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Mr. Ivan Lewis: UN Security Council Resolution 1698 states that political and military leaders recruiting or using children in armed conflict in violation of applicable international law, and individuals committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced displacement be subject to sanctions. We fully support this measure as stated in the declaration.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Political Prisoners

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the arrest in January 2010 of Lutu Mabangu. [321392]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 9 March 2010]: My noble Friend Baroness Kinnock raised freedom of expression and the need for media freedom and freedom of association in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the President, Prime Minister and other Ministers when she visited in late February. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials will raise the specific case of Lutu Mabangu at the meeting of the EU human rights working group in Kinshasa next month. We are currently not making any specific representations to the Government of DRC about this case.

Departmental Location

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years. [321429]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: No such expenditure has been incurred.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff of each grade are employed by his Department to assist special advisers. [321136]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Since June 2009 there have been two full-time Civil Servants: one Band A member of staff (AO equivalent) and one Band B member (EO equivalent) employed to assist Special Advisers. These Civil Servants have provided administrative support of a non-political nature in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

Palestinians: International Assistance

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to seek to ensure safe passage of the Free Gaza flotilla through international waters. [321677]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Vessels in international waters enjoy the right of freedom of navigation. However, the Government strongly advise against any travel to Gaza at this time. Humanitarian aid workers and other essential specialist staff needing to travel to Gaza should co-ordinate their entry to Gaza with the major international
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humanitarian organisations already on the ground. The Government also regularly lobby the Israeli Government to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

If, despite this advice, Free Gaza decide to travel to Gaza, they do so at their own risk. They should review their security arrangements and seek professional security advice on whether they are adequate. They should register with our consular office in Gaza. The level of consular assistance the FCO can provide is extremely limited.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department has made in its policy of supporting the provision of compensation by the Libyan government for victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland. [321769]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Libya/Northern Ireland Reconciliation Unit continues to support the campaign by victims and families of victims of Irish Republican Army terrorism to obtain a settlement from the Libyan Government. This dedicated unit continues to provide facilitation, logistical support and advice to the campaign.

Trade Unions

Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many days staff of his Department and its agencies spent on trade union activity in the latest year for which figures are available; and what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of such activity. [320613]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in North Africa on the effects of the Western Sahara dispute on the effectiveness of the Maghreb Arab Union. [321617]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have not discussed the effect of the Western Sahara dispute on the Maghreb Arab Union with all governments in North Africa. This issue has, however, been discussed with the Moroccan authorities. The UK recognises the negative impact of the long-running dispute over the territory of Western Sahara on a range of regional co-operation initiatives, including the Arab Maghreb Union.

The UK regards the status of the disputed non- self-governing territory of Western Sahara as undetermined, pending UN efforts to find a solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. To this end, we continue to support the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, in their efforts to resolve the dispute.

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Home Department

Alcoholic Drinks

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what projects his Department is operating to encourage the responsible consumption of alcohol; and how much is being spent on each. [321156]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The Partnership Support Programme, run by the Alcohol Strategy Unit identified 50 CDRP areas where they expected to see action to tackle binge drinking and related antisocial behaviour. These areas are being encouraged to engage with their communities about the damaging effects of irresponsible drinking and the action they are taking to address problem areas. A total of £1.5 million has been distributed between the 50 CDRPs for this purpose.

12 selected CDRPs on the partnership support programme have received specialist strategic consultancy to develop sustainable communications plans to engage local communities and tackle people's perceptions of the issues. The consultancy included research dissemination and feedback, the facilitation of communications workshops and the development of communications strategies. This is supported by ongoing liaison with regional Know Your Limits stakeholders, providing them with promotional materials to run their campaigns about irresponsible drinking and keeping them informed of Home Office activity and news.

We provide support to CDRPs and other stakeholders who have questions and requests about the Know Your Limits campaign. This includes information about materials available to them, using logos and amplifying campaigns locally, advice on the type of communication programme that they could run in their area, as well as general communication guidance and best practice.

The Know Your Limits advertising campaign targets 18 to 24-year-olds to prompt them to reconsider their behaviour around binge drinking. Throughout the summer adverts appeared on websites, radio, TV and in magazines. The cost of media for the financial year 2009-10, excluding production and fees, was £1,661,612.

Additionally, we have funded a number of adult and young people's alcohol arrest referral projects. These seek to offer a brief intervention to individuals who have been arrested for an offence, and are under the influence of alcohol. A total of £1.6 million has been spent on these arrest referral projects during the financial year 2009-10.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) received the maximum available fine for the offence of not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place in each of the last three years. [321158]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The number of defendants proceeding against at magistrates courts and convicted and fined at all courts in England and Wales, and issued with a penalty notice for disorder for not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place in each year from 2006 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table. No defendants have received the maximum fine of £500 between 2006 and 2008.

Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned to be published in autumn 2010.

