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24 Mar 2009 : Column 263W—continued
Security Sector Reform
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress he has made towards establishing (a) a definition of and (b) objectives for security sector reform. [266167]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has made an important contribution to the international community’s approach to security sector reform, including the establishment of an internationally accepted definition and objectives. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Guidelines on Security System Reform and Governance, agreed by OECD Ministers in 2004, define the security system as including: core security actors, security management and oversight bodies, justice and law enforcement and non-statutory security.
The OECD DAC Guidelines and the 2007 Handbook on Security System Reform state that the overall objective of international support to security system reform processes is to increase the ability of partner countries to meet the range of security and justice challenges they face, in a manner consistent with democratic norms, and sound principles of governance and the rule of law. Security sector reform helps create a secure environment conducive to other political, economic and social developments, through the reduction of armed violence and crime. The focus for international actors should be to support partner countries in achieving overarching objectives:
(i) Effective governance, oversight and accountability in the security system,
(ii) Improved and sustainable delivery of security and justice services,
(iii) Development of local leadership and ownership of the reform process.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of security sector reform on his Department’s development policies. [266168]
Mr. Michael Foster: Security sector reform is a central pillar of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) work on conflict prevention and a key component of our support for post conflict recovery and peace-building. Making people’s lives safer, ending wars, and preventing new wars from starting or re-starting requires a joint effort. To achieve these objectives we work closely with other parts of the UK Government including the FCO and MOD. For example, in Sierra Leone, major DFID, FCO, and MOD investments have built the capacity of the armed forces, police and other bodies to deliver security on the ground. Further information on DFID’s security sector reform strategy is available on the DFID website:
Sub-Saharan Africa: Malaria
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 21 May 2008, Official Report, column 328W, on Africa: malaria, from which budgets the £90 million has been drawn; and how much of it has been spent to date. [266271]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The costs of supplying 20 million bed nets for Africa, which we estimated at some £90 million, are being drawn from our country programme budget allocations for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. We will be able to give a figure for the amount spent so far once the accounts for the current financial year 2008-09 are finalised.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 66W, on sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, when work began on the programme to supply 20 million bed nets. [266272]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The pledge to provide 20 million bed nets for Africa was made by the Prime Minister on 9 April 2008. Follow-up action to deliver against the pledge commenced immediately.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry, of 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 66W, on sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, what the average (a) price and (b) distribution cost of a bed net is (i) in total and (ii) by country. [266273]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
As set out in my answer of 21 May 2008, Official Report, column 328W, we estimated a typical average price for a bed net of £2.50, with additional cost for administration, delivery and distribution of
£2 per net. On this basis, it was estimated that it would cost £90 million to deliver the Prime Minister's pledge to provide 20 million additional bed nets for Africa during the period 2008-11. This estimate is close to the £5 total costs per bed net quoted during the recent Comic Relief appeal. However, costs vary depending on the delivery agent and the quantities being ordered: for example, UNICEF, which buys a very large number of bed nets globally, can command very favourable prices.
It will not be possible to calculate the costs in every African country concerned until all of the various programmes through which bed nets are being supplied have been fully costed and approved. However, an example where figures are available is Nigeria, where we are funding the supply of 2.5 million bed nets through the Malaria Consortium. In this case, each bed net costs US$4.46 to buy and ship, with distribution and associated costs of US$1.40 per unit, totalling US$5.86 (about £4 at current exchange rates).
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 5 June 2008, Official Report, columns 1130-32W, on overseas aid, how many bed nets have been procured by each of his Department's country programmes since June 2008. [266274]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development is in the process of compiling this information and will make it public in the next few weeks.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 66W, on sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, what the level of demand for bed nets is (a) in each African country and (b) in each country to which bed nets are being supplied by his Department's country programmes. [266275]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Data on the levels of demand for bed nets are not available by country. The World Malaria Report, issued by the World Health Organisation in September 2008—which is available at:
includes detailed data on the levels of bed net ownership and use worldwide. Demand for bed nets is very dependent on the level of knowledge about malaria that prevails in a community, often something that can be encouraged through health education programmes. People in malarial areas need to be informed about the benefits of using bed nets before increased demand develops.
There is a huge need for bed nets across Africa. In 2006, an average of 27 per cent. of African households owned an insecticide treated bed net, but only 17 per cent. of children slept under one. Where malaria is endemic, it is important for all children to sleep under a net. There is wide variation among countries however; around 49 per cent. of children sleep under a net in Gambia whereas in Kenya coverage has, with our help, increased from 7 per cent. in 2004 to 67 per cent. of children in 2006. It is intended that our various programmes that supply bed nets, and similar programmes by national governments and by other donors and NGOs, will considerably increase the availability and usage of bed nets with the aim of making a positive impact on the incidence of malaria in Africa over the next few years.
Women and Equality
Opinion Leader Research
Mr. Baron: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office has paid to Opinion Leader Research in each year since its establishment. [266000]
Ms Harman: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. Since then, no payments have been made to Opinion Leader Research.
Solicitor-General
Corporal Punishment: Mosques
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Solicitor-General how many complaints were received by the Crown Prosecution Service alleging corporal punishment in mosques in England and Wales in 2008. [262891]
The Solicitor-General: CPS records allocate each defendant prosecuted by the service to one of 12 categories indicating the principal offence with which the defendant was charged, including a category identifying proceedings for Offences Against the Person. However, CPS records include no additional detail identifying either the circumstances or the motivation for the offence. To obtain this information, by reference to individual case files, would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9).
Domestic Violence: Cumbria
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Solicitor-General how many successful prosecutions for offences related to domestic violence in (a) Cumbria and (b) Copeland constituency there have been in each year since 1997; and in how many such cases (i) alcohol was an aggravating factor and (ii) the victim required hospital treatment. [263426]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) only holds complete and reliable data on proceedings for domestic violence from 2005 onwards. The following table shows the number of defendants prosecuted by CPS Cumbria for offences of domestic violence, together with the outcome of proceedings. Outcomes are divided into convictions, including guilty pleas as well as convictions after trial, and unsuccessful outcomes, comprising all outcomes other than a conviction.
No discrete records are held for Copeland constituency. Figures relating to this area are included within those for the Workington Police Division, for which comparable figures are included in the following table.
CPS records include no information showing whether alcohol was an aggravating factor, or whether a victim required hospital treatment. To obtain this information, by reference to individual case files, would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9).
| Convictions | Unsuccessful | ||||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Total | |
Domestic Violence: Hampshire
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Solicitor-General how many (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions for acts of domestic violence there were in (i) the Test Valley Borough, (ii) Southampton and (iii) the ceremonial county of Hampshire in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the offences were (A) males assaulting females, (B) females assaulting males, (C) males assaulting males and (D) females assaulting females. [264916]
The Solicitor-General: The following table shows, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records, the number of prosecutions for domestic violence completed in Southampton district and the county of Hampshire, during the period for which complete data are available. The table also shows case outcomes, divided into convictions and unsuccessful outcomes, and includes separate figures for male and for female defendants. Figures for the Southampton district include the Hampshire South West district. The Test Valley borough falls under several units within CPS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and no discrete figures are held for the borough alone. Although the CPS has in place arrangements to capture the gender of victims of offences of domestic violence, the information remains under development, and insufficient complete data exist at present to answer the remainder of the question.
The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.
From these centrally reported data we are not able to identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.
| Convictions | Unsuccessful | ||||
| Volume | Percentage | Volume | Percentage | Total outcomes | |
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