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25 Jun 2007 : Column 181W—continued
Temporary Accommodation: Children
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many children were recorded as living in (a) temporary, (b) non-decent and (c) overcrowded accommodation in each local authority in the Eastern Region since 2004. [139248]
Yvette Cooper: Information reported quarterly by local authorities includes the number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of the quarter, as arranged by the local authority under homelessness legislation. The number of children or expected children in these households has been reported since June 2004. Figures reported by all local authorities, including those in the East of England, are provided in a table which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Estimates of the number of children living in non-decent homes in each of the East of England boroughs are not available. However, estimates derived from the 2003 English House Condition Survey suggest 300,000 children live in homes that did not meet the decent homes standard in the East of England in 2003. This is a modelled estimate.
Estimates of the number of children living in overcrowded households in each of the East of England boroughs are not available. However, for the whole of the East of England it is estimated, from the Survey of English Housing, that there were 71,000 children living in overcrowded households (averaged over the period 2003-04 to 2005-06).
There is a measure of overlap between the different housing problems with a proportion of children living in homes with two or all three problems identified. It is not possible to directly assess this overlap.
Urban Areas: Cheltenham
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the likely population of the Cheltenham urban area referred to in the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South West 2006 to 2026 (a) with and (b) without implementation of the RSS, broken down by age bands, for each year from 2006 to 2026. [144985]
Yvette Cooper: The total population of the Cheltenham borough area given in the 2001 Census was 110,013. For the urban area, which excludes rural parts of the borough but includes the contiguous urban area, which crosses local authority boundaries, the Census figure was 110,320. The most recent population projections published by the Office for National Statistics for the local authority area indicate a population increase from 111,900 in 2006 to 120,100 in 2026. The projections are trend-based and policy neutral. They do not illustrate either the implementation or the non-implementation of any strategy but indicate a continuation of existing trends. Unfortunately these projections are not published for the contiguous urban area.
The proposed housing figures contained in the draft RSS were submitted by the South West Regional Assembly based on proposals put to it by Gloucestershire county council. The hon. Member for Cheltenham would need to ask those bodies what assumptions they have made about the likely population of the Cheltenham area and the implications of the implementation or non- implementation of those RSS proposals. Following the end of the current Examination in Public of the RSS in July this year and the subsequent submission of the Panel report, the Government will then consider the recommendations in it, and the most up-to-date evidence, before considering the need to accept the RSS or propose changes to it.
Vacant Land: Solihull
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of (a) parkland and (b) greenfield land has been developed on in Solihull in the last 10 years. [145029]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Local planning authorities are primarily responsible for approving development in their areas.
Valuation Office
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 21 March 2007, Official Report, column 996W, on the Valuation Office Agency, if she will list the sources which the Valuation Office Agency uses to obtain such information. [145481]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.
Westminster City Council: Temporary Accommodation
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will seek a report from Westminster city council on the number of statutorily homeless households currently being placed in temporary accommodation outside its area. [145181]
Yvette Cooper: Officials are working closely with Westminster council to ensure, wherever possible, that homeless households that are placed into temporary accommodation remain within the borough.
Written Questions
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to Questions (a) 136471, (b) 136475 and (c) 136474, on home information packs, tabled by the hon. Member for Cotswold on 3 May 2007. [140351]
Ruth Kelly: I answered Questions 136471 and 136474 on 24 May 2007, Official Report, column 1528W. Question 136475 was answered on 25 June 2007.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to make a substantive reply to question 139884, on home information packs, tabled by the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 23 May for named day answer on 4 June. [145602]
Yvette Cooper: I have now replied to the hon. Member’s question.
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 25 June 2007
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Drugs
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking to reduce opium (a) production and (b) export from Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement. [145515]
Dr. Howells: Further to the written answer my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams) on 23 April 2007, Official Report, column 908W, I can report that, with our assistance, the Afghan Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) has now convicted 390 people (including three medium value traffickers) for drugs offences since May 2005. In April, the CJTF convicted 27 people for possession of up to 58 kg of heroin and 1,283 kg of opium, sentencing them to between 10 to 16 years.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her colleagues at the Ministry of Defence on how long she expects a British military presence to remain in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement. [145509]
Dr. Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence regularly discuss the role of British forces in Afghanistan. These discussions are central to the UK’s joint civilian-military approach there. The current mandate for our troops, who are in Afghanistan at the invitation of the Afghan Government and as part of the UN-mandated, NATO-led international security assistance force, expires in 2009. We expect, however, that UK forces will be needed in Afghanistan beyond this. The size and duration of the UK military presence will depend on a number of factors including the ability of Afghan security forces to take greater responsibility for the security of their own country.
