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18 Oct 2007 : Column 1249W—continued
Departmental Reorganisation
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date the Transfer of Functions Order detailing the changes in his Department was laid before Parliament for approval. [157722]
Maria Eagle: A Transfer of Functions Order relating to the machinery of government changes of 9 May 2007 was made on 25 July 2007. This was laid before Parliament under the negative resolution procedure on 1 August, and came into force on 22 August 2007. The order is entitled the Secretary of State for Justice Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/2128).
Departments: Internet
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hits the (a) most popular and (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1st January 2007. [157771]
Maria Eagle: My Department does not hold web usage statistics for all of its websites. For those that we do hold, in January 2007 the most visited website was Her Majesty's Courts Service and the least visited was the Community Justice website. The following table below shows the number of visits each site received for the period January to August 2007:
| Month 2007 | www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk | www.communityjustice.gov.uk |
Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution and Remand Centre
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007, Official Report, column 381W, on Feltham Young Offenders' Institution and Remand Centre, what research was undertaken in arriving at the conclusion that the rise in reported racist incidents was due to more robust reporting; who commissioned this research; who carried it out; if he will place a copy of the research in the Library; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanson: The assertion that there had been no increase in racist activity and that the reporting system was more robust was and is the operational view of managers and staff at Feltham and senior management in the Prison Service. The Independent Monitoring Board have commented favourably on improvements at Feltham and the recently published report by HMCIP commented that Feltham:
“is a long way from the establishment described in our earlier reports and in the Mubarek inquiry.”
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007, Official Report, column 381W, on Feltham Young Offenders' Institution and Remand Centre, whether the investigation carried out by the Deputy Governor of HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is the inquiry to which the answer refers; whether this was classified as a simple inquiry; how long the inquiry took to complete; how many people were interviewed; how many pages were included in the final completed report; who commissioned the inquiry; whether it is his Department's policy that inquiries may be conducted by an employee of lower grade than the person under investigation; and if he will make a statement. [158540]
Maria Eagle: Yes, the simple inquiry carried out by the Deputy Governor of Wormwood Scrubs is the inquiry to which the previous answer refers. The inquiry took seven and a half months to complete; two members of staff were interviewed, and the final report ran to 25 pages. The area manager for London was the commissioning authority for this inquiry, and the only grade requirement for an investigating officer is that they are at least of principal officer or executive officer grade, and that the commissioning authority must be satisfied with the competence and impartiality of the investigating officer.
Human Trafficking
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will extend the provision of supported housing for victims of human trafficking. [158262]
Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice currently funds the Poppy project to provide adult women trafficked into sexual exploitation with secure accommodation, one-to-one intensive crisis support, outreach support and a resettlement service. This year an additional £100,000 was invested to top-up the £2.4 million grant, to increase the capacity of the project during the national enforcement campaign Operation Pentameter 2.
The United Kingdom became signatory to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in March 2007, which sets out minimum obligations in relation to the protection and support of all identified victims of trafficking. The Government are committed to implementing these measures which will enhance existing support arrangements.
Prisons: Crimes of Violence
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prisoner-on-prisoner and (b) prisoner-on-officer assaults were recorded in each prison establishment in each month in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [159094]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain and check the data to the level of detail requested would involve contacting each individual prison to verify data.
Prostitution: Prosecutions
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many men have been successfully prosecuted for paying for sex with women aged under 18 years in each of the last six years. [158535]
Maria Eagle: Between 2000 and 2005 three men were proceeded against for the offence of paying for sex with women aged under 18. None of these men were found guilty of this offence.
Child prostitution cases are hard to prove; and defendants are more likely to be proceeded against for offences of "Sexual Activity with a child" under Section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Prior to the 2003 Act, these offences were "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a Girl" under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 Sections 5 and 69). The number of men found guilty of these offences in England and Wales from 2000 to 2005 are shown in the following table.
| Number of males found guilty at all courts of offences of sexual activity with a female child and unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl, England and Wales, 2000 to 2005( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) | ||||||
| Statutes | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. | ||||||
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Pupils: Mathematics
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many and what percentage of pupils from (a) independent, (b) maintained and (c) grammar schools received a grade A in both mathematics and further mathematics in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; [148162]
(2) how many and what percentage of pupils from (a) independent, (b) maintained and (c) grammar schools received a grade A in both mathematics and physics in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [148163]
Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
International Development
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the level of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan was from (a) the UK and (b) the EU in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [158755]
Mr. Malik: In 2006-07 DFID provided £1.6 million in bilateral humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is also one of the largest recipients of UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) support, to which the UK is the largest contributor (23 per cent. of total CERF value in 2006). Afghanistan received $32.3 million from CERF in 2006. We also provide core funding to UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and UNHCR, all of whom have operations in Afghanistan.
In 2005 (the latest year for which figures are available) the total humanitarian aid to Afghanistan from EU Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member states was $90.33 million.
Africa: Floods
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) financial and (b) other support he has made available to African countries affected by the recent flooding, broken down by country. [157535]
Mr. Malik: DFID is playing a full role in the response to the African floods and staff were deployed quickly to review the humanitarian situation in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.
DFID is the largest donor to the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), contributing £42.2 million this year. This means that funds are available to start humanitarian operations immediately, not wait for appeals to be launched. So far, CERF funding has been used to support flood responses in Sudan (£4.35 million), Uganda (£3 million), Ghana (£1.25 million), Togo (£110,000) and Mali (£500,000).
DFID is also the largest donor to the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) in Sudan, contributing approximately £40 million this year, and the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF) in Ethiopia, contributing £3 million this year. These funds have been drawn on in Sudan (£2.4 million) and Ethiopia (£1 million) for flood response.
In addition, direct funding is being provided where humanitarian needs remain unmet. So far, DFID has contributed £1.15 million in Uganda, including £750,000 through the World Food Programme for food aid and logistics, and £400,000 through the Red Cross for emergency shelter and health. In Ethiopia, DFID is providing £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) annual humanitarian appeal, some of which is being used for flood response. In Ghana we have provided £250,000 to the Red Cross for emergency shelter, provision of safe water and health care.
Departments: Secondment
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment. [157876]
Mr. Malik: DFID has eight inward secondees from outside Government. Secondments vary from a period of 12 months to four years. The breakdown is as follows:
| Seconding organisation | Number of secondments | Duration (year) |
Mexico City
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) officials have had with the United States administration on its Mexico City policy; and if he will make a statement. [158366]
Mr. Malik: Ministers and officials have had no recent discussions specifically with the United States administration on its Mexico City policy.
Overseas Aid: Gaza
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2007, Official Report, column 1980W, on humanitarian aid: Gaza, what representations have been received from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East regarding the movement of humanitarian supplies through Gaza's border with Israel; and if he will make a statement. [157524]
Mr. Malik: We have not received any representations from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on this issue.
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