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23 Oct 2008 : Column 565W—continued
Young Offenders
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young people attended more than (a) one, (b) two and (c) three young offender institutions in each of the last 10 years. [228729]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service does not routinely keep figures for the number of young people attending more than (a) one, (b) two and (c) three young offender institutions.
Youth Action Plan
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with Ministers from the Department for Children, Schools and Families on the drafting of the Youth Action Plan. [229444]
Mr. Hanson: The Youth Crime Action Plan was conceived and developed jointly by the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Home Office. Ministers from all three Departments had regular contact throughout the drafting of the plan and we continue to work together to oversee its implementation.
Youth Justice Management Information System
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will publish the results of the pilot of the Youth Justice Management Information System. [228846]
Mr. Hanson: The pilot of the Youth Justice Management Information System has successfully concluded. From an early stage the project has been sharing its findings with its stakeholders, including youth offending teams, secure establishments and local criminal justice boards. A final report of the pilot has been distributed to the Youth Justice Management Information System project board. The objectives of the pilot were met and it is seen to be successful and is currently deploying nationally.
The application has over 120 active users. It has already taken over responsibility for the production of daily management reports on the occupancy levels of the secure estate and has delivered significant efficiency benefits.
The project is now in national rollout across .the youth justice system. The system will be used by practitioners within the Youth Justice Board, all youth offending teams across England and Wales, and all juvenile secure establishments. The national roll-out is on schedule to conclude in March 2009.
There are no plans to formally publish a report on the pilots.
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the estimated cost is of implementing the Connectivity system across the youth justice network; [228850]
(2) what the cost to date has been of developing the Connectivity network; [228851]
(3) when the Connectivity application software and encryption devices will be installed by all youth offender teams; [228852]
(4) which (a) youth offender teams and (b) non-HM Prison Service secure establishments are (i) using fully and (ii) not using fully Connectivity information sharing in their everyday operation. [228853]
Mr. Hanson: The Connectivity system has taken two years from design through to implementation at a cost of approximately £6 million.
The Connectivity project started in July 2006. The cost to date of developing, maintaining and upgrading the connectivity network as at September 2008 is £5.28 million.
The Connectivity encryption devices are already rolled out across all 157 youth offending teams allowing secure sharing of information. The application software is fully developed and is scheduled to be completely rolled out by April of 2009.
The programme is taking a two-stage approach to secure information sharing between YOTs and secure establishments. The first stage which utilises secure email is now fully complete, involving all 157 YOTs and 35 secure establishments. The second stage, which involves system to system connectivity, has been successfully implemented to YOTs and secure establishment in the Yorkshire and Humber and north-east regions (containing nine YOTs and two secure establishments).
Full implementation of the Connectivity solution (stage two) is scheduled for April 2009.
International Development
Burma: Education
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid funding in response to the cyclone in Burma has been allocated to education; and if he will make a statement. [227400]
Mr. Michael Foster: Although none of the Department for International Development's (DFID) cyclone relief assistance has been specifically allocated to education, the sector has benefited from our funding allocated to multi-sectoral programmes managed by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations, and from our support to the logistical effort needed to deliver aid supplies.
Early in the cyclone relief effort it became clear that education programmes, such as those being undertaken by UNICEF and Save the Children, were relatively well funded by other donors. DFID therefore chose to focus support on other critical priorities which were less well funded such as food, shelter, health care, clean water and the restoration of people's livelihoods.
Since around 75 per cent. of the cost of education in Burma is met by communities, the restoration of people's income-earning capacity will have an important effect on their ability to educate their children.
DFID is now considering how best to assist recovery in the cyclone affected areas of Burma over the next two years, including possible direct support to the education sector.
DFID's long-term funding to UNICEF and Save the Children for primary and pre-school education across Burma is continuing
Burma: Storms
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the European Union and (b) the USA on funding for the second year of the response to the cyclone in Burma. [228529]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Officials from the Department for International Development (DFID) participate in frequent meetings with other donors in Rangoon where future spending plans are discussed. These meetings are usually attended by representatives of the USA and the European Commission.
DFID officials in Rangoon recently held discussions with the European Commission on the prospect of setting up a joint fund to support rural livelihoods, which will be critical to many of the most vulnerable households in the cyclone-affected area. DFID staff also undertook a joint review with the European Commission on UNICEF’s education programme, which considered options for cyclone recovery funding over the next two years.
DFID’s own contribution to cyclone recovery activities for 2009 and 2010 is currently under consideration.
In July, I wrote to a range of like-minded development Ministers urging them to offer generous support to the United Nations appeal for Burma. I have also offered support to the United Nations in its efforts to encourage other donors to contribute more to the Burma appeal. DFID and FCO staff have followed up these initiatives through bilateral contacts with other donors and in international fora.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 1339W, on departmental consultants, on what projects expenditure was incurred in each of those years; how much was spent on each such project; and which consultants were employed on each such project. [229321]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The answer of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 1339W, provided the Department for International Development's (DFID) overall expenditure on consultancy contracts for the past five financial years. However, to provide a detailed list of expenditure against individual contracts for each of the last five years would incur disproportionate costs.
