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13 Jan 2010 : Column 975W—continued
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials from each other Government department are serving at UK posts overseas. [307049]
David Miliband: The number of staff, broken down by Government body, are shown in the following table.
| Number of co-located staff | |||
| Department name | UK | LE | Total |
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance related payment for senior civil servants in his Department was in cash terms in each of the last five years. [303014]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 30 November 2009]: For the years 2006-07 to 2008-09, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend Lord Brett on 12 January 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA146.
For the highest amount paid out to an individual, in each case a senior civil servant, for the years 2004-05 to 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Meg Munn) to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 3 July 2008, Official Report, column 1125W.
The average non-consolidated performance related payment for senior civil servants in 2004-05 was £2,128 in 2004-05 and £4,025 in 2005-06.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009, Official Report, column 161W, on departmental pay, how much was paid out in total under his Department's main bonus scheme in each year since 1997; how much was paid out on average under the main bonus scheme to each of those whose received money from it in each year since 1997; how much the highest amount paid out to an individual under the main bonus scheme was in each year since 1997; how many individuals received a payment under the main bonus scheme in each year since 1997; how much was paid out in total under the in-year bonus scheme in each year since 1997; how much was paid out on average under the in-year bonus scheme to each of those who received money from it in each year since 1997; what the highest amount paid out to an individual was under the in-year bonus scheme in each year since 1997; and how many individuals received a payment under the in-year bonus scheme in each year since 1997. [303591]
Chris Bryant: Payment of non-consolidated, variable pay linked to performance was introduced in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2002. We reward staff who are performing most effectively, frequently in dangerous and difficult posts. Bonuses represented 2.97 per cent. of our 2008-09 payroll costs. In 2004, we moved to in-house payroll provision. New data prior to 2004 can be extracted only at a disproportionate cost, but some information has previously been published in the Official Report as follows.
The total number of individuals receiving bonuses was:
| Main scheme | In-year scheme | |
For the total sums paid out under the main bonus scheme, and the in-year scheme, for 2006-07, I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy) to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) on 5 July 2007, Official Report, column 1142W; for 2002-06 in the reply by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) on 27 November 2006, Official Report, column 462W.
The main scheme paid out £6,333,024 in 2007-08 and £7,054,036 in 2008-09. The in-year scheme paid out £415,128 and £517,800 in the same periods.
For the highest amount paid out to an individual, for the years 2004-05 to 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Heeley (Meg Munn) to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 3 July 2008, Official Report, column 1125W. For the years 2006-07 to 2008-09, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend Lord Brett on 12 January 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA146.
The highest amount paid under the in-year scheme has been £2,000 since 2005-06. The average amount paid in the in-year scheme in the period 2005-09 has been successively £946, £748, £952 and £1,190. The average amount paid in the main scheme has been successively £1,083; £1,217; £1,303; £1,553.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009, Official Report, column 161W, on departmental pay, how much his Department has paid out in bonuses to staff in each year since 1997. [303632]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave in PQ 303591.
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many sessions of media training were organised for Ministers in his Department in each of the last three years. [310753]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 30 November 2009, Official Report, column 423W.
Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Director-General of UNESCO on the naming of the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences in light of the human rights record of the government of Equatorial Guinea. [309480]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are concerned about the human rights situation in Equatorial Guinea, and made this clear at the UN Human Rights Council on 9 December 2009, when Equatorial Guinea underwent its Universal Periodic Review. Our ambassador to Equatorial Guinea will continue to raise our concerns with the Equato-Guinean authorities during his visits to the country. However, we have no plans to make representations to the Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) about the creation of the new UNESCO-Obiang prize, which was a matter for the UNESCO Executive Board.
Morocco
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition of the border of Morocco is used for the purposes of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement. [309545]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There is no definition of the borders of Morocco within the text of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement of 1996, which entered into force on 1 March 2000.
In practice, for the purposes of application of the tariff preference provisions of the Agreement, the European Commission provides each member state with details of the relevant issuing offices in Morocco which are approved to authenticate tariff preference documents. If in doubt HM Revenue and Customs would refer any queries to the European Commission.
North Korea: Human Rights
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in North Korea; and if he will make a statement. [310428]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: North Korea has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Although North Korea denies access to human rights organisations, including the UN, information from a variety of sources, much of it from North Korean defectors, paints a picture of serious and widespread abuse, namely:
political prison camps and labour rehabilitation camps;
regular use of the death penalty (including extra-judicial and public executions);
routine use of torture and inhumane treatment;
severe restrictions of freedom of speech, movement, assembly, and information.
