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4 Dec 2007 : Column 1128W—continued
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been made centrally available to meet the target of having a school nurse in each primary care trust by 2010; and how many school nurses and school health assistants were employed by each primary care trust in England in each of the last five years. [165791]
Ann Keen: Central funding of £20 million was made available in 2006-07 and £22 million 2007-08.
Tables showing the number of school nurses and school health assistants have been placed in the Library. School health assistants are included in levels one and two in the tables.
Organs: Donors
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on the Register of Organ Donors. [168320]
Ann Keen: As of 27 November 2007, 14,875,956 people were registered on the Organ Donor Register. This represents around 24 per cent. of the population. Work continues to increase the number of individuals on the Organ Donor Register, with the aim of having 16 million people registered by 2010.
Ritalin: Children
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007, Official Report, columns 837-8W to the hon. Member for Yeovil, on ritalin: children, if he will break down the number of children prescribed ritalin in each year since 1999 by primary care trust. [169168]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested.
Specialist Nurses
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to reimburse private employers for the cost of specialist nurse visits. [165561]
Ann Keen: The Department has no plans to reimburse private employers with the cost of specialist nurse visits. Local trusts are free to determine how these visits are funded.
Spinal Injuries
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the domestic heating needs of persons suffering from high lesion spinal cord injuries; and if he will make a statement. [165438]
Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the domestic heating needs of those living with high lesion spinal cord injuries.
Suffolk NHS Trust: Manpower
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) dentists and (d) non-medical staff were employed in Suffolk NHS Trust in each of the last five years. [166150]
Ann Keen: The information requested can be found in the following table.
Transplant Surgery: Waiting Lists
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on a waiting list for a transplant of each type of organ in each primary care trust area. [167644]
Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan Compact
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether an assessment has been made of the effectiveness of existing arrangements for the strategic co-ordination of the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact; and if he will make a statement. [167422]
David Miliband: The UN and Afghan government co-chair the Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), which includes all the major donors. The JCMB was established to ensure benchmarks set in the Compact are met. We continue to support UN efforts to provide the necessary impetus to ensure the board remains responsive, effective and committed. The JCMB last met in Kabul on 3 October 2007 and will next meet in February 2008.
Ballistic Missile Defence
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government were contacted by the United States to request use of Menwith Hill as part of its missile defence system; and if he will make a statement. [166066]
David Miliband: The request from the US to use RAF Menwith Hill as part of the US missile defence system was made in a letter to my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary on 29 June 2007.
Beijing: Olympic Games
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the freedoms that journalists are likely to have at the Beijing Olympics next year; what assessment he has made of whether such freedoms are likely to be in line with (a) international norms and (b) commitments made by China in the bidding process for the Olympic games; and if he will make a statement. [166065]
David Miliband:
We welcome the regulations implemented by the Chinese Government on 1 January, which lift restrictions on foreign correspondents in China up to and including the Olympics. We continue to urge China to make the regulations permanent, and to ensure greater media freedom, including for
domestic journalists in line with international standards. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Olympics and for London did so during her visit to Beijing from 11 to 15 November. The commitments made by Olympic hosts are a matter for the International Olympic Committee.
Bombs
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will call for a definition of cluster munitions to be banned under the Oslo process encompassing both dumb and smart cluster munitions. [169784]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 3 December 2007]: There is no internationally agreed definition of a cluster munition, or of a distinction between “dumb” and “smart”. A definition will be the key element to negotiate in any future instrument, both in the Oslo process and in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. We believe the focus should be on banning those cluster munitions that pose the greatest risk to civilians: those without target discrimination or an in-built self-destruct/self-deactivation mechanism.
Burma: Human Rights
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation of the Karen people in Burma. [171064]
Meg Munn: We remain concerned about the situation in Karen State. Attacks carried out by the Burmese army on civilians in northern and western Karen State have been particularly intense over the past two years and have resulted in a significant increase in the number of internally displaced people and refugees on the Thai/Burmese border.
We have repeatedly called for a halt to such offensives and have urged both the military regime and the Karen National Union to intensify their efforts to find a peaceful settlement that will bring about a permanent end to the conflict. We support Aung San Suu Kyi’s statement of 8 November, released through the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, calling for a genuine national dialogue between the Government, Opposition parties and ethnic groups in Burma.
Burma: Sanctions
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2007, Official Report, column 313W, on Burma: sanctions, when he expects the report by EU heads of missions in Rangoon requested by the presidency into sanctions on Burma to be complete. [167249]
David Miliband: We have asked the EU Presidency to expedite the report so it can be considered before the next EU General Affairs and External Relations Council due to take place on 10 December.
Christmas
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in each of the last five years. [171439]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold dedicated accounts for official expenditure of this nature and the information requested by the hon. Member could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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