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Social Chapter
Mr. Paterson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the Benefits for industry from the United Kingdom's adoption of the social chapter. [5233]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
Decent minimum standards for workers in Europe will promote good working relations. That can only be good for business. By ending the last Government's futile opt-out, we will play a full part in
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negotiations and ensure that the Social Chapter promotes flexibility and employability, but not unnecessary social costs.
Mr. Purchase:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement about her plans to support the machine tool industry. [5208]
Mr. Battle:
I met the Machine Tool Technologies Association on 20 May and am aware of its concerns. The machine tool industry will continue to be eligible for the range of Government support services to industry.
Mineral Exploitation
Mr. Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the protection of (a) the environment and (b) indigenous tribes in areas of the world vulnerable to mineral exploitation; and if she will make a statement. [6244]
Clare Short: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to the sustainable eradication of poverty. Protection of the environment is an essential requirement for this. All bilateral DFID projects are appraised to ensure they take full account of environmental issues and many directly contribute to environmental protection. In 1995-96, expenditure on projects which contributed to conserving the environment as an objective totalled £196 million.
DFID seeks to ensure that, through their enhanced participation, indigenous people and ethnic minorities benefit from those projects and programmes, including mineral projects, which affect them and that any adverse effects upon them are minimised.
DFID also seeks to ensure that multilateral organisations such as the EC and the World Bank pursue development policies consistent with our own objectives.
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Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received from organisations expressing concern at the mining activities of RTZ in the Philippines. [6277]
Clare Short:
We have received no such representations and have no involvement with the mining sector in the Philippines.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what social and human development criteria she intends to ask the International Monetary Fund to use when assessing countries requesting funding. [6367]
Clare Short:
I regard it is as important for all multilateral financing and development institutions to be guided in their operations in developing countries by the need to create economic conditions and local capacity which will enable each developing country to meet the social and human development objectives launched by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, with the key objective of reducing and eventually eliminating poverty.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what new criteria she will use to assess projects seeking development aid. [6369]
Clare Short:
We will ensure that all projects are not just developmentally sound, but contribute directly or indirectly to our core policy objective of eliminating poverty.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what are her Department's targets for the number of people living in absolute poverty by 2015. [6371]
Clare Short:
The Government is committed to the internationally accepted development target of reducing the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by half by 2015.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures the Government took to reduce the debt burden on the poorest countries between 9 April 1992 and 1 May 1997. [6392]
Clare Short:
I have already acknowledged the good record the previous government had on introducing measures to reduce the unpayable debts of the poorest countries, pushing for the introduction both of Naples Terms for the rescheduling of government to government debts, and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt initiative which will tackle the problem of unpayable debt owed to all creditors, including the multilateral institutions. The previous government also continued the policy of forgiving the development loans of the poorest countries, a policy introduced under the last Labour government in 1978.
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We welcome the progress made so far, but believe that much remains to be done, and are pressing the international community collectively to provide further debt relief. We need to make sure debt relief is implemented flexibly to reflect individual country needs, that it is accompanied by policies in debtor countries which are targeted on poverty elimination and that countries which are burdened with debt but have demonstrated their commitment to such policies get the relief they need as soon as possible.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to encourage small and medium businesses in developing countries. [6372]
Clare Short:
The Department for International Development is actively promoting micro, small and medium enterprise development to create jobs, especially to improve poor people's access to income earning opportunities. The Department is seeking to develop local capacity to deliver cost effective business development and financial services. We place a particular emphasis on micro-finance. Approved commitments to 190 current projects exceed £95 million.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage British investment in developing countries.[6374]
Clare Short:
The Government wishes to work more closely with the private sector to promote economic growth in developing countries. Improving the investment climate is a key target. We are seeking to improve our partnership with the private sector and consulting all interested groups. I will be setting out some thoughts on this in a speech at the Institute of Directors next week.
Mr. Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the cost to public funds of transferring functions formerly carried out by the Overseas Development Administration to the Department for International Development. [6370]
Clare Short:
There was no cost to public funds associated with the transfer of functions formerly carried out by the Overseas Development Administration to the Department for International Development.
Mr. Leslie:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she has reached a decision on United Kingdom membership of UNIDO. [6640]
Clare Short:
I have today informed the UN Secretary-General of our decision to remain a member of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). We will work within the organisation in order to demonstrate the Government's strong commitment to support the United Nations and its agencies and reforms which increase their effectiveness. This decision
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recognises both the changes made so far in UNIDO and the UN Secretary-General's efforts to bring about a more effective UN.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the European Union afforestation budget for 1993 to 1997. [6092]
Mr. Chisholm:
The European Union's afforestation budget for the period 1993 to 1997 was 1,340 million ecu.
Mr. McAllion:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to abolish general practitioner fundholding in Scotland. [5861]
Mr. Galbraith:
The Government intend to publish a White Paper on the Scottish Health Service in the Autumn which will set out the options for new models of involving GPs in the design and delivery of patient care services. In the meantime, steps have already been taken to change the financial regime for GP fundholders to ensure the patients of non-fundholding GPs are not disadvantaged.
Mr. Wallace:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 16 June, Official Report, column 55, how many tenders are currently being evaluated in respect of (a) the passenger ferry service to Orkney, (b) the passenger ferry service to Shetland and (c) a passenger ferry service for both Orkney and Shetland; and if he will make a statement. [6002]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 30 June 1997]: Tenders for a block grant subsidy for the operation of passenger ferry services to Orkney and Shetland are currently being considered by Ministers. A number of options have been proposed for the operation of these services. Three proposals were made in respect of the services to Orkney, two of which also made proposals in respect of the services to Shetland. An announcement on the outcome of the tendering exercise will be made shortly.
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