We raised these issues most recently in December 2009 at the UN Universal Periodic Review of the human rights situation in North Korea (in Geneva). We pressed North Korea to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea access to their country to make a full assessment of the human rights situation. The EU has also offered to restart a bilateral dialogue on human rights but North Korea refuses to do so until the EU stops proposing resolutions against North Korea.
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much funding his Department has made available to tackle antisocial behaviour in Coventry in each year since 1997; [309607]
(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Coventry Community Safety Partnership on the effectiveness of measures to reduce the incidence of antisocial behaviour in Coventry. [309608]
Mr. Alan Campbell: As with all other crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs), Coventry was allocated £25,000 a year from 2003-04 as a contribution towards funding an ASB co-ordinator post. In 2005-06, in England the antisocial co-ordinators grant was pooled within the safer and stronger communities fund. This pooled budget supports the delivery of outcomes and indicators relating to antisocial behaviour in local area agreements (LAAs).
Other budgets also contribute towards the wider cross-Government strategy to tackle antisocial behaviour. The Government are committed to diverting young people from crime and antisocial behaviour as demonstrated by our investment of around £2 billion on prevention, including activity such as sure start children's centres, parenting support and positive activities. Last year we launched the Youth Crime Action Plan, a cross-government programme of action to tackle youth crime and antisocial behaviour and reduce re-offending. It set out a triple track approach of enforcement where behaviour is unacceptable, non-negotiable support and challenge to children and families where it is needed and better and earlier prevention. This builds on major progress we have made in the last decade in tackling youth offending. Backed by £100 million of new investment it has led to significant action over the past year and a half, which has made a real difference to young people, families and communities. The number of young people entering the criminal justice system for the first time is falling. The number in England fell from 94,481 in 2007-08 to 74,033 in 2008-09-a 21.6 per cent. decrease.
Home Office led activities also act to tackle antisocial behaviour, for example the introduction of community support officers, but a monetary value cannot be assigned to that contribution.
While I have not had discussions with the community safety team in Coventry I am pleased to hear that Coventry community safety partnership has an overarching strategy and action plan to tackle and reduce antisocial behaviour (ASB) in the city, which has been developed and is delivered through a range of agencies who are members of a Coventry ASB strategic group. On 13 October 2009 I wrote out to all CDRPs challenging them to develop and publicise a set of minimum standards for ASB and communicate that effectively to the public, including:
reducing perceptions of ASB year on year;
regular updates for every community on what is being done to tackle antisocial behaviour-including an expectation to publicise ASBOs to the local community;
offer support and practical help to victims of ASB;
provide residents with a right of complaint when effective action is not taken by local agencies through existing channels; and
taking reports of ASB seriously by recording and investigating all cases and committing to keeping victims informed of action taken.
I am particularly pleased that Coventry community safety partnership has already been proactive in devising the minimum standards and that in September 2009 produced a synopsis for the Home Office, which showed how they already deal with and publicise many, varied aspects of ASB and related crime in terms of response times, reporting outcomes to callers, use of enforcement activity and use of council weblinks by which to report and get feedback on information.
Association of Chief Police Officers
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is undertaken by the Association of Chief Police Officers' regional intelligence units. [308550]
Mr. Hanson: The 10 ACPO Regional Intelligence Units share intelligence and information in order to build a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the threat and risk from serious organised crime. They also provide intelligence support to coordinate activity against those individuals or groups posing the greatest threat thereby maximising available resource capabilities and the reduction of harm. The RIUs are currently in the process of expanding to accommodate in each unit personnel from the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the UK Borders Agency that will support the development of a more integrated intelligence landscape across all the law enforcement agencies for serious organised crime.
Asylum
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of refused asylum seekers remaining (a) illegally and (b) pending appeal in (i) the UK, (ii) England and (iii) each region in each of the last five years. [308751]
Mr. Woolas: The number of individuals who receive a decision to refuse them asylum and the number who are removed from the UK or depart voluntarily are published quarterly and can be found on the Home Office website at:
The following table shows the number of outstanding asylum appeals before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) in each region of the UK and in England only in December 2006, December 2007, December 2008 and November 2009.
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