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11 Nov 2009 : Column 536W—continued
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities received funding via the Supporting People programme for expenditure on services for women at risk of domestic violence in the last 12 months. [298206]
Mr. Malik: The Supporting People budget is allocated to the 150 top tier local authorities as a single budget and CLG does not allocate the resource to specific client groups. The Supporting People programme is a locally delivered and managed programme and it is for each local authority to allocate the available resource to provide Supporting People housing-related support services, including domestic violence provision based on local needs and priorities.
Spend information for 2007-08 reported to the Department by Supporting People administering authorities showed that out of the 150 top tier local authorities 147 used their Supporting People funding to deliver domestic violence services.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in each client group received a Supporting People grant in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available. [298207]
Mr. Malik: The Supporting People programme is administered at the local level by the relevant administering authority. It is for the authority to decide which services to fund, informed by the local needs and priorities identified in their five-year Supporting People strategies. People who are eligible for Supporting People funding tend to use a service, rather than receive a cashable grant.
Data are collected on the amount of housing-related support services available to different client groups (measured in household units). The following table provides a snapshot of the services available at a particular point in time during each of the last four quarters, but does not reflect the total number of households who have accessed services during each year. Household unit information is reported to the Department on a quarterly basis, by administering authorities.
| HHUs as at the end of each quarter of 2008-09 | ||||
| Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | |
| Primary client group | 30 June 2008 | 30 September 2008 | 31December 2008 | 31 March 2009 |
It should be noted that in Q1, Q2 and Q4 the overall household unit available figures were adjusted (up or down) for some authorities. However these adjustments
were not applied at service level and can therefore not be applied to the individual client group totals. The figures shown in italics therefore represent an overall adjustment to the national household unit count required to bring the above analysis in line with the nationally published figures.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Africa: Foreign Relations
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the state of relations between the UK and each country in North Africa. [298938]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK has strong bilateral relations with North African countries, and has embassies in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia working to promote UK strategic objectives on migration, security, trade and commerce, energy security and climate change, and to support British nationals abroad.
We work closely with these Governments and our EU partners to promote a secure, stable and prosperous North Africa.
Anti-Semitism: Eastern Europe
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on levels of anti-Semitism in (a) Ukraine, (b) Latvia and (c) Estonia since January 2009; what plans he has to hold further such discussions; and if he will make a statement. [R] [298345]
Chris Bryant: We and our EU partners continue to attach high importance to the issue of anti-Semitism. Respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rights of people belonging to minorities in line with international standards are core EU values.
Ukraine must abide by these standards and values if it is to deepen its relationship with the EU. In Ukraine, we have raised our concerns with the authorities and will continue do so whenever necessary.
In Latvia, our embassy in Riga maintains a positive dialogue with the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish community and likeminded partners, focused on the resolution of claims relating to the restitution of Jewish property and the demarcation of Jewish sites.
We are not aware of any current issues in Estonia but continue to work closely with all EU partners to combat all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism.
Departmenal Postal Services
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of postal services for his Department and its agencies were provided by (a) Royal Mail and (b) other postal service providers (i) in 2007, (ii) in 2008, (iii) between 1 January and 1 July 2009 and (iv) after 1 July 2009. [298729]
Chris Bryant: For the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its agencies, between November 2007 and October 2008 approximately 99.6 per cent. of postal services were provided by Royal Mail and approximately 0.4 per cent. were provided by another postal service supplier. Between November 2008 and October 2009 approximately 99.8 per cent. of postal services were provided by Royal Mail and approximately 0.2 per cent. were provided by another postal service supplier.
Automated statistics prior to November 2007 are not available. Statistics between November 2007 and October 2008 are partially estimated as although the London based franking system can provide statistics throughout the period in question, the Hanslope Park based franking system is only able to produce statistics covering November 2008 to October 2009. Manually collated information covering the specific timescales requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of postal services provided for his Department and its agencies were provided by (a) Royal Mail and (b) other postal service providers (i) in 2007, (ii) in 2008, (iii) between 1 January and 1 July 2009 and (iv) after 1 July 2009. [298728]
Chris Bryant: For the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its agencies, between November 2007 and October 2008 approximately 99.6 per cent. of postal services were provided by Royal Mail and approximately 0.4 per cent. were provided by another postal service supplier. Between November 2008 and October 2009 approximately 99.8 per cent. of postal services were provided by Royal Mail and approximately 0.2 per cent. were provided by another postal service supplier.
Automated statistics prior to November 2007 are not available. Statistics between November 2007 and October 2008 are partially estimated as although the London based franking system can provide statistics throughout the period in question, the Hanslope Park based franking system is only able to produce statistics covering November 2008 to October 2009. Manually collated information covering the specific timescales requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which providers (a) his Department and (b) its agencies had a contract to provide postal services in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) between 1 January 2009 and 1 July 2009 and (iv) since 1 July 2009. [299426]
Chris Bryant: While Royal Mail handles the majority of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s UK based mail, FCO Services, which manages postal services for the FCO, has had a contract which covers the entire period in question with DHL Global Forwarding (UK) Ltd. to provide some postal services for the department.
Departmental Air Travel
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many domestic flights within Great Britain officials from his Department made in 2008-09; and at what cost. [298742]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 9 November 2009]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials made 507 domestic flights within Great Britain at a cost of £59,933 between April 2008 and March 2009.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many first-class flights were taken by each Minister in his Department in 2008-09; and what the (a) origin, (b) destination and (c) cost was of each such flight. [298752]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the annual list of Minister's overseas travel costing more than £500 which is published by the Cabinet Office. The List for 2008-09 can be accessed at:
Departmental Billing
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) September and (b) October 2009. [299550]
Chris Bryant: In September 96.5 per cent. of invoices from suppliers were paid within 10 days of receipt. The figure for October was 95.2 per cent.
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