Armed Conflict: Diamonds
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking on the international trade in conflict diamonds; and what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the (a) Liberian and (b) Sierra Leonean Governments on the matter. [145577]
Mr. McCartney: The UK is fully committed to implementing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The body responsible for this, the Government Diamond Office (GDO), is a department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and works closely with HM Revenue and Customs, the UK diamond industry and civil society groups to ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the KPCS document.
The UK is supportive of the current European Union Chairmanship of the KPCS, which began on 1 January. The FCO has provided funds for the European Commission to second additional staff for the duration of the Chairmanship. An official from the GDO has taken part in a review visit to Romania and formed part of the recent review mission to Ghana, as part of wider efforts to ensure full compliance of the KPCS among all participants in order to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds. A GDO official will be taking part in the forthcoming review visit to Bulgaria.
The UK supported the recent lifting of UN sanctions on the diamond trade in Liberia, following an inspection from the Kimberley Process Expert Mission which confirmed that Liberia had the necessary systems in place in order to ensure compliance with the KPCS.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with her counterparts in Liberia and Sierra Leone on the international trade in conflict diamonds.
Bosnia: Peacekeeping Operations
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her Ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Defence on the length of time she expects a military presence to remain in (a) Bosnia and (b) Kosovo; and if she will make a statement. [145578]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in regular contact with the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments about military commitments in the Balkans.
The UK works closely with our international partners, both in NATO and the EU, to ensure that an appropriate military presence is maintained. There are two military missions—NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the EU military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) Operation Althea. Both are subject to regular review to ensure their posture remains appropriate. The UK currently contributes around 200 troops to KFOR and a handful of staff officers in EUFOR headquarters, along with a battalion to the shared EU-NATO Balkans operation reserve force.
China: Dual Nationality
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to persuade China to recognise dual nationality. [139863]
Mr. McCartney: We are not currently engaged with the Chinese Government specifically on the recognition of dual nationality.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people imprisoned in China have joint British/Chinese nationality. [139865]
Mr. McCartney: The Chinese Government does not recognise dual nationality and thus British nationals of Chinese descent detained in China are considered Chinese. The authorities do not notify us of the detention of people in this category. We do not know how many may be detained.
Cyprus
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007, Official Report, column 1215W, on Cyprus, what recent progress has been made on a UN-brokered solution to the situation in Cyprus. [145954]
Mr. Hoon: As I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 22 May, Official Report, column 1215W, the division of the island can only be resolved through a comprehensive settlement brokered by the UN. Although there have been no positive developments since that date, we continue to urge both sides to show political will and flexibility to bridge the gap between words and deeds, and to engage constructively with the UN's efforts to broker a comprehensive and durable settlement. The status quo is unacceptable and negotiations on a final political solution have been at an impasse for too long.
Cyprus: Trade
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the operation of the Green Line regulation adopted by the EU for trade between the two communities in Cyprus; and if she will make a statement. [145945]
Mr. Hoon: The Green Line continues to contribute towards intra-island trade and economic interaction between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. We welcome all such interaction. The scope of goods able to cross the Green Line under the regulation remains limited which itself restricts the volume of trade occurring. As the EU Commission acknowledged in its 2006 annual report, both political and practical obstacles remain to the effective functioning of the regulation. The Government continue to encourage both sides to lift all restrictions to maximise the potential of the Regulation.
Departments: Aviation
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by (a) civil servants and (b) Ministers in her Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost of such flights was. [144928]
Mr. Hoon:
This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas.
Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the “Civil Service Management Code”, the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”.
Departments: Credit Cards
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by staff in her Department via departmental (a) credit, (b) procurement and (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years. [145293]
Mr. Hoon: The amounts spent by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff based in the UK were:
| Corporate credit card | ||
| Expenditure (£) | Number of card holders | |
| Procurement card | ||
| Expenditure (£) | Number of card holders | |
The FCO also uses a catering card. The expenditure on this card in 2006-07 was £358,985.
Fuel cards are used for the purchase of fuel and oil in the UK and for fuel, tolls and recovery in the rest of Europe. It is not possible to obtain precise figures for expenditure on these cards at present, but the expenditure is estimated to be less than €1,000 per month.
Many posts overseas use corporate credit cards issued by local providers. Information about the amount spent using these cards is not held centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Our existing corporate credit card scheme began an expansion at the beginning of 2006. One of the main reasons for the expansion was the need to reduce the burden on our overseas posts who had up to this point been required to provide subsistence and pay for hotels for officers visiting overseas posts on official duty. The corporate credit card is used by the vast majority of officers for travel costs and costs associated with official entertainment. The increased expenditure on both the corporate credit card and the procurement card is a result of encouraging FCO staff to make increased use of these cards. We see these cards as a cost-effective and efficient way of paying for lower value goods and services.
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