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International Development
Humanitarian Situation (Sri Lanka)
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas): It is almost two months since the conflict ended in Sri Lanka. I would like to update the House on the humanitarian situation on the ground and to reiterate that meeting the humanitarian needs of the internally displaced people (IDPs) remains our immediate priority.
The IDPs are now all held in camps in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Mannar. This population numbers almost 284,000 people. The humanitarian situation is now stabilising. Conditions in the IDP camps remain basic but continue to improve as the priority needs of shelter, food, water, medicine and immediate access to surgical treatment are gradually met. However, we remain concerned about high levels of malnutrition in the IDP population, particularly among young children, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation facilities.
We are also increasingly concerned about the lack of freedom of movement for this IDP population and the restrictions put on protection activities, including ensuring the safety of the IDPs, reuniting unaccompanied children with their families and registration of the population as a whole. We encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to do everything possible to ensure the civilian nature of the camps and allow humanitarian agencies to operate effectively on the ground through facilitating the timely provision of visas and lifting the practical restrictions that are still being imposed on entry.
We continue to engage fully with international and multilateral partners. The Prime Minister raised humanitarian access with President Rajapakse on 18 May. The Foreign Secretary also discussed the issue with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister when they met on 5 June, as did Lord Malloch-Brown with the Sri Lankan Minister for Trade and External Development when they met on 19 June. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka regularly raises our concerns with senior Members of the Sri Lankan Government. We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to
make every effort to co-operate with international agencies, including continuing a dialogue with the ICRC on issues of humanitarian concern and to provide every opportunity for the ICRC to implement its mandate as Sri Lanka takes its first steps towards recovery.
DFID continues to support the relief effort to Sri Lanka as the situation on the ground allows. Since September 2008, we have committed £12.5 million. This month we approved £0.4 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for an emergency measles and polio vaccination campaign covering all the IDP camps in Vavuniya and for the provision of nutritional supplements. I would again like to reassure the House that all DFID funding is provided directly to neutral and impartial international agencies and we will continue to support the international agencies in their life saving work.
Looking forward, we urge the Government of Sri Lanka to do everything they can to facilitate the return of the IDPs from the camps to their homes as soon as possible, including interim options of staying with host families, and to allow freedom of movement as a priority. We welcome the Government's public commitment to return the bulk of IDPs to their homes within 180 days. In addition, after 26 years of intermittent conflict, there remain an additional 360,000 long term displaced people to consider who may now also wish to return to their communities of origin. We stand ready to support this work through funding international agencies that:
(1) provide humanitarian demining activities;
(2) enable returns through the provision of transport, shelter and access to basic services; and
(3) provide livelihood recovery activities, for example through cash grants, providing seeds and tools and vocational training.
Justice
Crown Court Means-testing (Consultation)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice): My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Bach) has made the following written ministerial statement:
The Government published their response to "Consultation and Impact Assessment on Crown Court Means-testing" on 8 June 2009. The response sets out the Government's intention in respect of the introduction of the new scheme, to begin in January 2010.
Today, I am announcing a consultation process on the draft regulations designed to support the introduction of Crown Court Means-testing. The consultation period will last from 14 July 2009 until 5 October 2009.
Copies of the draft regulations have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, and they are also available at: www.justice.gov.uk. The Ministry's website also gives details of how to respond to the consultation exercise.
Transport
Quality Contracts Schemes
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr. Sadiq Khan): The Local Transport Act 2008 includes provisions aimed at making bus quality contracts schemes a more realistic option for local transport authorities outside London.
The Department for Transport is today publishing a consultation on draft regulations and guidance to support the implementation of those provisions. Copies of the consultation materials will be made available on the Department's website (www.dft.gov.uk/localtransportact), and are being placed in the Libraries of the House.
First Great Western Franchise
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr. Sadiq Khan): My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis) has made the following ministerial statement.
On 26 February 2008, the then Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend theMember for Bolton West (Ruth Kelly), made a statement about the performance of the First Great Western franchise, in which she informed Parliament that First Great Western had breached its franchise agreement by exceeding the limits on cancellations, and also by misreporting those cancellations.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West issued First Great Western with a remedial plan notice for exceeding the threshold on cancellations which had resulted in a breach of its franchise agreement. In response to this notice, First Great Western submitted a remedial plan addressing that level of cancellations.
On 17 March 2008 an agreement with First Great Western was signed, which required First Great Western to implement the remedial plan and to comply with a forward trajectory for reducing cancellations. The remedial period started on 1 April 2008 and would end when the criteria in the agreement were met.
The criteria in the agreement for the end of the remedial period were met by First Great Western in relation to the four-week rail reporting period ending on 27 June 2009. Cancellations figures for this four-week period have been finalised. I am therefore now able to confirm that First Great Western has met the criteria and that the remedial period is therefore now at an end. Department for Transport officials have checked the manner in which the cancellations figures were calculated and I am satisfied that the criteria have been met.
In her statement on 26 February 2008, my predecessor also announced that, in addition to the remedial plan, First Great Western had offered a package of passenger benefits amounting to £29 million. Delivery of this obligation is not affected by the ending of the remedial period and I have been assured that First Great Western is confident that they will meet the commitments it made on time.
Wales
National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence Order)
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain): I am pleased to inform the House that the proposed National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Local Government) Order 2009 has been laid today, as Command Paper (Cm 7680).
Copies of this Command Paper can be found in the Vote Office and will be placed in the Library of the House from 12 noon. I have written to the Welsh Affairs Committee and to the House of Lords Constitutional Committee to request they undertake pre-legislative scrutiny.
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