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14 Dec 2009 : Column 803W—continued
Young offenders aged under 18 years may be directed to undertake a range of reparative and rehabilitative programmes as part of their sentences. In addition a young offender can be required to attend a specified place of education as part of a sentence for example if given a youth rehabilitation order with an education requirement.
Through the national youth justice indicators the Youth Justice Board require that young offending teams work to encourage the participation of young offenders in education, training or employment by the end of their sentence. This indicator is also part of the local authority national indicator set. Figures for 2007-08 showed that 71.1 per cent. of young offenders were engaged by the end of their sentence.
For information, the full trends since 2004-05 are provided as follows:
| Percentage | |
All young people in youth custody are expected to participate in education and training and this forms a central element of custodial regimes. Custody often provides a unique opportunity to engage young people in learning and for young people to develop their skills. The sentence planning process in custody includes planning education and training in accordance with the young person's needs.
International Development
Afghanistan
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on decompression periods for staff working in Afghanistan. [305779]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Most home civil service staff working in Afghanistan spend six weeks in country and two weeks out of the country. Alternatively, staff may work three weeks in country and spend one week out of the country provided the cost is no greater.
At the end of their assignment staff must take a minimum of a four-week annual leave break after a one-year posting, five weeks after an 18-month posting, and six weeks after a two-year posting.
Afghanistan: Poverty
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects on levels of poverty in Helmand province of his Department's activities in that area in the last 12 months; and what mechanisms are used to measure that effect. [306649]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The most recent data relating to poverty in Afghanistan were collected in 2007-08 as part of the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA). Analysis of NRVA data relating to Helmand will be published in early 2010. Data relating to changes in poverty in Helmand over the last 12 months are currently being collected and will be available in due course.
The Department for International Development (DFID) measures the effects of all its programmes through routine monitoring and evaluation.
Bonn Declaration
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated under each budget heading for the purposes of meeting its obligations under the Bonn Declaration in each year from 2001 to 2008. [306700]
Mr. Thomas: The 2001 Bonn Declaration committed signatories to providing $410 million per year, from 2005-08, for developing countries to respond to climate change. The European Community was one of these signatories and the UK Government agreed to contribute approximately £30 million ($61,467 million) per year. The following table provides the amount spent through each budget heading, which has exceed that original commitment.
| £ million | |||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
The Department for International Development (DFID) contributed through the Special Climate Change Fund, the Clean Energy Investment Framework, the Global Environment Facility, the Least Developed Countries Fund and through Bilateral aid.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to assist with the holding of local elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010. [306514]
Mr. Thomas: Successful completion of the next electoral cycle in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be vital for the continued economic development and stabilisation of the country. The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed more than £27 million in support of local elections.
DFID support has helped to build the capacity of the Independent Electoral Commission and finance preparations for local elections. This includes revision of the electoral roll and voter registration, both of which will also be used in preparation for the presidential ballot.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [305681]
Mr. Michael Foster: No funds have been spent by the Department for International Development (DFID) on works or refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in our buildings in the last 12 months.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference. [305862]
Mr. Michael Foster: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year. [306065]
Mr. Michael Foster: This information is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate costs to collate.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days. [305492]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on freedom of information requests received by central Government Departments on its website. The annual report for 2008 can be found at:
Departmental Internet
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what redesigns of websites operated by his Department have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306159]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) website has been redeveloped to allow greater scope for engagement with the UK and overseas public. The redeveloped site allows DFID to give far more detail of projects and programmes than before and is easier for the web visitor to navigate and search.
The work was undertaken in three phases:
September 2008-a short term refresh to the homepage design.
December 2008-next step in the graphical design of the website including more multimedia content.
April 2009-completion of web redevelopment and design with introduction of a content management system.
The costs were £970,419, which include design, build, testing, hosting, licensing and management.
Departmental Lost Property
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) laptop computers, (b) desktop computers and (c) memory sticks his Department has recorded as having been (i) lost and (ii) stolen from its offices in Scotland in each of the last 10 years. [306694]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: There has been no loss or theft of (a) laptop computers, (b) desktop computers or (c) memory sticks from the Department for International Development's office in Scotland between financial years 2002-03 and 2008-09. Records of loss and theft are held for a seven-year period and are therefore not available for years before 2002-03.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on (a) alcohol and (b) entertainment in the last 12 months. [305535]
Mr. Michael Foster: It is not possible to provide expenditure figures for hospitality and entertainment without incurring disproportionate costs. All entertainment and hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.
Departmental Publicity
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on (a) Ministerial photoshoots and (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available. [305520]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a central budget for photography or the production of videos. It is not possible to collate information from country office and departmental budgets without incurring disproportionate costs.
Departmental Training
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course. [305906]
Mr. Michael Foster:
It is not possible to provide information of all training courses attended by civil servants or the amount spent by the Department for International Development (DFID) on overseas training courses without incurring disproportionate costs. Sub-departments and overseas offices within DFID are
responsible for arranging and financing staff training. Information on the amount spent on training courses is not held centrally.
Hotels
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in each of the last five years. [305659]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Travel by Ministers, special advisers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively, and all spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July 2009 and can be viewed at:
Public Appointments: Females
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009, Official Report, column 607W, what steps his Department is taking with other countries to ensure well-qualified women candidates are appointed to senior posts in (a) CEDAW and (b) the UN Agency for Women. [307089]
Mr. Michael Foster: The UK is committed to promoting open, transparent and merit-based appointment processes for UN leadership positions. The purpose of this is to ensure that the best people are appointed to important roles such as the head of the new UN agency for women.
For elections, such as for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women's Committee (CEDAW), our policy is always to support the best-qualified candidates.
The Department for International Development works with national women's ministries in a number of developing countries to strengthen their capacity on gender equality and their engagement in international institutions working on gender.
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