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Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty, issued with a penalty notice for disorder and issued with a court fine at all courts for not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place, England and Wales 2006-08( 1, 2, 3)
Offence description	Number	2006	2007	2008
Failure to obey an instruction to stop alcohol consumption in designated public place (Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, sec. 12)	Proceeded against	101	113	(4)153
	Found guilty	73	98	(4)123
	Penalty notice for disorder	1,061	1,544	1,761
	Maximum fines issued	-	-	-
	Number of defendants fined	59	76	92
(1 )The court proceedings figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The offence of alcohol consumption in designated public place (section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001) came into force on 1 September 2001. (4) Excludes prosecutions and convictions data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions on the purchase, production, sale or misuse of alcohol introduced in legislation since 1 May 2007 have not yet been brought into force. [321161]

Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 8 March 2010]: Legislative provisions that fall under the responsibility of the Home Office and have not yet been brought into force are as follows:

Policing and Crime Act 2009

The secondary legislation in relation to the mandatory licensing conditions for alcohol retailers. The Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) Order is currently before Parliament for approval.

Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006

Sections 6,7 and 8 in relation to Drinking Banning Orders on conviction will come into force on 1 April 2010.

Alcoholic Drinks: Fixed Penalties

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued for the offence of consuming alcohol in a designated public place in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines for such notices in each of the last three years.; [321034]

(2) how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued for the offence of being drunk in a highway in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines for such notices in each of the three years; [321035]

(3) how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for the offence of purchasing alcohol on behalf of a person under 18 in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines for such notices in each of those years; [321036]

(4) how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for the offence of buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a person under 18 in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines for such notices in each of those years; [321037]

(5) how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued for the offence of selling alcohol to a person who is drunk in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines in each of those years.; [321073]

(6) how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for the offence of being drunk and disorderly in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines in each of those years; [321159]

(7) how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for the offence of selling alcohol to a person under 18 years old in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in fines in each of those years. [321160]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The number of penalty notice for disorder issued for selected offences 2006 to 2008 (latest) are given in the tables. Alcohol related offences have been italicised.

Offences requested as follows:

DB07-consuming alcohol in a designated public place

DB05-being drunk in a highway

DA19 and DA20- purchasing alcohol on behalf of a person under 18

DB14-buying or attempting to buy alcohol

DA16-selling alcohol to a person who is drunk

DA06-drunk and disorderly

DA18-selling alcohol to a person under 18 years old

Penalty notices for disorder data for 2009 are planned to be published in autumn 2010.

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Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued to all persons aged 16 and over, by Offence and Outcome, England and Wales 2006( 1)
					Of those paid
	Offence description	Number issued	Total paid in full	%	Paid in full within 21 days	%	Paid in full outside 21 days	%
	£80 Tickets issued
DA01	Wasting police time	3,933	1,911	49	1,355	34	556	14
DA02	Misuse of public telecommunications system	909	523	58	388	43	135	15
DA03	Giving false alarm to fire and rescue authority	106	43	41	35	33	8	8
DA04	Causing Harassment, alarm or distress(2)	82,235	43,120	52	30,757	37	12,363	15
DA05	Throwing fireworks	682	380	56	267	39	113	17
DA06	Drunk and disorderly	43,556	24,673	57	18,123	42	6,550	15
DA11	Criminal Damage (under £500)(2)	20,620	11,351	55	8,342	40	3,009	15
DA12	Theft (retail under £200)(2)	38,772	16,169	42	12,370	32	3,799	10
DA13	Breach of fireworks curfew	53	34	64	27	51	7	13
DA14	Possession of category 4 firework	28	12	43	9	32	3	11
DA15	Possession by a person under 18 of adult firework	76	51	67	34	45	17	22
DA16	Sale of alcohol to drunken person	47	35	74	29	62	6	13
DA17	Supply of alcohol to person under 18	60	53	88	41	68	12	20
DA18	Sale of alcohol to person under 18	3,195	2,756	86	2,354	74	402	13
DA19	Purchase alcohol for person under 18	407	268	66	213	52	55	14
DA20	Purchase alcohol for person under 18 for consumption on premises	60	39	65	35	58	4	7
DA21	Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery	297	176	59	132	44	44	15
	£50 Tickets issued
DB03	Trespass on a railway	1,042	551	53	320	31	231	22
DB04	Throwing stones at a train/railway	15	6	40	5	33	1	7
DB05	Drunk in a highway	2,712	1,433	53	1,064	39	369	14
DB07	Consumption of alcohol in public place	1,061	252	24	165	16	87	8
DB08	Depositing and leaving litter	1,169	593	51	427	37	166	14
DB12	Consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises	75	55	73	46	61	9	12
DB13	Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises	14	10	71	10	71	-	-
DB14	Buying or Attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18	73	52	71	43	59	9	12
	All offences	201,197	104,546	52	76,591	38	27,955	14

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