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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1374W—continued
Prisons: Parole Board for England and Wales
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment at HMP Standford Hill are waiting for an oral parole board hearing. [293962]
Bridget Prentice: There are four prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment at HMP Standford Hill who are waiting for an oral parole board hearing.
Prisons: Politics
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what recent steps he has taken to tackle radicalisation in prisons; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such measures; [292613]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of radicalisation in prisons; and what evidence was used in making such assessments. [292614]
Mr. Straw: There is a range of continuing activity better to reduce the risks associated with violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons, as part of the wider programme of work being delivered by the National Offender Management Service to deal with these issues across prisons and probation services. Recent steps include: commencing the roll out of an awareness raising package across all prisons in England and Wales, building on the series of briefings, written material and training events that have already been delivered at both national and local level; strengthening arrangements to collect and share intelligence; and continuing to build upon a detail programme of research, trial and evaluations to develop intervention approaches for extremist offenders. This activity contributes directly to the Prevent objective in the Government's Contest strategy to reduce the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism.
Systematic assessments of trends in the levels of violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons, based on intelligence gathering and analysis undertaken by prison staff and police, are undertaken on a regular basis. The nature and extent of the threat, and the effectiveness of measures to manage the associated risks are assessed as part of public service agreement 26
"to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from international terrorism"
which is classified and not reported on publicly.
Robbery: Young Offenders
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged (a) 10 to 12, (b) 13 to 15, (c) 16 to 17, (d) 18 to 20 and (e) 21 or more years old in each police force area were convicted of robbery in each year since 1997. [294179]
Claire Ward: Information showing the number of persons found guilty of robbery, broken down by age and force, England and Wales, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
Sexual Offences: Sentencing
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been given indefinite sentences for sexual offences committed when they were under the age of 18 years in each year since 2000. [294176]
Claire Ward: The available information is shown in the following table. The table relates to the age at sentence as the age at offence is not available centrally.
The sentence of detention for public protection for serious offences committed by those under 18 was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and was commenced for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. The data are presented on the principal offence basis: where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
Sexual Offences: Young Offenders
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Schedule 1 offenders there are; and how many of them committed the relevant offence when under the age of 18-years. [294150]
Maria Eagle: The term "Schedule 1 offenders" originates from the list of offences contained in Schedule 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Following that Act, the term was informally extended to a range of offences in subsequent Acts, resulting in different definitions between Agencies. To resolve this, the Home Office issued guidance in 2005 and officially discontinued the term.
This information is therefore unavailable in the format requested.
International Development
Cayman Islands: Hurricanes and Tornadoes
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government has spent on post-hurricane reconstruction efforts in the Cayman Islands since September 2008. [293304]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Government of the Cayman Islands did not request external assistance for the emergency period or for reconstruction. The United Kingdom has provided no further support to the emergency assistance provided by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Ruler and support to a study on the impacts of the hurricane by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC).
The Department for International Development is in regular contact with the Cayman Island Government and Governor's Office. Much progress has been made on reconstruction; housing repair is well under way, hotels have re-opened and all Government buildings, schools and hospitals are now functioning.
Consolidated Contractors Corporation
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) meetings, (b) communications and (c) other contacts Ministers and officials in his Department have had with the Consolidated Contractors Corporation (CCC Group) and its international offshoots in the last five years. [294378]
Mr. Michael Foster: There have been no formal meetings, communications or other contacts between Ministers of the Department for International Development and the Consolidated Contractors Corporation (CCC Group) and its international offshoots in the last five years. Similarly, our records do not indicate any meetings, communications or contacts with officials.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of procurement contracts his Department awarded to small businesses in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293236]
Mr. Michael Foster: The percentage of procurement contracts let by the Department for International Development (DFID) to small businesses during the requested period cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Developing Countries
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much his Department plans to spend on social protection programmes in developing countries (a) bilaterally and (b) through multilateral institutions in the next three years; [293972]
(2) how much his Department plans to spend on nutrition-related programmes in developing countries (a) bilaterally and (b) through multilateral institutions in the next three years; [293973]
(3) how much his Department plans to spend in support of maternal, newborn and child health in developing countries (a) bilaterally and (b) through multilateral institutions in the next three years. [293974]
Mr. Michael Foster: Latest information on the Department for International Development's (DFID) aid allocations by programme to 2010-11 were published in its 2009 annual report which is available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website:
More detailed allocations are made by individual country programmes, or in the case of core funding to multilateral institutions by those organisations. As such aggregate projections by sector are not available.
