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15 May 2009 : Column 1090W—continued
Police: Essex
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the police grant funding for Essex Police Authority was in 2008-09; how much is proposed for 2009-10; and if she will make a statement; [275602]
(2) how much funding was allocated per head of population to Essex Police Authority in 2008-09; how much is planned for 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [275601]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is set out in the table.
The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the
relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative tax base of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
| Essex police authority total grant funding 2008-09 and 2009-10 | ||
| Total grant funding( 1,2) (£ million) | Resident population (million) | |
| (1) Total grant funding comprises: General Grant (Home Office Police Grant and Communities and Local Government Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates) and Specific Grants include—Crime Fighting Fund, Neighbourhood Policing Fund/Community Support Officers, Basic Command Unit Fund and Special Formula Grant (Rural Policing Fund, Special Priority Payments, Forensic (DNA) Grant, London/SE Allowance and Integrated Police Learning and Development Programme) and Capital Provision. (2) Total Grant funding excludes the following for comparison purposes: Dedicated Security Grant, Pensions Deficit Grant and some minor grant flows. Sources: 1. Grants: Home Office 2. Population: Office of National Statistics, mid year population estimates and projections as used in the police funding formula | ||
Police: Telephone Services
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to limit the use by police forces of 0845 non-emergency telephone numbers. [273826]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 8 May 2009]: It is a matter for individual police forces what number they use for non-emergency telephone contact and the Home Office has no plans to limit the use of 0845 numbers operated by police forces.
Terrorism
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the cost of the revised Contest strategy; and if she will make a statement. [275494]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 14 May 2009]: “The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering International Terrorism” set out details of Government spending on counter terrorism and intelligence. It is forecast to rise from £2.5 billion in 2008-09 to £3.5 billion in 2010-11. This budget is wider than just expenditure on the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST.
Breaking down this budget by specific counter-terrorism and intelligence activities, beyond what is published already, would reveal our capabilities and details of the Security and Intelligence Agencies spending. It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal these details.
Transport: Personal records
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she expects to announce proposals on the collection of advance passenger data on domestic air and sea journeys; [275292]
(2) when she plans to announce further details of her Department’s proposal to give the police powers to collect advance passenger data on domestic air and sea journeys. [275502]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 14 May 2009]: A formal public consultation will take place prior to the secondary legislation necessary to implement the powers. It is intended that this will focus on crossings between Great Britain and Northern Ireland only. A decision to launch this consultation has not yet been made.
House of Commons Commission
Members: Allowances
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the main categories are of personal data selected for redaction from hon. Members' claim forms and receipts prior to publication. [275837]
Nick Harvey: The main categories of data selected for redaction were listed in the notes sent to all Members on 1 April. They are:
Any residential address of a Member of either House of Parliament
Travel arrangements of a Member where the arrangements are regular in nature
The identity of any person who delivers or has delivered goods, or provides or has provided services, to a Member at any residence of the Member (this does not apply to Members' offices or to head office addresses of large suppliers)
Expenditure by a Member on security arrangements
All names of hotels/guest houses used
Correspondence or advice letters to or from Department of Resources/DFA
All manuscript additions to forms, receipts etc where these have been made by HoC staff
Dates and times on till receipts where the name of the supplier is included
Bank and credit card statements (but mortgage or rental agreements or statements will be published to the following extent: (a) names of mortgagee/landlord/chargee (b) amount of interest and rent and (c) information contained on statements of account such as value of mortgage)
Itemised parts of telephone bills listing calls to individual numbers
Personal items on till receipts and invoices for which no claim has been made
Misfiled pages relating to another Member
Names and addresses and other details of members of staff on 'C3' forms (claims for staff expenses)
Other information that is not central to the purpose of the claim or which could aid identity fraud including:
personal telephone numbers and other contact details
barcodes
cost centres and departmental identification numbers
personal data of third parties (excluding the name of mortgagees, chargees or landlords)
bank/Giro details
photocopies of cheques
account, invoice, delivery, order, NI or reference numbers
signatures
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Students: Loans
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the number of graduates with outstanding tuition fee loans who are resident overseas; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of such graduates who are repaying those loans. [274358]
Mr. Lammy: Student loans for tuition fees have been available since 2006/07. The following table includes English domiciled students and European students who studied at English higher education institutions. It shows the number of borrowers with outstanding tuition fee loans who were known to be resident overseas as at 31 March 2008.
