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23 Jun 2008 : Column 28W—continued
Peacekeeping Operations: Misconduct
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with UN officials on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by peacekeepers; what measures have been proposed to prevent such abuse; and if he will make a statement. [211883]
Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
The UK takes all allegations of misconduct by UN and other peacekeepers extremely seriously and we believe strongly that UN personnel must uphold the highest standards of behaviour. The vast majority of UN peacekeepers uphold those standards while doing important work in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
The UN is responsible for tackling allegations of misconduct directly with troop contributing countries. We will continue to work closely with the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations and other partners to ensure that its ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards incidents of abuse is implemented in full.
We are providing support to the UN's efforts to assess, prioritise and respond to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children by UN peacekeepers and aid workers. This includes taking concrete measures to address both the military and civilian branches of peacekeeping support operations. One such measure, the UN's Conduct and Discipline Units, is funded by the UK's Conflict Prevention Pool. These teams work to ensure that all peacekeeping personnel undergo training on UN standards of conduct relating to sexual exploitation and abuse, and that all allegations of wrongdoing are
reported upon and followed up with appropriate action. In the UN Mission in Liberia, for example, the number of cases reported to the UN was reduced by half from 2006 to 2007.
We have been successful in working with the UN to instigate policy changes aimed at preventing and tackling sexual exploitation and abuse. These include: a Victim's Assistance Strategy to provide assistance to survivors of sexual violence perpetrated by UN personnel; a more robust Model Memorandum of Understanding between the UN and Troop Contributing Countries; an upgraded Welfare and Recreation Strategy for peacekeeping and related personnel; and a resolution on ‘Criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission’.
The UK supports efforts to protect the world's most vulnerable children from sexual abuse. To further strengthen the UN's approach, the UK supported the UN Secretary-General's recent recommendation to include, where appropriate, child protection advisers within the mandates of peacekeeping missions. As an active member of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, we will continue to work to improve the effectiveness of existing UN monitoring, reporting and disciplinary mechanisms.
Through its Conflict Prevention programme, the UK also helps to train military personnel for peacekeeping operations. Good conduct and respect for human rights is an integral part of all training courses. The UK will continue to provide training on peace support operations for troops from other countries, which covers conduct and discipline, particularly the importance of protecting civilians in accordance with international law.
Prime Minister
Devolution: Northern Ireland
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Prime Minister what subjects were discussed during his talks with the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin at the time of the establishment of the new Northern Ireland Executive; what the outcome was of such discussions; and if he will make a statement. [213121]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) on 18 June 2008, Official Report, columns 918-19W.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Prime Minister what response he made to President Bush's public request for the presence of UK armed forces in Iraq to be maintained; and if he will make a statement. [213343]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with President Bush on 16 June 2008. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website:
and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Joint Intelligence Committee: Honours
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister how many members of staff of the Joint Intelligence Committee have received honours in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [211985]
The Prime Minister: The Joint Intelligence Committee is supported by a Secretariat based in the Cabinet Office. The Honours Lists are published in The London Gazette on the occasion of the Queen's birthday in June and at new year. The lists sets out which Department civil servants are from.
Northern Ireland Executive: Finance
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to make any changes to financial arrangements relating to the Northern Ireland Executive following recent talks between the Government, Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party. [213122]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave at my monthly press conference on 12 June 2008. A transcript is available on the No. 10 website:
and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Culture, Media and Sport
Swimming
10. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what procedure local authorities will be able to access Government funding for free swimming programmes; and if he will make a statement. [212575]
Andy Burnham: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney).
12. Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what effect he expects his proposal to introduce free swimming to have on quality of life in areas of high deprivation. [212580]
Andy Burnham: There are some unique health benefits to swimming, particularly so for the over 60s. Swimming is also the most popular physical recreation for adults, and a key means of increasing the amount of exercise people take. But we know that cost can be a barrier to participation for some, and that this can be exacerbated in areas of high deprivation.
13. Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the process is for local authorities to apply for central Government funding for the provision of free swimming. [212581]
Andy Burnham: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney).
Television Services: Sight-impaired People
11. Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he has taken to ensure that digital switchover will not adversely affect blind and partially-sighted people. [212579]
Margaret Hodge: Blind or partially sighted people are eligible for the Digital Switchover Help Scheme which provides help with equipment, installation and after-care support.
Audio Description (AD), an additional narration on TV programmes that describes on-screen action, is accessible through the equipment provided by the scheme.
The Government, Digital UK and the help scheme, continue to consult the RNIB about how best to help people with visual impairments through the switchover process.
Community Regeneration
14. Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with Sport England on its contribution to community regeneration; and if he will make a statement. [212582]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have had no recent discussions with Sport England on this subject.
Sport England has recently developed a new strategy focused on a world leading community sports system. This will sustain and increase participation in grassroots sport among all groups and allow everyone to develop their sporting talent to the full.
Sport is a key player in a number of areas of community social regeneration. Sports projects can have a significant impact by breaking down barriers and providing positive opportunities for people to mix with others. Sport can also help reduce crime and antisocial behaviour; and increase peoples' levels of trust and community involvement.
Lottery Costs
16. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he next expects to meet the chief executives of the lottery funds to discuss administrative costs. [212584]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have no plans to do so. We encourage lottery distributors to keep their administrative costs as low as possible and they are committed to this.
Listed Sporting Events
17. Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to begin the review of the listed sporting events regime. [212585]
Andy Burnham: Any decision on the commencement of a review of listed events will be made following the outcome of Ofcom’s current review of Public Service Broadcasting and the findings of the Government’s Convergence Think Tank.
Young People: Empowerment
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how his Department plans to deliver the Government's pledge to empower young people through sport. [212570]
Andy Burnham: The DCMS and DCSF have joint responsibility to deliver the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People and to date over £2.2 billion has been committed through the strategy up to 2011.
Government will continue to work through our delivery partners to engage and empower more young people in sport. Sport England, under their new strategy, will work in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust to develop more opportunities for young people to participate in high quality coaching and competition and gain greater access to the club system.
Binge Drinking
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the measures in the Licensing Act 2003 in combating binge drinking. [212583]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The evaluation of the Licensing Act 2003 was published on 4 March this year. Our main conclusion was that businesses and consumers have been using the freedoms provided but that more could be done to rebalance action towards enforcement and crack down on irresponsible behaviour. There are, however, limits to the impact licensing law can have on the personal behaviour in terms of consumption. We have therefore announced, in the Youth Alcohol Action Plan, measures which are designed to tackle binge drinking among young people. The Government also expect to consider further action when the ongoing Alcohol Price, Promotion and Harm review reports this summer.
Arts: Publicity
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers and public affairs employees were employed by (a) the Big Lottery Fund, (b) the Arts Council, (c) the Heritage Lottery Fund, (d) Sport England, (e) UK Sport and (f) the UK Film Council in each of the last three years; and at what cost. [206727]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 20 May 2008]: Figures for the number of press officers and public affairs employees in each of the last three years, and their cost, as provided by the bodies in question, are set out in the following table. Some of these bodies cover the whole of the United Kingdom and others cover only England. The figures represent the total number of individuals employed during each financial year, not the number of full-time equivalents. Many of these individuals spent only a small proportion of their time on press and/or public affairs work, and some were only in post for part of a financial year.
| 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 | ||||
| Number | Cost (£) | Number | Cost (£) | Number | Cost (£) | |
Culture: Education
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the selection of the Find Your Talent pilot areas. [212578]
Margaret Hodge: On 29 May 2008 we announced the 10 selected Find Your Talent pilots that will trial ways of offering children and young people a range of high quality cultural experiences for five hours a week, both in and out of school.
The organisations leading these pilots are:
Bolton borough council;
The Creative Foundation (serving Shepway District and including Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh);
Customs House (North and South Tyneside);
Hampshire county council;
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