A list of all contracts awarded since January 2005 is available on DFID's website:
This includes the original contract value and the name of the consultant engaged to deliver each contract. The information published on our website does not cover lower value contracts issued by DFID departments or overseas offices under delegated authority. To provide details of contracts awarded prior to January 2005 would also incur disproportionate costs.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 1339W, on departmental consultants, what his Department’s projected spend on consultants is in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement. [229322]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The use of consultancy is determined by the various divisions within the Department for International Development (DFID), on the basis of
a clear business case. Most of DFID’s consultancy expenditure is for services to the development programme, rather than for assistance with in-house tasks. The nature of development assistance means that DFID does not produce aggregate forecasts of consultancy expenditure.
Departmental Public Relations
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of (a) entertainment, (b) advertising and promotion and (c) public relations consultancy to his Department in 2007-08. [228153]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The information is as follows:
(a) The Department for International Development's (DFID) total spend on entertainment within administration cost budgets for 2007-08 was £271,587. This figure includes costs for working breakfasts and lunches, refreshments at meetings and official entertainment. All entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety.
(b) In financial year 2007-08, DFID’s main advertising cost was for recruitment and procurement. Advertising for these purposes cost £242,652. Other promotional and advertising includes building knowledge and understanding of development (particularly in schools), working in-country to improve health or other outcomes, and consulting with key stakeholders on development policy and implementation. These costs are integrated in our programme. It is therefore not possible to disaggregate figures from overall budgets without incurring disproportionate cost.
(c) In financial year 2007-08, our communications division had only one contract at a cost of £84,961.59 + VAT.
Developing Countries: Natural Disasters
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what steps the Government has taken to improve the support given to developing countries immediately following natural disasters; [228313]
(2) what steps the Government has taken to encourage other countries to provide emergency service personnel to developing countries immediately after a natural disaster. [228314]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) gives substantial support to developing countries following natural disasters.
DFID’s natural disaster response has been scrutinised and praised in recent years by Parliament’s International Development and Public Accounts Committees, by the National Audit Office and by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD. We regularly monitor our own humanitarian responses and the partners that we fund, including through field visits to project sites. In the case of major disasters, there is usually an external scrutiny of the overall response. In the case of our Burma response, we are planning to supplement this with a thorough independent evaluation of our own contribution.
DFID works closely with the Governments and other authorities of developing countries affected by natural disasters, both in operational response and through longer term programmes to help those countries with measures to reduce and mitigate disaster risks. Most lives saved in a natural disaster are saved in the immediate few days by family members, local people and local organisations.
We encourage other countries to provide emergency personnel in several ways. We provide both funding and UK experts to the global United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (UNDAC) network which sends international teams to disaster zones. We also support the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism for disaster response by providing search and rescue capability and we co-operate with a number of fellow European countries to provide combined response through a network called the International Humanitarian Partnership.
Overseas Aid
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 993W, on overseas aid, what his Department's definition of a low value contract is. [228693]
Mr. Michael Foster: The answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report , column 993W, referred to ‘low value contracts’ issued under delegated authority by the Department for International Development's (DFID) various UK departments and overseas offices. Our definition of low value contracts are those contracts issued with a financial value below the EU threshold for services (currently set at £90,319). The majority of low value contracts let under delegated authority have a value below £25,000.
Pakistan: Earthquakes
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the Government provided to the Government of Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake. [228312]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: In the first six months after the October 2005 earthquake the Department for International Development (DFID) provided £53 million for emergency relief to help the 3.5 million people affected. This support included the provision of water and sanitation, shelter, food and helicopter and aeroplane flights to get aid to where it was most needed.
Since then, we have been working closely with the Government of Pakistan on the reconstruction and rehabilitation process with support totalling £49 million to date.
South America: Research
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 995W, on South America: research, what priority themes were identified by the International Development Research Centre for Asia and Latin America; when consideration of the studies will be completed; what the cost of the scoping work is expected to be; and how many training places have been created as a result of this work. [228692]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has co-funded with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) scoping studies related to climate change adaptation research in Asia and Latin America.
In Latin America as a whole, the priority adaptation research themes identified were agriculture, governance, health, social protection, migration, water, financial institutions and disaster risk reduction. Similar themes were identified in the Asia study.
The total cost of the scoping work is expected to be around £600,000, of which DFID will contribute £400,000. DFID’s consideration of the scoping work is expected to be complete by the end of March 2009.
No training places were created as a result of the scoping studies.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies: Armed Forces
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of academies linked to schools associated with military establishments. [227903]
Jim Knight: There are no military organisations sponsoring academies, but a growing number of academies are developing Cadet Forces, sometimes in partnership with other schools.
The Wellington Academy in Wiltshire will be close to a military base, and is working with the military and other partners to enrich the opportunities the Academy offers its students and local community. This also reflects the aspirations of the Academy's sponsor, Wellington College, which itself has military connections.
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