House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 3 May 2001 (pt 8)

Children's Fund Local Network

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will announce the areas that have been selected to participate in the first wave of the Children's Fund Local Network. [160358]

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Mr. Boateng: I am pleased to announce today the 17 areas that have been selected to receive funding from the first wave of the Children's Fund Local Network.

The Children's Fund was announced following the spending review 2000. The Fund is an important element

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of the Government's wider strategy to tackle child poverty and social exclusion. The Local Network element of the Children's Fund is making £70 million available over three years to fund the work of local community and voluntary groups helping vulnerable children aged 0-19.

The 17 areas across England, which have been included in the first wave of the Local Network, include those with the highest levels of need and were chosen to ensure a spread of support across all regions in England, including some rural and coastal areas. By April 2004 all areas across England will have access to the Fund. Each local fund will be administered by an experienced local voluntary sector grant maker.

The Local Network will help children in poverty achieve their potential by investing directly in the work of local community and voluntary groups that provide local solutions. Grants will be made under four themes

Aspirations and experiences--projects that give children experiences, or help them achieve goals that more privileged children may take for granted.

Economic disadvantage--projects that help families to improve their living standards and cope with difficulties that come from being on low incomes.

Isolation and access--projects that help children that are isolated or alone, or have trouble accessing services.

Children's voices--projects that give children and young people the chance to express their opinions and give advice on matters that concern them. Local Network funding will be available in the following areas:

North-East

Tees Valley (Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington)

Tyne and Wear (Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland)

North-West

Merseyside/Halton (Knowsley, Sefton, Liverpool, St. Helens, Wirral, Halton)

Greater Manchester (Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, Bury, Stockport)

Lancashire (Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn)

Yorkshire and Humberside

South Yorkshire (Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield)

West Yorkshire (Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield, Leeds)

Humberside (Kingston upon Hull, North-East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, East Riding)

East Midlands

Nottinghamshire (Nottingham and Nottinghamshire)

Leicestershire (Leicester and Leicestershire)

West Midlands

Birmingham/Solihull (Birmingham and Solihull)

The Black Country (Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Dudley)

East

Norfolk

South-West

Cornwall (Cornwall with Isles of Scilly)

South-East

Kent (Medway, Kent)

East Sussex (East Sussex and Brighton and Hove)

London

All London boroughs.

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NORTHERN IRELAND

Military Complaints Procedures

Mr. Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to lay before Parliament the eighth annual report of the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures in Northern Ireland. [160531]

Dr. Reid: I have today arranged for copies of Mr. Jim McDonald's annual report for 2000 to be placed in the Library of both Houses.

The report of the Independent Assessor continues to provide valuable reassurances to both the public and the Government that the army's complaints procedures stand scrutiny. I welcome Mr. McDonald's report and I will consider it further.

European Committee for the

Prevention of Torture

Mr. Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the Government's response to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment's report on their visit to Northern Ireland in December 1999. [160532]

Dr. Reid: I have today placed a copy of our response, together with the Committee's report, in the Library of the House. The documents will also be available on my Department's website (www.nio.gov.uk) and that of the ECPT (www.cpt.coe.int).

I welcome the role of the Committee and its attention to Northern Ireland. I am pleased that it has recognised the many improvements that have been made in recent years. I take seriously the concerns raised by the Committee about issues that remain to be tackled and will give these close consideration.

TREASURY

Permanent Secretary (Official Visits)

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings his Permanent Secretary held with members and officials of the Irish Government during his visit to Dublin in February 2000. [159809]

Dawn Primarolo: The Permanent Secretary visited Dublin in February 2000 to participate in a conference. Irish Government officials attended the conference, but no meetings with members of the Irish Administration were held during the visit.

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the visits outside Britain made by his Department's Permanent Secretary on official business since 1 July 2000, indicating the date and purpose of the visit in each case. [159808]

Dawn Primarolo: The information is given in the table.

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Visits outside Britain by the Permanent Secretary on official business since 1 July 2000

Date Purpose of visit

2000

12 September 2000--Paris To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

18-19 September 2000--Madrid To attend a conference meet members of the Spanish Administration

11 December 2000--Paris To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

2001

24-25 January 2001--Brussels To meet UK and Commission officials

13 March 2001--Paris To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

Date	Purpose of visit
2000
12 September 2000--Paris	To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD
18-19 September 2000--Madrid	To attend a conference meet members of the Spanish Administration
11 December 2000--Paris	To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD
2001
24-25 January 2001--Brussels	To meet UK and Commission officials
13 March 2001--Paris	To attend a meeting of Working Party 3 of the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD

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Asthma Deaths

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths have been attributed to asthma in each of the last five years. [160148]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls with the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Crausby, dated 3 May 2001:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about how many deaths have been attributed to asthma in each of the last five years.(160148)

The following table shows the number of deaths in England and Wales, 1995-1999, where asthma was the underlying cause of death, classified according to the International Classification of Disease, ninth edition (ICD9).

Year	Number of asthma deaths⁽³⁾
1995	1,459
1996	1,349
1997	1,439
1998	1,366
1999	1,364

⁽³⁾ ICD9 code 493

National Investment and Loans Office

Mr. Ian Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recommendations flow from the review of the management performance of the National Investment and Loans Office since it absorbed the Office of the Paymaster General in 1996, conducted by Treasury officials. [160585]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Treasury officials conducted a review of NILO's operations, working closely with NILO's senior management and consulting NILO's customers and other interested stakeholders. The report concludes that NILO has performed well over the last five years, and recommends a number of actions to ensure that performance levels are sustained and improved in the future.

I have asked Treasury officials to work with NILO, and others where appropriate, to ensure that these recommendations are implemented in due course.

Climate Change Levy

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is for a post-audit of the climate change levy. [159065]

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Mr. Timms: The climate change levy has been operational for only one month, and it is necessary that it has longer to bed in before review of its operation. As with any tax, the Chancellor will keep the climate change levy under review as part of the normal Budget process.

Government Funding

Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the per capita allocation of funds was to (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales for economic development, and what percentage of his Department's total expenditure this allocation represented, in each of the five years prior to July 1997; [160136]

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Mr. Andrew Smith: The allocation of funding in devolved areas is a matter for the devolved Administrations within their overall budgets set in the 2000 spending review. Information on expenditure per head by function and by county is set out in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses published in April 2001.

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