Developing Countries: Debt
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps he has taken to help developing countries to reduce their debt. [292563]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government have taken a strong lead on debt relief and are carefully monitoring the effect of the current financial crisis on debt levels of the poorest countries. Recent steps taken include:
Support to the World Bank and IMF's review of the Debt Sustainability Framework. This is the main instrument for monitoring debt levels and guiding new borrowing and lending, and is used by the Multilateral Development Banks to determine assistance to the poorest countries.
A call from the Chancellor at this year's IMF spring meetings for a temporary reduction in interest rates to zero for the IMF's concessional lending to low-income countries. This was agreed and will apply until December 2011.
Many countries are better off today because of international initiatives to reduce debt, in which the UK has played a lead role. Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives, $117 billion (approx £74 billion) of debt relief has been agreed since 2000. 35 out of 40 eligible countries are now receiving debt relief under HIPC, and this year Burundi, Central African Republic and Haiti all completed the process and received irrevocable debt cancellation.
Global Environment Facility: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding the Government have contributed to the Global Environment Facility in each of the last 10 years. [293461]
Mr. Thomas: The UK is currently contributing towards the fourth replenishment period of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund. Our contributions are £35 million each year, totalling £140 million across the four years 2007-10.
Previously, the UK contributed a total of £118 million to the third replenishment period of the GEF Trust Fund, averaging £29.5 million in each of the four years 2003-06. We contributed £85 million towards the second replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund across the four years 1999-02, averaging £21.25 million each year.
Overseas Aid: Internet
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent support his Department has given to developing countries to develop (a) broadband, (b) wireless internet and (c) other internet capabilities. [293841]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has not recently given support to developing countries to develop broadband, wireless and other internet capabilities.
Overseas Territories: Climate Change
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the participation of the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre's Enhancing Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change project. [293460]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Enhancing Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change project is ongoing. Monitoring reports show progress is being made against each of the objectives-establishing climate change focal points and committees, building capacity, developing public education and outreach programmes, developing national strategies, and sharing information.
Department for International Development officials participated in two of the project's workshops and reported that the project team were well qualified and experienced, there was strong stakeholder engagement, and a high level of awareness of climate change impacts among Government, non-government, business, and other organisations.
Additional feedback from the territories indicates that they welcome the opportunity to participate in this programme. They acknowledge it is ambitious, but remain committed to delivering the objectives.
Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes were reached at the conservation conference hosted by the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum held in June. [293296]
Mr. Michael Foster: The aim of the conference was to bring together representatives from Government, non-governmental organisations, academic, and other organisations working in the UK overseas territories and other small islands to promote co-operation and sharing of information and experiences on solving environmental problems. This will help meet obligations under international environment agreements and UK/Overseas Territories Environment Charters.
My hon. Friend, the Minister for Marine and Natural Environment, spoke at the conference and announced an additional £1.5 million over the next three years for biodiversity projects in the overseas territories.
The UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum will submit a final report on the conference shortly.
Pakistan: Internally Displaced Persons
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has provided to those who were displaced from and are returning to the Swat district of Pakistan. [293857]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has so far provided £22 million for people displaced by the conflict in the North West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. These funds are being used by humanitarian agencies to meet critical needs of people displaced in camps and host communities. This support is providing vital assistance to those who have started to return home through the provision of shelter, protection, water, sanitation, food and medical assistance. The UK is also providing funding through the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office.
On 14 October the Prime Minister announced a further UK contribution of £10 million for early recovery programmes to help vulnerable communities affected by the conflict to start rebuilding their lives and to support them through the coming winter.
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