Written Answers to Questions
Friday 26 June 2009
Treasury
Pathfinder Money Guidance Service
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to review the outcome of the pathfinder Money Guidance service announced in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report. [282604]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The pathfinder Money Guidance service, covering the North West and North East of England, launched on 14 April and will run until March 2010. On current plans, interim evaluation findings will be available in the autumn and evaluation will be completed in spring 2010. The Treasury will review interim and final evaluation findings to inform decisions on national roll-out of the Money Guidance service.
VAT: Buildings
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the application of value added tax to fees charged for the repair and maintenance of listed buildings; and if he will make a statement. [282452]
Mr. Timms: The Government have had a number of representations on this matter and it continues to keep the impact of VAT on all building work under review.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Anguilla: Crime
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009, Official Report, column 1193W, on the Caribbean: crime, what funding the UK provided for the establishment of the Drugs and Crime Task Force in Anguilla. [282273]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has provided approximately £50,000 in funding for the establishment of the Drugs and Gun Crime Task Force in Anguilla.
The Drug and Gun Crime Task Force was established in 2006 by the Commissioner of Police in Anguilla. On the request of the government of Anguilla, the FCO provided co-funding for experienced, retired officers from the UK to train and mentor the task force following its inception. The task force is now fully funded by the Royal Anguilla Police Force.
British Overseas Territories
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 166W, on British Overseas Territories: young offenders, how many records on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System relate to people trafficking offences. [282283]
Chris Bryant: There are 199 records held on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System related to people trafficking.
British Virgin Islands: Crimes of Violence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1848-49W, on the British Virgin Islands: crimes of violence, how many of the crimes were committed against British tourists in each year. [282278]
Chris Bryant: The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force is responsible for the collation of crime statistics. However, they have advised that they do not routinely record crime statistics according to the victim's nationality or immigration status.
Cayman Islands: Crimes of Violence
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009 on the Cayman Islands: crimes of violence, how many of the crimes were committed against British tourists in each year. [282279]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, on 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 219W, which states that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service do not record crime statistics according to nationality and are therefore unable to supply this information.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many breaches of information security there have been at (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in the last five years. [281055]
Chris Bryant:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reports all significant personal data security breaches to the Cabinet Office and to the Information Commissioner. Information on personal data incidents is published on an annual basis in the Department's annual resource accounts as was announced in the Data Handling Review published on 25 June 2008. In 2008-09 the FCO recorded no major personal data incidents that required reporting to the Information Commissioner. Nine personal data incidents were centrally reported and recorded. In each case mitigating action was taken.
Figures for 2007-08 were published in the last year's annual resource accounts. It is not possible to provide the details for previous years without incurring disproportionate cost.
Additionally, all significant control weaknesses including other significant security breaches are included in the Statement of Internal Control which is published within the annual resource accounts.
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what activities have been undertaken by his Department's Euro Minister in that capacity. [277174]
Chris Bryant: The Government's policy on membership of the single currency remains as set out in my right hon. Friend the then Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003. In principle, the Government are in favour of UK membership; in practice the economic conditions must be right. The determining factor is the national economic interests and whether, on the basis of an assessment of the five economic tests, the economic case for joining is clear and unambiguous. Euro Ministers are responsible for Euro preparations in their Department and attend Euro Ministers Steering Group meetings as necessary. However, meetings are held only when necessary to discuss practical preparations to ensure that a smooth changeover would occur if and when the five tests had been met.
Egypt: Borders
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the government of Egypt on the opening to cargo of the Rafah border crossing; and if he will make a statement. [282183]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 25 June 2009]: It is vital that aid reaches the people in Gaza who need it. The UK has been consistent in its calls for better humanitarian access to the area. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has raised this issue on a number of occasions, most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009.
My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell) raised the issue of access through the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid providers with the Egyptian Government when he was in Egypt on 21 May 2009. All aid to Gaza from Egypt is channelled through the Egyptian Red Crescent.
Iran: Demonstrations
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the recent unrest in Iran; and if he will make a statement. [282508]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Diplomatic and media reporting, based on eyewitness testimony, has highlighted the violent and unacceptable response by the Iranian authorities to peaceful and legitimate protests by the Iranian people.
Iranian state media reports say that more than 20 protestors have been killed. Other reports suggest that several hundred people have been arrested since the announcement of the result by the electoral commission on 13 June 2009.
