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22 Feb 2008 : Column 1090W—continued
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Written Questions: Government Responses
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to answer Question 164208, tabled on 9 November 2007. [187033]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 424W.
International Development
Afghanistan: Reconstruction
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1353W, on Afghanistan: reconstruction, if he will place in the Library copies of the two studies completed by the Stabilisation Unit into (a) UK provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) in Helmand and Basra and (b) the review of the Helmand PRT deployment. [186706]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Both studies are classified as they consider in detail the capabilities of, and operational constraints faced by, the UK’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Helmand and Basra. As such it would not be appropriate to place them in the Library of the House.
Burma: Education
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's contribution to the multi-donor trust fund for education in Burma has been spent on (a) state schools, (b) monastery schools and (c) other non-state schools since contributions began. [188263]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The multi-donor education fund, managed by UNICEF, is designed to help poor Burmese children to complete primary education by helping to cover the costs of schooling which parents would otherwise have to meet themselves. It pays for items such as educational materials and repairs to school buildings.
In 2007, the first year of its operation, the fund spent £2,880,000. DFID contributed £740,000 of the total. 66 per cent. of the fund (£1,900,000) was spent on local-level support for children in state schools, and 24 per cent. (£700,000) on support for children in monastic and affiliated schools and pre-schools run by NGOs and communities. The remaining 10 per cent. (£280,000) was spent on technical support, including monitoring the distribution and usage of supplies. In
the first year 12 per cent. of the primary age population benefited from the work of the fund. In the same period, DFID spent a further £910,000 on support for community-managed pre-schools through Save the Children.
None of DFID's funds go to the central Ministry of Education.
Chad: Overseas Aid
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether there are plans to increase the humanitarian assistance to Chad. [186213]
Gillian Merron: The humanitarian situation in Chad and in western Darfur remains fluid. The rapidly changing humanitarian situation means that DFID is urgently reviewing its funding commitments.
In the financial year 2007-08, DFID has committed £6.5 million to Chad through humanitarian agencies. These include ICRC (£600,000), UNHCR (£2 million) UNOCHA (£260,000), Oxfam (£330,000), WFP (£1.8 million) and Islamic Relief (£500,000). Through these agencies, DFID is contributing to the provision of water and sanitation facilities, food, shelter and other relief items for refugee, IDP and host populations.
Chad: Sudan
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the effect that the security situation in Chad is having on the humanitarian situation in Darfur; and if he will make a statement. [186214]
Gillian Merron: Clashes between the Justice and Equality Movement, allegedly supported by the Government of Chad, and Sudanese armed forces, allegedly supported by Chadian rebels, have led to deterioration in security in West Darfur. The area north of El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, has been particularly heavily affected by these clashes, with media reports suggesting 12,000 additional displaced civilians, the looting and destruction of humanitarian relief centres and at least 160,000 vulnerable civilians currently cut off from receiving aid.
Humanitarian agencies are attempting to assess the scale and nature of needs in the area but are being hampered by the ongoing clashes.
The humanitarian implications for Darfur of the escalation in violence inside Chad remain unclear at present.
Departmental Public Relations
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many external contracts his Department held with public relations companies in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost of those contracts was. [183164]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Nine contracts were awarded by the Department for International Development (DFID) to public relations companies in the last 10 years, at a total cost of £527,645.
These data have been extracted from readily available information and may not be comprehensive. To undertake an extensive interrogation of records over the last 10 years would incur disproportionate cost.
Developing Countries: Overseas Aid
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with what countries the European Commission has (a) discussed and (b) entered into millennium development goals contracts. [187927]
Mr. Thomas: The European Commission has discussed its proposals to establish millennium development goal (MDG) contracts with member states, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The proposal is not yet finalised, and the Commission has not yet entered into any MDG contracts.
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what indicators the European Commission has developed to ensure that millennium development goal (MDG) contracts are effective in achieving the MDGs, with particular reference to MDG5. [187928]
Mr. Thomas: Monitoring frameworks for the proposed MDG contracts will include health and education indicators at a minimum, and may also cover anything clearly linked to the MDGs, including issues related to growth. Specific indicators linked to payments will be agreed when contracts are being designed.
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to what extent (a) national parliaments and (b) sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations will be involved in the preparation of (i) the European Commission millennium development goal (MDG) contract proposals, (ii) the development of MDG contracts and (iii) the monitoring of results. [187929]
Mr. Thomas: The European Commission has been developing its proposals for a millennium development goal (MDG) contract for some time. We are not aware of any specific engagement, to date, with national parliaments or sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations.
The Commission's guidelines on Global Budget Support encourage delegations to consult with groups such as NGOs, professional associations and trade unions over the design of budget support programmes. The guidelines recommend that monitoring should be used to promote ownership and accountability, and that key stakeholders—including parliaments, local governments and non-state actors—should participate at key moments in performance reviews.
