Written questions submitted by Lord Alton on the government's reaction to anti-trafficking initiatives in India and possibilities of future cooperation, and on the future of aid targeting Dalits.

India

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the announcements by Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and the Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Maken, regarding the setting up of integrated anti-human trafficking units and of training courses for Indian police and judiciary; and whether they will explore how the United Kingdom and India can share learning and best practice in this area.[HL5308]

Lord Howell of Guildford: We welcome the announcements made by the Indian Home Minister regarding the setting up of 330 anti-human trafficking units and a training course on anti-human trafficking at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs. We would be open to exploring the possibilities of the UK and India sharing learning and best practice in the future.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will increase their support of government and non-governmental organisations' initiatives in India that target Dalits through education, economic development and access to justice, having regard to the extent to which Dalits are subject to human trafficking. [HL5307]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): All UK development programmes are designed to benefit particularly the poorest and most excluded, including scheduled castes. For example, we have supported the Indian Government's Education for All scheme, which has helped to bring the proportion of Dalit children in school into line with their proportion in the general population. The Department for International Development (DfID) also supports specific measures in India's 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded groups, including Dalits. The EU will conduct a workshop on social exclusion with the Government of India in February 2011.

In terms of future plans, the Secretary of State for International Development has launched a bilateral aid review of all DfID country programmes, including India, to ensure that we are giving aid where it is most needed. We are in close dialogue with the Government of India about the future of the India programme. Details will be announced on conclusion of the review process.