Previous Section Index Home Page

10 Dec 2007 : Column 171W—continued

Ghana: Schools

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department provides for the construction of new schools or existing schools in (a) Ghana and (b) Nigeria. [171124]

Mr. Thomas: DFID provides support for the construction of new school buildings through two programmes which provide budget support to the Government of Ghana for the implementation of its education sector plan:

A large proportion of these funds are used for construction of new school infrastructure in both new and existing schools. The Ministry of Education reports that 2,322 new classrooms have been built in 2007 (in primary and junior secondary schools). Toilet blocks, furniture and, in some poorer areas, housing for teachers are also provided. Smaller amounts of UK funding are also provided for school construction through EC micro-projects, through the World Bank, and through the Education For All fast track initiative.

For the last six years, DFID has been supporting the Government of Nigeria, at both state and federal level, to build the capacity to use its own resources more effectively in the provision of basic education including school construction. Support is focused on three major initiatives all of which seek to improve school facilities:

Howard Horsley

Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department followed all the provisions of its (a) approved departmental performance appraisal process and (b) departmental disciplinary procedure, including contingent provisions, in relation to the dismissal of Howard Horsley. [170565]


10 Dec 2007 : Column 172W

Mr. Malik: Mr. Howard Horsley’s dismissal in January 2000 was entirely consistent with the processes and terms and conditions of his employment under his fixed term Technical Co-operation Officer contract.

Illegal Immigrants

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many illegal immigrants were discovered working for his Department and its agencies in the last year for which figures are available. [170502]

Mr. Thomas: No illegal immigrants have been discovered working in DFID or its agencies in the last year. Employment in the civil service is done in accordance with the civil service nationality rules, which are available at:

Postal Services

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many items of post sent by his Department were reported missing by the intended recipient in each year since 1997; [171290]

(2) what steps his Department has taken to protect the personal data on members of the public which it holds. [171420]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.

Schools: Construction

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of school buildings approved by his Department were built to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (a) very good and (b) excellent standard in each of the last five years; and what the construction cost of those buildings was. [172293]

Mr. Thomas: No buildings have been constructed or approved by DFID in the UK in the last five years. The last construction project prior to this period was a new annexe to our East Kilbride office, which achieved an excellent rating against the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

South East Asia: Rain Forests

Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has held on measures to end the destruction of tropical forest caused by the expansion of biofuel plantations in South East Asia. [171119]

Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.


10 Dec 2007 : Column 173W

My Department has had discussions on this issue, at both ministerial and official level, with the Indonesian and Malaysian Governments, and with other UK Government Departments and industry stakeholders.

The Government are pursuing measures at home, in the EU and internationally to help ensure biofuels are produced sustainably, without the destruction of tropical forests.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much development assistance he has been provided to (a) the people of (b) NGOs working in and (c) the Government of Sudan in the last 12 months. [171958]

Mr. Thomas: In 2006-07, the last year for which complete figures are available, DFID provided £110 million in humanitarian and development assistance to Sudan. Of this, £27 million went directly to NGOs operating in Sudan. The remainder was channelled through the United Nations and other development agencies such as the World Bank. The majority of this funding, however, was directed to NGOs as project implementing partners. No DFID assistance was given directly to the Government of Sudan.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Darfur, Sudan. [169111]

Mr. Thomas: The humanitarian situation in Darfur remains critical. Malnutrition rates have risen sharply since the heavy rains in the autumn, particularly in the camps. Ongoing violence has led to a further 260,000 people being displaced this year alone, adding to the more than 2 million people already living in camps across the region. The camps are overstretched and becoming increasingly volatile. The increase in needs has been compounded by an escalation of attacks by armed groups against humanitarian agencies. This is having a serious impact on the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver vital aid to those in need.

The UK is the second largest bilateral donor in Sudan, having given over £275 million in humanitarian aid since 2004, over £145 million of which has gone to Darfur. The UK is playing a leading role in improving the effectiveness of the humanitarian response such as the £40 million 2007 contribution to the Common Humanitarian Fund. The UK is also a strong supporter of international efforts to build on local-level peace-building and the AU-UN-led Darfur peace talks which commenced on 27 October in Libya. We urge all parties to commit to full participation in the next phase of talks.

