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24 Apr 2007 : Column 1015W—continued
Des Browne:
We keep the readiness states of our operational warships under constant review. We are pressing ahead with the largest warship building programme this country has seen for decades. This
includes the new Type 45 Destroyers, Astute class nuclear attack submarines and the future aircraft carriers.
Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many locally employed people are working as (a) interpreters and (b) drivers for the British Forces deployed in Southern Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [132734]
Des Browne: There are currently 186 interpreters and two drivers employed locally by British forces deployed in Southern Iraq.
Iran: Territorial Waters
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes were introduced following the seizure of the British marine patrol vessel by Iran in 2004. [130865]
Des Browne [holding answer 16 April 2007]: Changes introduced following the seizure of the British marine patrol vessel by Iran in 2004 on the Shatt Al Arab waterway included a review of the role of the Royal Naval Training Team and their operational command structure, vessels were equipped with heavier weapons and improved communications systems and enhancements were made to Royal Marine/Naval Pre-Deployment Training.
Navy: Persian Gulf
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf under the authority of UN Security Council resolution 1723. [133152]
Des Browne: As at 20 April 2007, the following naval ships are operating in the Persian Gulf in direct support of the coalition effort authorised by UNSCR 1723.
HMS Cornwall
USS Underwood
USS Chinook
USS Typhoon
USS Scirocco
USCGC Aquidneck.
Rules of Engagement
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action UK forces are allowed to take to avoid and respond to arrest or attack when participating in UN missions. [132815]
Des Browne: UK service personnel have an inherent right to lawful self-defence, whether they are deployed on national or UN missions.
Deputy Prime Minister
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department. [132204]
The Deputy Prime Minister: All expenditure in the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of “Government Accounting” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity and Propriety”, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Departments: Pressure Groups
Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the meetings between himself and outside interest groups which took place between 1 January and 31 March. [132435]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Ministers and civil servants meet a large number of individuals and groups in the course of their official duties. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Duchy of Lancaster
Disadvantaged: Financial Services
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if her Department will take steps to introduce microfinance schemes for individuals in deprived areas to improve rates of social inclusion. [124728]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 23 March 2007 , Official Report, column 1161W.
Policy Review
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the costs have been of (a) commissioning and designing, (b) printing and (c) distributing each (i) report, (ii) publication and (iii) presentation produced by the Government's policy review. [133420]
Hilary Armstrong: This information is not available in the format requested.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the (a) value and (b) purpose has been of each payment to external companies or organisations under the Government's policy review. [133431]
Hilary Armstrong: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2198W.
The results of the policy review process have been published in a series of papers under the title “Building on Progress”, identifying long-term trends and new challenges and examining how existing policies need to be developed to continue to meet the country's priorities.
Education and Skills
Children in Care: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children under the age of five years were taken into care in Lancashire in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. [132023]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 18 April 2007]: The number of children under the age of five years who were taken into care in Lancashire was 105 in both years ending 30 March 2005 and 2006.
Children in Care: Runaway Children
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many children looked after by a local authority were missing in 2006 for (a) more than a week and (b) more than a month; and how many such children went missing in that year and did not return at all; [121261]
(2) on how many occasions during 2006 a looked after child was missing from care overnight. [121262]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 19 February 2007 ]: The number of children looked after by a local authority who were missing in 2006 for more than a week was 620. Of those, 370 went missing for more than a month. Of the 370, 100 had not returned by 31 March 2006. In compiling theses figures, children who went missing more than once were only counted once. If they went missing more than once the duration of the missing episodes were considered independently (the days were not cumulated).
The number of occasions during 2006 when a looked after child was missing from care for at least 24 hours is shown in the following table.
National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the costs per child to each local authority in England of fulfilling commitments under the National Service Framework which would previously have been met by Sure Start funding. [133050]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 20 April 2007]: The National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services sets standards for children's health and social services and the interface of those services with education. Sure Start local programmes had discretion on how to allocate funds to meet local needs. Some chose to add to the resources for health services in their areas by employing midwives and health visitors. The roll-out of children's centres since 2003 across England reflects the change from this pilot initiative, testing out new ways of working, to an integrated common approach to delivering mainstream children's services. Local authorities and their partners in Children's Trusts are working together to plan and deliver their children's centres services, reconfiguring services where necessary. The Department cannot give a detailed estimate of the costs of funding commitments under the National Service Framework, as these are funded from a variety of sources to provide children's health and social care services. Between 2002-03 and 2005-06 the Department has spent an estimated £1.9 billion on Sure Start local programmes and children's centres. There are now 1,258 children's centres up and running reaching over 1 million children under the age of five.
Children’s Centres
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres (a) opened and (b) closed in each year for which figures are available. [132981]
Mr. Dhanda: The information is as follows:
(a) There are currently 1,258 Sure Start children's centres open. The breakdown by calendar year is as follows:
| Number of Sure Start children ’ s centres opened | |
(b) We have not received any reports of closures.
Divorce
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to require divorcing couples to undertake mandatory mediation during disputes over access to children; and if he will enshrine in law the principle of shared parenting. [132746]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 20 April 2007]: The Government do not believe that it would be in the best interests of children to require separating parents to undertake mediation in all cases, nor do the Government plan to enshrine in law the principle of shared parenting.
The Government are committed to the principle that mediation is beneficial, where it is in the child's best interests and there are no concerns for the safety of any member of the family. Provisions in the Children and Adoption Act 2006 will empower the court to direct parties, where appropriate, to attend a meeting to receive information about mediation.
To enshrine shared parenting in legislation could, in effect, introduce a legal presumption of contact. This would shift the focus of family law away from the paramount interests of the child and prioritise the rights of parents above the interests of the child. The assumption that both parents have equal status and value as parents is already enshrined in current law. The Family Courts are already able to make shared residence orders, where such orders are in the best interests of the child, based on the circumstances of the case.
Fulford School
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources are paid by central Government to the enhanced resource centre for Autism and Aspergers at Fulford School in the City of York; what assessment has been made of the results produced by this resource centre; and what plans there are to increase such resource centre provision at other schools in England. [132754]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 23 April 2007]: No resources are paid by central Government to the enhanced resource centre at Fulford School. It is for local authorities (LAs) to organise and maintain their special educational needs (SEN) provision from the resources which are available to them and to keep their SEN arrangements under review.
The Department has not made an assessment of the resource centre at Fulford School. Ofsted’s last inspection of the school in December 2003, before the resource centre opened two years ago, noted that
“specialist local authority staff provide high quality individual tuition for students with different needs, including autism and specific learning difficulties”.
Since the resource centre opened, City of York LA has conducted a review which found that the centre was making high quality provision which is greatly appreciated by parents.
Decisions on opening resourced provision are taken locally. The Department's team of SEN advisers reported in October 2006 that
“many [local authorities] reported on the development of specialist resourced provision within mainstream schools. Most new provision was designed to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders or Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties”.
The Ofsted report ‘Inclusion: does it matter where pupils are taught? (2006)’ stated that
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