Both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have made clear on a number of occasions that we deplore the violence against those who seek to protest peacefully, and that the media repression is unacceptable. And we have called on the Iranian authorities to investigate fully allegations that have been made about the election.
We continue to monitor the situation closely.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the security of staff in the British Embassy in Tehran. [282509]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The safety of our staff and their families in Iran is of paramount concern. We take our responsibility for their security and that of our embassy premises extremely seriously.
In response to the recent political unrest in Iran we changed our travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to Iran. As a consequence of this advice, we withdrew the dependents of our staff from Tehran on 23 June 2009.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Overseas Aid: Terrorism
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to Part 2, section 8, page 61 of the Government document, Pursue, Prevent, Protect, Prepare, published in March 2009, which countries have been assessed for counter-terrorism capacity; what funding has been provided to which countries under this initiative to date; how much his Department has budgeted for the project in the next three years; from what sources such funding will be drawn; and with which other Departments he has been working to deliver this project. [282512]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: £127 million has been allocated to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Counter Terrorism and Radicalisation Programme from 2008-09 to 2010-11. Work will be carried out in priority countries in the Middle East, South and South East Asia, and North and East Africa. Projects are designed to improve CT capabilities. We cannot provide budgetary details for specific projects or individual countries due to the sensitivity of some of the work.
In delivering the Pursue strand of the Contest strategy, we are working with a range of Departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, intelligence and security agencies, Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Service, who also contribute their own resources to delivering Contest overseas.
Sri Lanka
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Sri Lanka next plans to visit the country; and if he will make a statement. [281976]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, (Des Browne) visited Sri Lanka from 4 to 7 May 2009 in his capacity as a Member of Parliament and as part of a cross party delegation. We are in contact with the Sri Lankan authorities to seek a mutually convenient opportunity for a further visit by a cross party delegation of MPs. Our intention would be for Mr. Browne to again take part.
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Uganda and (b) Sudan in respect of the recent upsurge in violent activities by the Lord's Resistance Army in southern Sudan. [281966]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Officials at our High Commission in Kampala have had discussions with the Government of Uganda on Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) activity and stressed the importance of both continued regional cooperation to deal with the threat and protection of civilian populations from LRA attacks. Officials at our embassy office in Juba are also monitoring the situation closely and have raised the issue with other interested parties, including the UN.
Work and Pensions
Demos
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) private meetings and (b) public engagements Ministers in her Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [279486]
Jim Knight: Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
I can confirm that my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (James Purnell) attended the following public engagements at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months.
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Departmental Training
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training courses have been attended by special advisers in her Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [279388]
Jim Knight: Special advisers receive training as appropriate to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities as set out in the “Model Contract for Special Advisers”.
Vocational Training
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she is taking to provide relevant training to help back into employment those who became unemployed during the recession. [282451]
Jim Knight: The Budget made an additional £2.8 billion available to DWP, on top of the £1.3 billion funding announced in the pre-Budget report, which will ensure that over the next two years we can continue to expand our support to jobseekers through the economic downturn. From early 2010 all 18 to 24-year-olds will be guaranteed an offer of a job (either a new job through the Future Jobs Fund or an existing job in a key employment sector), work focused training, or a place on a Community Task Force. The Future Jobs Fund—worth around £1 billion—will create 150,000 new jobs for long-term unemployed people and will contribute significantly to the guaranteed offer for young people.
The Government are investing £0.5 billion over two years to support people through an expanded range of work and training options, to provide jobs through recruitment subsidies, support to start a business, work-related training and volunteering opportunities. This support includes access to 75,000 new work-focused training opportunities to help customers significantly increase their skills in order to enter work. The training, delivered on a part-time or full-time basis, will support people in progressing towards a full qualification. This extra help was introduced on 6 April and is available to all those who have been out of work and claiming jobseeker’s allowance for six months or more.
In addition, in response to the current economic downturn, the Government have announced that:
Funding of £158 million has been made available through the European Social Fund for the Learning and Skills Council’s Train to Gain programme for people who are newly unemployed or facing redundancy to undertake training linked to opportunities in the local labour market.
Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs) have been made available to all claimants from day one of unemployment.
We have removed barriers to full time training making it easier for long-term unemployed people to get access to new skills in order to compete for the local jobs on offer. The Government have put the funding arrangements in place to enable jobseekers at the six month point in their claim to move to a training allowance in order to benefit from full time intensive training of up to eight weeks, designed to meet employers’ needs.
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