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831W<br />
Written Answers<br />
1 DECEMBER 2010<br />
Written Answers<br />
832W<br />
(2) how much funding his Department has provided<br />
to non-governmental organisations located in the<br />
Palestinian authorities of the West Bank and Gaza in<br />
each financial year since 2003; and for what purposes<br />
such payments were made. [25737]<br />
Alistair Burt: Between 2003-04 and 2009-10 financial<br />
years, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)<br />
has provided £2,420,960 to non-governmental organisations<br />
within the West Bank and Gaza. The breakdown is as<br />
follows:<br />
2003-04 1<br />
—<br />
2004-05 122,000<br />
2005-06 104,482<br />
2006-07 542,328<br />
2007-08 484,113<br />
2008-09 604,824<br />
2009-10 563,213<br />
1<br />
No allocation<br />
The list of organisations and project funding for<br />
2010-11 is an indicative list, as funding cannot be confirmed<br />
at this point of the financial year.<br />
The FCO utilises a number of funding programmes<br />
with the purpose of (a) strengthening the bilateral<br />
relationship (b) helping to manage or mitigate conflicts<br />
and (c) developing the capacity of non-state actors in<br />
the West Bank and Gaza to provide oversight of the<br />
Executive and its actions including monitoring of human<br />
rights, access to justice and social welfare.<br />
Piracy<br />
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign<br />
and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he<br />
has had with his NATO counterparts on the development<br />
of policy to counter international piracy. [27107]<br />
Mr Lidington: T<strong>here</strong> have been no recent meetings at<br />
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) at ministerial<br />
level specifically to discuss counter piracy. But, in the<br />
communiqué of its recent Lisbon summit, NATO renewed<br />
its commitment to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden<br />
and Indian Ocean through its Operation Ocean Shield.<br />
NATO works closely alongside the EU’s Operation<br />
Atalanta and the Combined Maritime Forces so as to<br />
respond effectively and co<strong>here</strong>ntly to the threat of piracy,<br />
including on allocation of assets to the large area of<br />
operations. NATO is also a key partner in the Contact<br />
Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, working<br />
comprehensively to address operational, legal and regional<br />
capacity concerns to ensure that piracy is tackled on a<br />
sustainable basis, including at its roots.<br />
The UK continues to support the operation, which<br />
has recently has had its mandate extended until 2012.<br />
The Royal Navy currently has a frigate and auxiliary<br />
vessel allocated to Operation Ocean Shield.<br />
BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS<br />
Agriculture: Training<br />
Dr Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business,<br />
Innovation and Skills (1) how much funding from the<br />
public purse will be available for (a) apprenticeship<br />
schemes and (b) vocational courses in the agricultural<br />
£<br />
sector (i) nationally and (ii) in Central Suffolk and<br />
North Ipswich constituency in 2011-12. [26866]<br />
(2) how many places will be available for (a)<br />
apprenticeship schemes and (b) vocational courses in<br />
the agricultural sector (i) nationally and (ii) in the<br />
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency in<br />
2011-12. [26867]<br />
Mr Hayes: “Investing Skills for Sustainable Growth”<br />
was published on 16 November. In the 2011-12 financial<br />
year, we plan to invest £3.9 billion in FE skills for post<br />
19 learners. This includes £3.7 billion for over three<br />
million adult training places funded through the Skills<br />
Funding Agency. In the 2011-12 financial year, £605 million<br />
is earmarked for adult apprenticeships. Spend on adult<br />
apprenticeships will increase by up to £250 million,<br />
relative to the previous Government, by the end of the<br />
spending review period, supporting an additional 75,000<br />
people to start an apprenticeship by 2014-15.<br />
In support of the coalition Government’s principle<br />
of greater freedom, “Skills for Sustainable Growth and<br />
Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth” set out the<br />
abolition of central targets and increased freedom and<br />
flexibility for further education colleges and training<br />
organisations to respond effectively to the needs of<br />
employers, learners and their communities. It will be for<br />
individual colleges and training organisations, working<br />
directly with their local partners, to determine the offer<br />
that best meets the needs of their communities.<br />
From the 2011/12 academic year, t<strong>here</strong> will be a single<br />
adult skills budget, with earmarked delivery for<br />
apprenticeships. As part of its allocations process later<br />
this year, the Skills Funding Agency will set out a<br />
minimum expectation of apprenticeships delivery. Further<br />
Education colleges and training organisations will be<br />
able to use their single adult skills budget allocation to<br />
expand apprenticeships. However, any diversion of funding<br />
away from apprenticeships is to be agreed with the<br />
Agency.<br />
Information on learner participation and achievement<br />
in further education is published in a quarterly statistical<br />
first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 16<br />
November and can be viewed at:<br />
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/<br />
statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current<br />
Credit: Regulation<br />
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business,<br />
Innovation and Skills whether his Department has made<br />
an estimate of the numbers of UK residents who have<br />
been refused access to credit through banks and building<br />
societies in the last 10 years. [26472]<br />
Mr Prisk [holding answer 30 November 2010]: The<br />
Government do not collect data on the number of UK<br />
residents refused credit by banks and building societies.<br />
The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills<br />
commissions a quarterly survey (carried out by YouGov),<br />
which monitors the latest consumer credit and debt<br />
trends. The following table has been produced from this<br />
survey, showing the proportion of the population who<br />
have applied for credit (broken down by credit type) in<br />
the last six months and the outcome of this application.