Following usual statistical practice, figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. It is not currently possible to disclose information for the period after 31st March 2008. This is because, following National Statistics protocol, the statistics are under embargo until the publication of the Student Loans Statistical First Release due in summer 2009.
International Development
Afghanistan: International Assistance
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has contributed to the United Nations Development Programme in Afghanistan. [274700]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) spent £16 million of its bilateral programme through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan last year (2008-09).
Africa: Overseas Aid
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what progress his Department is making towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals in Africa; [275007]
(2) what progress the Government is making towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal on (a) reducing child mortality, (b) improving national health, (c) poverty reduction and hunger and (d) achieving universal primary education. [275008]
Mr. Michael Foster: The UN conducts the official assessment of progress towards the millennium development goals (MDGs). Their latest report relating to 2008
found that the global collective effort is yielding results and that progress is being made globally towards achieving many of the MDGs even in some of the more challenging regions. A number of targets are expected to be reached by their target dates in 2015.
The Department for International Development (DFID) also conducts an annual assessment of progress towards key MDG targets at a country level based on international data. The latest assessment was published in its 2008 autumn performance report (copies of which are also in the parliamentary Library):
Departmental Public Consultation
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of producing the short film shown at his Department's White Paper consultation event in London on 5 May 2009; on how many future occasions the film will be shown in public; and if he will make a statement. [274383]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The short film "Our Interdependent World" is one of three films originally commissioned for and shown at the DFID conference, "Eliminating World Poverty: Building our Common Future" on 9 and 10 March 2009. The cost of the three films was £38,545. These films are being shown at a series of 12 regional consultation events on DFID's forthcoming White Paper hosted by DFID Ministers, including the London event on 5 May. They are also being shown at other consultation events and meetings on the White Paper, and are available to view on DFID's website. So far, over 1,700 people have seen "Our Interdependent World".
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was to his Department of (a) venue hire, (b) refreshments and (c) other expenditure in relation to the White Paper public consultation event held in London on 5 May 2009; and if he will make a statement. [274384]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The venue cost for the London consultation event was £4,350. Refreshments, including Fairtrade tea and coffee, amounted to £4,597.50. The total cost, including the above and also technical and production management, facilitation and delegate management amounted to £23,142 excluding VAT. The Central Office of Information events team researched over 30 central London venues which were potentially suitable, and the chosen venue was the cheapest available.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of the public consultation process for his Department's forthcoming White Paper; and if he will make a statement. [274385]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The estimated cost to the Department for International Development (DFID) of the public consultation process for the forthcoming White Paper on International Development is £331,463. This has covered: 12 UK regional consultation events hosted by Ministers; six regional consultations hosted by DFID offices in Kenya and Somalia, Jamaica, India, Southern Africa, China and Bangladesh; and over 50 other consultation meetings in the UK with specific groups of stakeholders. It also includes costs related to the online public consultation on the DFID website. The consultation has so far reached a wide range of individuals and organisations in the UK and around the world.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what mechanisms have been in place for the payment of expenses to Ministers and officials in his Department at regional meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank in the last 10 years; [274381]
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by his Department to Ministers and officials on the acceptance of expenses payments at the meetings of multilateral development banks. [274382]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Travel to multilateral development banks, including the Inter-American Development Bank and Asian Development Bank, is considered to be the same as any international travel undertaken by Ministers and officials of the Department for International Development's (DFID) business. DFID arranges and meets the costs of this travel and other expenses, which are accounted for against receipts.
It is not DFID policy for Ministers or officials to claim expenses from the multilateral development banks. Accommodation is, however, sometimes provided by the host bank for their annual meetings.
Developing Countries: Drugs
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is taking to ensure efficient and timely procurement of antiretroviral drugs through the Global Fund and other mechanisms. [275005]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is aware that some countries supported by the Global Fund are at risk from health facility stores temporarily running out of essential antiretroviral drugs (stock-outs). DFID officials have spoken to the fund’s secretariat about this, including recently at the Global Fund’s Executive Board (5-6 May 2009). Formally, the UK supported a resolution made at the board meeting which obliges the fund’s secretariat to address this issue urgently, to report on whether its existing procedures are adequate, and to propose solutions which would minimise the risks of disruptions to treatment both in the short term and on an ongoing basis. In developing countries such as Zimbabwe, DFID is also assisting, where possible, in the provision of drugs while problems in Global Fund supported programmes are being addressed.
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