996. Those figures were provided in my answer of 4 July 2006, Official Report, column 969W. In those cases, the data do not differentiate between remand in custody and sentenced prisoners, nor by age. If a person is arrested for breach of a non-molestation order or breach of an occupation order, the maximum time a person may be held in custody before appearing in court is 24 hours. The court may subsequently order he be remanded. Of those in custody under Part IV, females represent around 5 per cent. or less.
Legal Advice
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by the Department on external legal advice in each of the last five years. [109102]
Ms Harman: The figures requested are as follows:
| Amount (£) | |
These figures do not include in-house legal advice or advice from Treasury Solicitors or counsel’s fees in cases in which counsel are instructed by Treasury Solicitors on DCA’s behalf.
Legal Service: Northampton
Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many lawyers specialising in (a) housing, (b) education, (c) social services for adults and (d) mental health are there as part of the community legal service in Northampton. [113333]
Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) records the number of solicitor firms and not-for-profit organisations who hold contracts to carry out legal aid work rather than numbers of specialist lawyers. The LSC records social services under the category ‘community care’.
In Northampton, two solicitors firms hold mental health contracts. In addition, there are six solicitor firms in Northampton whose contracts allow them to carry out tolerance work (work not confined to a specific category of law) in housing, education and community care.
One not-for-profit organisation, the Northampton and County Welfare Rights Advice Service, holds a contract to carry out housing work. The contract the LSC has with the Welfare Rights Advice Service, which includes provision of benefits advice through outreach in GPs’ surgeries, is the largest LSC contract for social welfare law in the East Midlands. This service provides advice around the county including Wellingborough and East Northamptonshire.
Since April 2006 the LSC has also funded a scheme at Northampton county court which ensures that emergency advice and representation is available to any resident who has been summonsed to court to face eviction from their home. Northampton and County Welfare Rights Advice Service continues to provide this debt and housing advice service.
International Development
Africa Conflict and Humanitarian Unit
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the role of the Africa Conflict and Humanitarian Unit is; how many staff are employed in the unit; how much funding the unit has received in each of the last three financial years; what funding is planned for the unit in each of the next three financial years; in which countries it has been operational since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [110366]
Hilary Benn: The Africa Conflict and Humanitarian Unit (ACHU) was established in 2003 to co-ordinate DFID’s humanitarian and conflict prevention work in Africa. It works closely with the central Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE) on policy and the overall coherence of DFID’s global response. ACHU also provides the secretariat for the joint DFID/FCO/MOD Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP).
ACHU has a staff of 10, made up of the Head of the Unit, three humanitarian advisers, two conflict advisers, two programme managers, a programme officer, and an information and communications officer. Two regional conflict advisers, based in Africa, also report to the Head of ACHU. These work jointly to DFID, FCO and MOD under the auspices of the ACPP.
ACHU does not have its own programme budget, nor is it an operational unit. It is an advisory unit supporting DFID’s country and regional offices in Africa, and advising the Africa Director on the use of the divisional reserve to meet humanitarian needs. ACHU is also able to call on the central operational team based in CHASE for back-up support in the event of a major catastrophe or to provide supplementary staff support when work loads are high. DFID provides humanitarian assistance in response
to needs across Africa as a whole, not just to those countries where we have a country programme.
DFID does not work with a fixed budget for humanitarian aid in Africa, but responds according to need and in proportion to the UK’s role as a leading humanitarian donor within the international community. Preliminary estimates of likely levels of need are made at the start of each financial year, and adjusted on the basis of ongoing assessments as the year unfolds. For this reason, it is not possible to predict what levels of humanitarian spending are likely over the next three years. We do, though, expect to maintain our position as a leading humanitarian donor.
Over the past three financial years DFID has spent a total of £565.6 million on bilateral humanitarian aid in Africa: £125.4 million in 2003-04, £171.0 million in 2004-05, and £269.4 million in 2005-06. In the three years since 2003-04, Africa’s share of DFID’s total bilateral humanitarian assistance has risen from 40.4 per cent. to 65.6 per cent. Humanitarian needs in Africa in 2005-06 were exceptional, and we do not expect spending to be so high in the current financial year.
In its role as secretariat for the ACPP, ACHU oversees a joint DFID/FCO/MOD budget for conflict prevention work in Africa. Over the past three financial years this has stood at £50.0 million for 2003-04, £60.0 million for 2004-05, and £60.0 million for 2005-06. In the current year the ACPP budget is £63.0 million, rising to £64.5 million in the next financial year. The ACPP budget is currently under review in the context of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. The forward budget for conflict prevention work in Africa from 2007-08 onwards is yet to be announced.
Since its inception, ACHU has supported DFID and wider HMG conflict and humanitarian work throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including in the Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa.
HIV/AIDS
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral funding has been provided by the UK for HIV/AIDS (i) prevention and (ii) treatment in India in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement [113391]
Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows:
(a) DFID has committed a total of £123 million to support the second phase of the Government of India’s National AIDS Control Programme (NACP 2) over the period 2000 to 2007. Of this, £90 million will have been spent by March 2007. The remaining funds will be rolled into DFID’s support to the third phase of the programme which will begin in April 2007 and to which DFID is planning to commit additional resources.
Most of the current funding goes through the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to eight focus states: Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Part of DFID’s funding is also provided through a challenge fund directly to non-government organisations, in order to fill gaps in the national programme. DFID’s support is primarily for implementing prevention interventions, including focused education and behaviour change programmes for people at high risk of HIV, such as truckers, female sex workers, men having sex with men and injecting drug users. However, activities to support the expansion of care and support to people with HIV, including the training of health workers and development of networks of positive people, are also funded. DFID encourages comprehensive programmes including prevention, treatment, and care. It is not possible to attribute the proportion of funds going to each specific component.
(b) DFID provides significant funding to UNAIDS in India (£5.9 million from 2001 to March 2007) to strengthen the UN response to HIV and AIDS. During NACP 2 DFID has also committed £9.1 million to other UN agencies including UNICEF for work on HIV education among adolescents, UNDP for work on prevention of trafficking and HIV in women and girls and UNODC for expanding prevention of HIV among drug users.
In addition, the UK is a major contributor to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, which has approved programmes in India of over US $492 million over a five-year period. GFATM funds are an integral part of the overall resource framework for the next phase of the National AIDS Control Programme, and will enable the Government of India to scale up access to antiretroviral treatment from the current low base—to reach the goal of 340,000 people on treatment, including 40,000 children.
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