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20 Mar 2008 : Column 1279W—continued
Women and Equality
“Women Not for Sale”
19. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the progress made by the Newspaper Society in revising its guidance to publishers to reflect concerns about human trafficking for sexual exploitation in response to the Government’s “Women Not For Sale” initiative; and if she will make a statement. [195491]
Barbara Follett: I welcome the revised guidance from the Newspaper Society but, as this only came out last month, it is a little early to assess progress. But there are promising signs and the guidance is already helping to ensure that the society’s members do not unwittingly advertise brothels in which trafficked women are being exploited.
Domestic Violence
20. Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government is taking to provide long-term support to women without secure immigration status who are victims of domestic violence. [195492]
Barbara Follett: We are aware of the acute problems faced by this group of women. We will shortly be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence, with indefinite leave to remain in the UK, may be able to have their housing and living costs met.
The Border and Immigration Agency are working to ensure that when domestic violence applications are submitted an assessment of destitution is made, which may lead to the application fee being waived.
Flexible Working
21. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the availability of flexible working arrangements for mothers of children under 18; and if she will make a statement. [195493]
Barbara Follett: The right to request flexible working has been a great success. Nine out of 10 employers offer flexible working practices, and over seven in 10 mothers with children under 18 are working flexibly. In November 2007, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will extend further the right to flexible working, to parents of older children.
I refer to our priorities for the Minister for Women (July 2007) for a statement on our commitment to flexible working policies.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
David Taylor: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on progress in ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. [195494]
Barbara Follett: My hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire) is Minister with responsibility for disabled people and she signed the convention on behalf of the UK Government on 30 March 2007—the first day of its opening—and I understand that the aim is to ratify by the end of the year.
Age: Discrimination
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2683W, on age: discrimination, if she will place copies of the two reviews and studies in the Library. [194225]
Barbara Follett: Precise arrangements for publication have not yet been made as the research has not yet been completed. The reports will be made publicly available in due course.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what progress the Government Equalities Office has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review. [191476]
Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office was set up as a new Department on 12 October 2007, after the results of the 2007 comprehensive spending review were published in Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm 7227).
The GEO is currently examining its funding needs and the best use of resources as part of its annual business planning round.
Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes
John Robertson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government plans to take to assist women who have no recourse to public funds who have been subject to domestic violence. [195488]
Barbara Follett: We are aware of the acute problems faced by women with no recourse to public funds and living in fear of violence.
We will shortly be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence with indefinite leave to remain, may be able to have their housing and living costs met.
Females: Crimes of Violence
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent steps she has taken to combat violence against women. [195490]
Barbara Follett: The Government have recently announced plans to:
Extend the network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres to 36 by the end of this year.
Double the number of Specialist Domestic Violence Courts to 128 by 2011 and roll out Multi-Area Risk Assessment Conferences to all areas.
Women: Sport
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with other Government departments on the funding for women’s sport. [193614]
Barbara Follett: Since the establishment of the Government Equalities office, the Ministers for Women and Equality have not been involved in discussions with other Government Departments on the funding for Women’s sport.
Church Commissioners
Bats
9. Mr. Robathan: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what estimate he has made of the damage caused to historic churches by bats. [195466]
Sir Stuart Bell: As I told the House on 29 January 2007, such figures are not held centrally but bat roosts are a significant problem in a number of churches, especially in rural areas. Many roosts are accommodated successfully but the potential for damage to important church contents is high.
Women Bishops
David Taylor: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what recent representations the Church Commissioners have received on the ordination of women as bishops. [195464]
Sir Stuart Bell: I have been asked several questions about the matter on the floor of this House. Moreover, my hon. Friend will know that the matter will be discussed in General Synod, hopefully this July.
Electoral Commission Committee
Campaign Spending Between Elections
8. Martin Linton: To ask the honourable Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission what powers the Electoral Commission has to limit campaign spending before an election has been called. [195465]
Peter Viggers: Expenditure by both parties and candidates is subject to limits which apply during specified pre-election periods. Both the limits and the specified periods are set by Parliament, and the Commission has no powers to vary them.
Solicitor-General
Inquests
13. Norman Baker: To ask the Solicitor-General how many applications she has made under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 for the re-opening or re-holding of an inquest; and if she will make a statement. [195483]
The Solicitor-General: Under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 application may be made by or under the authority of the Attorney-General to the High Court for an order that an inquest or another inquest may be held.