Young People

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff aged between 16 and 18 were employed by his Department (a) directly and (b) through an employment agency in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of these were
10 Dec 2007 : Column 174W
given time off work to undertake some form of training; and what proportion were provided with some form of training (i) wholly and (ii) partially funded by his Department. [171275]

Mr. Malik: The number of new staff aged between 16 and 18 employed directly by DFID in the last 10 years is as follows:

1998 2000 2001 2004 2006 Total

Age 16

0

1

2

0

0

3

Age 17

0

1

1

0

0

2

Age 18

1

1

1

1

1

5

Total

1

3

4

1

1

10


DFID has no central record of the proportion of these staff undertaking some form of training, or the funding arrangements. This information could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost. DFID does not hold age-related information for agency staff.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. [172398]

Mr. Thomas: The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, as a result of economic mismanagement made worse by the effects of a severe drought during the last growing season. An estimated 4.1 million people will need international food aid by the end of the year. Malnutrition has reached concerning levels in a number of districts. The collapse of urban water and sanitation systems in Zimbabwe's main cities has increased numbers of life-threatening diarrhoea outbreaks. HIV/AIDS remains a major problem with 1.8 million affected.

DFID's aid programme is providing substantial direct assistance to protect the livelihoods of more than 1.5 million poor people in Zimbabwe, tackle HIV/AIDS and help meet humanitarian needs. This year we have made an additional contribution of £8 million to the World Food Programme to ensure that food aid reaches those who need it most and £1 million to UNICEF to prepare for and respond to emergency disease outbreaks.

Justice

Administrative Law

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for judicial review were lodged on behalf of failed asylum seekers facing removal in each of the last five years; what percentage were granted in each year; what proportion these cases comprised of the number of cases before the Administrative Court in each year; and what the approximate cost was of each case. [172789]

Maria Eagle: The information requested is set out in the following tables.


10 Dec 2007 : Column 175W
(a) Number of applications for judicial review lodged on behalf of failed asylum seekers facing removal in each of the last five years
Number

2007 to 5 December

2,849

2006

2,841

2005

2,265

2004

1,343

2003

2,062


(b) What percentage were allowed in each year
Percentage

2007 to 5 December

0.46

2006

0.88

2005

1.02

2004

1.27

2003

1.45

Note: The statistics provided are for those applications lodged and those applications allowed within a specified calendar year only. However it will not be the case that the applications allowed within a particular calendar year are the same applications that were lodged in that year. For example an application lodged in 2003 may well have been allowed in 2004.

(c) What proportion did these cases comprise of the total number of cases before the administrative court
Percentage

2007 to 5 December

0.12

2006

0.23

2005

0.21

2004

0.24

2003

0.42


For the data in parts (b) and (c) it has been assumed that the reference to “granted” is intended to mean “allowed”. If a judicial review is allowed this indicates that the court is satisfied that the claimant has established his or her case. The remedy will be at the discretion of the court.

(d) What was the approximate cost of each case

To provide a complete breakdown of approximate costs for each case is not possible since this information is not recorded by the Administrative Court Office. To do so would be to incur disproportionate cost. The most recent estimates for approximate costs for judicial review applications include the cost of administrative staff time and judicial time for the permission hearing only. These estimates were produced in June 2006 and amount to £473.17 per case.

This estimate does not take into account middle and senior management time, other judicial time—particularly, but not limited to, the substantive hearing—or any overheads such as heating, lighting and other accommodation costs. Further, it does not take into account the legal funding costs which would be a matter for the Legal Services Commission.

Carter Report

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his statement of 5 December 2007 on the Carter Report, whether the three titan prisons referred to will be run and staffed by the public sector. [172755]

Mr. Hanson: It is anticipated that the provision of up to three large titan prisons will be subject to a competitive procurement exercise. Each case will, however, will be considered on its own merits.


Next Section Index Home Page