India: Children
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department provides to India to tackle (a) malnutrition and (b) poor sanitation affecting children under five. [188032]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: At the national level, DFID is providing £252 million to the Government of India’s Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH II) which is tackling child ill-health and malnutrition through antenatal care, promotion of early breastfeeding, treatment of diarrhoea, and education on health and sanitation. DFID has also committed £75 million to UNICEF to work in eight disadvantaged states to provide better services for undernourished babies and children. DFID also supports India’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), the main response of the Government of India to child malnutrition. We are providing £1 million to help redesign the programme so that it more effectively reaches its target of 36 million children under six and 7.7 million pregnant and nursing women. DFID’s considerable support (£350 million since 2003) to the Government of India’s education programmes is also contributing to improved sanitation and nutrition through empowerment and awareness raising.
At the state level, tackling malnutrition is a key element of DFID’s health sector support programmes in Orissa (where we are contributing £50 million), Madhya Pradesh (£60 million) and Andhra Pradesh (£40 million). The Government of West Bengal has launched a nutrition strategy targeting children under three in the state’s six poorest districts. DFID will provide up to £12 million over the next three years to support this strategy, with another £100 million to strengthen general health services in the state.
DFID’s rural livelihoods programmes (five state-level programmes totalling £153 million) have reduced hunger for millions. Households in these areas report fewer days without sufficient food, increased production of food staples, and improved access to food and incomes.
India: Females
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle barriers to educational access for girls and (b) improve female literacy in India. [188033]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID has spent £350 million on education in India since 2003. This has mostly helped fund the Government of India’s Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan (Education for All) programme which aims to get all India’s children, particularly girls, into elementary school. This has resulted in enrolments rising from 160 million in 2003 to over 190 million in 2007. The programme’s targeting of girls has resulted in numbers of girls and boys being close to equal at the primary level (up to age 11) and is likely to be achieved at upper primary level (11 to 14) by 2010. DFID also recently committed £35 million in support of the Government of India’s women’s empowerment programme, Mahila Samakhya, which helps women and girls in rural areas to overcome discrimination and access educational opportunities.
Sarva Shiksa Abhivan and Mahila Samakhya are both working towards improved female literacy in India. Sarva Shiksa Abhivan is doing this by bringing girls into elementary education. Mahila Samakhya supports over 7 million adolescent girls and women
across rural India to help them to read and write. It targets those sub- districts where female literacy rates are known to be significantly lower than average.
India: Infant Mortality
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that economic growth in India has a positive impact on infant mortality; and if he will make a statement. [187776]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Despite India’s impressive economic growth, illness and death rates among infants and children remain unacceptably high. DFID is working with the Government of India to tackle this issue through more effective delivery of health services for poor people, women and children.
DFID supports two of the Government of India’s national programmes to reduce child and maternal mortality. We are providing £252 million to Reproductive and Child Health II, a programme that is improving access to skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care for pregnant women; and providing new born care, immunisation and other health services for children. We are also providing £128 million for the Government’s polio immunisation programme, which aims to eradicate the polio virus in India.
At the state level, DFID is supporting health sector programmes in the four states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As well as working to strengthen health services these programmes support more effective joint working between health, nutrition, education, and water and sanitation departments—to tackle the multiple causes of child ill-health.
DFID is also funding UNICEF to improve the implementation of Government programmes—focused particularly on child and maternal health—in eight disadvantaged and highly populous states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Kosovo: Housing
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the work of the Kosovo Property Agency and its predecessor, the United Nations Housing and Property Directorate; what support his Department is providing to this agency; and if he will make a statement. [187702]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Kosovo Property Agency has established mechanisms to resolve property claims in Kosovo and restore property rights to persons displaced by the 1999 conflict. Since its establishment in March 2006 the agency has resolved 3,346 cases.
In 2007 the UK provided €500,000 (£335,660) support to the Kosovo Property Agency through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.
Timor Leste: Overseas Aid
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether there are plans to increase assistance provided to East Timor. [187936]
Mr. Thomas: There have been no reports that the current political crisis has resulted in increased numbers of internally displaced people, which might justify additional humanitarian funding. DFID, however, remains abreast of the situation and a representative from the British Embassy in Jakarta is currently visiting East Timor. The Government of East Timor generates an increasing income from oil revenues, and a multi-donor trust fund has been established to assist the Government’s delivery of the East Timor National Development Plan (NDP). DFID provided £1 million to this trust fund in 2006-07 and again in 2007-08.
Justice
Honours
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many members of the senior civil service in his Department have received an honour. [187122]
Mr. Wills: We do not routinely keep records of those officials awarded honours before joining the Department, those awarded honours not related to official duties, or those holding more than one award. This information could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
We do keep records of those officials who have received State honours on the recommendation of this Department. Since the establishment of the Ministry of
Justice in May 2007 three members of the senior civil service have received an honour, broken down as follows:
CB: 2
CBE: 1
Similar records were kept by the former Department for Constitutional Affairs. Since 1992, 36 members of the senior civil service received awards following departmental recommendation, broken down as follows:
Knighthood: 1
CB: 12
CBE: 21
QBE: 2
Computer Misuse Act
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for unauthorised (i) access to computer material, (ii) access to computer material with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences and (iii) modification of computer material under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. [187287]
Mr. Straw: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for various offences relating to “computer material”, in England and Wales for the year 2006 can be found in the following table.
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