Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 June 2009
International Development
Internally Displaced Persons: Sri Lanka
11. Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the humanitarian situation in camps for internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [281802]
Mr. Michael Foster: The formal military conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE has now ended. The entire humanitarian caseload of 280,000 IDPs are now in camps under the control of the GoSL. The humanitarian response is moving from an emergency to a maintenance phase and basic living conditions are slowly improving. However, the lack of activity permitted such as freedom of movement remains of concern. Early return of the IDPs to their homes is vital.
Palestinian West Bank
12. Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his latest assessment is of the effectiveness of his Department's projects to support economic development in the Palestinian West Bank. [281803]
Mr. Michael Foster: In 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) funded two conferences aimed at encouraging investment in Palestine. UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is now working with various stakeholders on conference follow-up and will be supporting a scoping mission to the West Bank in October.
In partnership with the World Bank, we are also supporting the Palestinian private sector through the Facility for New Market Development (FNMD), which is currently helping 138 companies (115 in the West Bank) to develop new products and/or enter new markets. FNMD clients have already developed four new products and entered 13 new international markets.
Faith Organisations
13. Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of faith organisations to his Department's work with civil society in developing countries. [281804]
Mr. Michael Foster: During 2007-8, the Department for International Development channelled over £21 million through faith organisations to support their development efforts.
Faith organisations play a direct and vital role tackling poverty in poor countries, providing essential services and humanitarian assistance. They are able to undertake
inward and outward advocacy, mobilising support and helping change attitudes and behaviour of members on issues such as HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and the role of women.
Refugee Camps: Algeria
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department provides to people from western Sahara in refugee camps in Algeria. [281801]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports Sahrawi refugees through its share of the budget of the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and its £19 million contributions to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), for its work with refugees across the world. In 2008, ECHO committed to provide €10 million to support Sahrawi refugees, while UNHCR spent $3.1 million in their support.
Africa: Overseas Aid
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to discuss with his G8 counterparts their plans to meet their commitments on (a) assistance to Africa, made at the Tokyo G8 summit in July 2008 and (b) reducing the spread of infectious diseases. [281225]
Mr. Thomas: I discussed these and other matters with my G8 development Minister counterparts in Rome on 11-12 June 2009. This meeting reaffirmed G8 commitments on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and international assistance confirmed at the G8 summit last year in Japan. The G8, under the presidency of Italy, is continuing its focus on Africa. Global health, including reducing the spread of infectious diseases, also remains a priority concern.
With less than three weeks until the G8 summit in July, discussions on the G8 development agenda, including meeting our commitments, are frequent and ongoing and taking place at ministerial and official level. They will be further discussed during the G8 Sherpa preparatory meetings scheduled for next week. The UK Government remain determined to meet their commitments to Africa and to fighting infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and polio and working towards the goal of universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. We are pressing our G8 colleagues to do likewise.
Rural Areas
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many days on average his Department’s professional staff worked in rural areas in the last 12 months period for which information is available. [281792]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has around 277 professional advisers posted in developing countries. The majority of our overseas staff are deliberately based in capitals, to facilitate our discussions with host governments, donors, and non-governmental organisations, including agricultural and rural sector reform. Staff regularly travel to rural areas, but we do not collate information on such visits.
Sudan: Overseas Aid
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development assistance his Department is providing to (a) the government of national unity in Sudan and (b) the government of Southern Sudan. [281200]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government do not transfer funds directly to the Government of National Unity (GNU) or the Government of South Sudan (GoSS). Most UK aid to Sudan is channelled through UN and World Bank managed multi-donor pooled funds, such as the Multi-Donor Trust Funds (MDTFs) in support of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, to which we have contributed £74.6 million since 2005 and through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of family intervention tenancies in tackling anti-social behaviour. [281839]
Mr. Ian Austin: I have been asked to reply.
No assessment has been carried out.
Crime
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 185W, on crime, how many incidents of street drinking were recorded in each police force area in 2007-08. [281837]
Alan Johnson: The Home Office does not centrally collect data on incidents of street drinking. You may wish to view the data on consumption within a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) which is provided in the table.
Within a DPPO area it is not an offence to consume alcohol. The offence is committed when a person, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement of a police constable to refrain from consuming alcohol (Section 12 (4) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001).
The number of PNDs issued for failure to comply with a requirement by a constable within a Designated Public Place Order are as follows:
485 in 2004, 712 in 2005, 1,061 in 2006 and 1,544 in 2007.
Data for 2008 will be available in autumn 2009.
DNA: Databases
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 10 July 2008, Official Report, columns 1767-8W, on genetics: databases, what proportion of DNA records of people (a) arrested but not charged for an offence, (b) arrested, charged but not convicted of an offence and (c) arrested, charged and convicted of an offence have resulted in matches with crime scene profiles. [270929]
Mr. Alan Campbell: As the National DNA Database does not hold data on whether those with records on it have been charged or convicted, the information requested is not available.
Entry Clearances
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications from (a) Pakistan and (b) Afghanistan have been rejected by the Abu Dhabi hub after being forwarded for clearance by the entry clearance officers in Islamabad (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) since 27 October 2008. [280128]
Alan Johnson: No visa applications were forwarded by entry clearance officers in Islamabad to the visa section in Abu Dhabi for assessment before 27 October 2008. Between 27 October 2008 and 31 May 2009, 18,036 of the applications that have been forwarded from Pakistan have been refused. These include applications from both Pakistani and Afghan nationals.
These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is provided to (a) British and (b) locally engaged entry clearance officers in Pakistan and Abu Dhabi. [280132]
Alan Johnson: All entry clearance officers recruited for long-term postings undertake a mandatory three week training course from the central training team in the UK. In addition to the central training, newly recruited officers in both Pakistan and Abu Dhabi receive additional training and mentoring over a minimum three month basis from experienced officers and managers already at post. Locally engaged entry clearance officers remain on probation for this three month period. At the end of the three month period, officers are assessed against objective performance benchmarks to inform their future training and development needs.
Entry Clearances: Afghanistan
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications for entry into the UK have been made in Afghanistan (a) in each of the last five years and (b) since 27 October 2008. [280139]
Alan Johnson: There is no visa application centre in Afghanistan, nor has there been one in the past five years.
Entry Clearances: Pakistan
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications have been checked for fraud by entry clearance officers in Islamabad (a) in each of the last five years and (b) since 27 October 2008. [280129]
Alan Johnson: All visa applications have been checked for fraud in the last five years.
Prior to 27 October 2008, Entry Clearance Officers in Pakistan conducted passport forgery checks in all cases that had been approved for issue and document verification teams augmented this by checking supporting documents. Since 27 October 2008 the passport forgery check has been extended to all applications and supporting document verification takes place in over 80 per cent. of applications.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many entry clearance officers based in Islamabad are (a) locally engaged and (b) British nationals. [280130]
Alan Johnson: As of 31 May 2009 there are 13 UK-based entry clearance officers working in Islamabad, all of whom are British nationals. None are locally engaged.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications for entry into the UK have been made in Pakistan in (a) each of the last five years and (b) since 27 October 2008. [280137]
Alan Johnson: The number of visa applications for entry to the UK that have been lodged in Pakistan since 1 January 2004 are as follows:
| Visa applications lodged in Pakistan | |
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