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Written Statements
Tuesday 20 July 2004
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Northern Ireland Independent Monitoring Commission
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
On 20 April 2004 I formally requested the Independent Monitoring Commission to prepare a security normalisation report under Article 5(2) of the International Agreement between the British and Irish Governments.
Article 5(2) enables the British Government to commission the IMC to prepare a report on security normalisation activity undertaken over a specified period. I asked the IMC to report on all normalisation activities which have taken place since December 1999 up to the present time. The activities are set out in Article 5(1)(a)(i) to (v) of the International Agreement. The IMC report also takes account of views on the effects of normalisation on the ground and the programme of reform to deliver a community based policing environment in Northern Ireland. It is distinct from the monitoring of the programme of normalisation included in the Joint Declaration which is yet to be commenced.
I am most grateful to the commission for its thorough report. The report is helpful in identifying the extent of steps that have been taken to reduce the security profile in Northern Ireland. The report also recognises that further steps are being taken, but that these must be measured against the prevailing assessment of the security threat. I have placed copies of the second report of the Independent Monitoring Commission in the Libraries of both Houses.
Northern Ireland Youth Justice Agency: Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04
Baroness Amos: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have placed copies of the Youth Justice Agency's annual report and accounts for 2003–04 in the Libraries of both Houses. This is the agency's first annual report since its inception on 1 April 2003. It achieved eight of its nine key performance targets and all 20 of its development objectives.
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Northern Ireland Prison Service: Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04
Baroness Amos: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have placed copies of the Northern Ireland Prison Service's annual report and accounts for 2003–04 in the Libraries of both Houses.
The annual report details that the service met seven of its 12 key targets in full and partially met an eighth. Of the comprehensive programme of 24 development objectives set for the service, 12 were achieved, four were partially achieved and substantial progress made towards meeting the remaining eight.
HIV/AIDS
Baroness Amos: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses copies of Taking Action: The UK's Strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world, which I published today.
This paper is being published by the Department for International Development (DfID) but the following government Departments worked with DfID to help to produce it: the Department of Health, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HM Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Patent Office, the Inland Revenue, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
AIDS is one of the greatest threats to eradicating poverty and achieving the millennium development goals. Over the past 25 years the number of people affected by HIV has risen dramatically, from the first AIDS cases identified in the 1980s to the 38 million who are living with HIV and AIDS today. Over 20 million people have died. Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered the severest impact: over 25 million people are currently living with HIV and AIDS and 12 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. By 2010 the number of orphans who will have lost parents to AIDS may rise to 18 million. In Asia and Eastern Europe, there is a serious risk of a generalised epidemic unless action is taken now. In all regions, women and young people are particularly vulnerable.
The UK Government are committed to fighting AIDS and reversing the spread of HIV. The challenges facing the world were set out in the UK's Call for Action on HIV/AIDS, published on World AIDS Day last year. Taking Action: The UK's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world sets out how the UK will respond to the challenges by: promoting a comprehensive response to tackle prevention, treatment and care as well as addressing the social impact of AIDS; prioritising the needs of women,
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young people, including orphans and other children; focusing on human rights, stigma and discrimination; and ensuring that action on AIDS is sustainable in the long term as well as responsive to immediate needs.
As announced in the spending review, the UK Government will commit at least £1.5 billion over the next three years to tackle AIDS in the developing world. Of this, at least £150 million will be dedicated to helping orphans and other children made vulnerable by AIDS, especially in Africa. We will also be doubling our contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria with an additional £77 million over the next three years. This is in addition to extra money for UNAIDS and UNFPA announced in my Written Statement of 6 July.
Forensic Science Northern Ireland: Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04
Baroness Amos: My right honourable friend the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have today published the Forensic Science Northern Ireland annual report and accounts 2003–04. The annual report sets out performance of the agency against key targets. Copies of the report have today been laid before the House.
Hong Kong
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): The latest report on the implementation of the Sino-British joint declaration on Hong Kong was published today and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. A copy of the report is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk). The report covers the period from 1 January to 30 June 2004 and includes a foreword by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. I commend the report to the House.
European Union Constitutional Treaty
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw) has laid before the House Command Paper 6289, containing the text agreed by the European Council on 17–18 June 2004 for a Constitutional Treaty for the European Union (CIG 86/04). Copies have been placed in the Library of the House and the Printed Paper Office.
This is an interim text of the treaty, which still has to go through a process of technical amendment by jurist-linguists this summer. The Dutch presidency then plans for the final text to be signed by Heads of State and Government on 29 October.
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Command Paper 6289 includes the declarations of the Council that will accompany the treaty, and the protocols that are new or directly relevant to the UK (the remainder can be seen in the online version of the treaty, at www.fco.gov.uk). We will present the final text in full to Parliament this autumn, also as a Command Paper, prior to introducing legislation to give it effect in UK law—subject to its approval in a referendum.
Voluntary and Community Sector
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): I am today placing in the Library of the House copies of the report of the fifth annual meeting, held on 5 May 2004, to review the compact on relations between Government and the voluntary and community sector.
The meeting reviewed the significant achievements made across government and the voluntary and community sector to implement and develop the compact. The compact is the blueprint for improving partnership working between government, at all levels, and the sector.
The challenge now is to make sure the compact is used as a practical tool to improve public services and citizens' everyday lives.
The compact action plan in the report of the fifth annual meeting sets out our priorities for driving the relationship between government and the sector forward this year.
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