By virtue of s.l of the Law Officers Act 1997 the Solicitor-General may also apply or give authority for application to be made.
In 2007 the Law Officers did not make any such applications. In 2007 the Attorney-General’s Office was notified of 15 possible requests that application be made or for authority to make such an application. Authority was given in cases. The remainder were either withdrawn, refused or remain ongoing.
Crown Prosecution Service
14. Tom Brake: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of the Crown Prosecution Service’s response to information on crime scene profiles received from the Dutch authorities in January 2007. [195484]
The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the House on 20 March 2008.
Domestic Violence: Prosecutions
John Robertson: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made in improving prosecution rates in domestic violence cases. [195482]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is strongly committed to the effective prosecution of domestic violence. The successful prosecution rate in England and Wales has increased from 59.7 per cent. in 2005-06 to 69.3 per cent. in the third quarter of 2007-08. The CPS will continue to take action to seek further improvements in the prosecution rate for domestic violence cases.
Rape: Prosecutions
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of the rates of successful prosecution for rape; and if she will make a statement. [195478]
The Solicitor-General: I am satisfied that the ongoing efforts and current initiatives of the Criminal Justice Agencies (CJA) should lead to more successful prosecutions. In addition I have proposed changes concerning the way that victims’ visually recorded evidence and victims’ disclosure to third parties can be used at trial. I am also examining ways to inform juries about victims’ psychological responses.
Anne Moffat: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Government is taking to improve prosecution rates for rape. [195480]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) works with the police to build strong cases and empowers specialist support services to enable victims to provide best evidence. A cross-Government group is addressing local variations in performance and we are pursuing further measures to increase the range of evidence admissible in rape prosecutions.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Public Appointments
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the mandate is of the new UN special representative for Afghanistan and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; what assessment he has made of how this differs from (a) the mandate which Lord Ashdown was prepared to accept and (b) the mandate of Tom Koenigs of Germany, whom the new special representative is replacing; and if he will make a statement. [195638]
Dr. Howells: The mandate of the special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan, as head of the UN Assistance Mission, is set out in the relevant resolutions of the Security Council—most recently UN Security Council Resolution 1746 (2007). The Security Council will shortly adopt a new resolution extending the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan's mandate for a further 12 months. There is broad consensus that the new resolution should put particular emphasis on the UN's crucial role in co-ordinating the overall international effort in Afghanistan.
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide were offset by his Department for air travel through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership programme in 2006-07; and at what cost. [195727]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be submitting figures for air travel in 2006-07 to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership programme in April 2008 to enable them to calculate the equivalent tonnes of carbon that we need to offset.
Diego Garcia
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 2 November 2004, Official Report, column 225W, on Diego Garcia, on what date the British Representative on Diego Garcia most recently confirmed that there were no detainees or prison facilities associated with rendition on Diego Garcia. [190947]
David Miliband: The British Representative on Diego Garcia was present at the 2007 UK/US political-military talks, which took place in Washington on 12-13 September 2007, when the US assurances were last given.
Serbia: Foreign Relations
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Government policy is on the necessary conditions for the conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia; and if he will make a statement. [191985]
David Miliband: The Government believes that Serbia's progress towards the EU must uphold the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) conditionality and ensure this remains embedded in the accession process. We want Serbia also to be playing a constructive regional role.
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council conclusions of June 2007 recalled that the pace and conclusion of the negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) would depend on Serbia's full co-operation with ICTY.
This issue is regularly discussed within the EU. The Government would be ready—in the interests of sending a clear signal of EU commitment to Serbia's European future—to consider signature of an SAA if there were firm agreement that ICTY conditionality were to remain embedded in the accession process and to apply at the next relevant stage.
Sudan: Sanctions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions the Government has had with members of the EU on the implementation of sanctions on the Sudanese Government. [195363]
Meg Munn: The conclusions of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 28 January, which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended, re-stated that any party failing to engage constructively in the Darfur peace process would be considered an obstacle to peace and the EU would promote further measures against it, notably in the UN framework.
The prospect of further UN sanctions and persuasion by the UN Secretary-General among others, helped bring the Government of Sudan to accept the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur
peacekeeping force in 2007. We continue to discuss the possibility of further sanctions with other members of the UN Security Council as one of a range of measures to resolve the crisis in Darfur.
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