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Education for All

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made on identifying the financing gap for basic education within national Education for All plans. [31669]

Clare Short: DFID's "Children out of school paper" makes clear what action we believe should be taken on this. The main approach for delivering on the Dakar resource commitment should be through nationally owned poverty reduction strategy papers and similar planning frameworks. They should indicate how country plans to move towards the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be met, including through the release of HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Country) savings and with the assistance of the international community. So far as possible, this should be through sector-wide approaches and budget support.

This approach should be underpinned by detailed analysis of the funding implications for achieving UPE and gender equality in schooling at a country level. The World bank is supporting work of this nature, including the tracking of expenditures from debt relief and identification of the scope for additional national resources within countries. Where necessary, assistance should be given to help countries undertake resource analysis of this type. The bank's findings will be submitted to Governors at their spring meeting in April. We are consulting with the bank about this work.

Humanitarian Assistance

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the pilot initiative to create an international ombudsman for humanitarian assistance to improve the accountability of agencies in emergency situations. [32788]

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Clare Short: The Humanitarian Accountability Project (HAP) is a two-year inter-agency project launched in 2001 in Geneva in response to concerns among humanitarian organisations about the lack of accountability to crisis-affected populations. The project will investigate and test the feasibility of creating an Ombudsman for the humanitarian sector and seek to strengthen accountability towards those affected by crisis situations. It will also facilitate improved performance within the humanitarian sector and is part of a wider effort within the international humanitarian sector to improve transparency, accountability and performance.

Over the period April 2001 to January 2002 DFID will be providing funding of up to £500,000 in support of the project.

Global Health Fund

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what steps she will take to ensure poor countries have sufficient say on where money is distributed within their countries from the global health fund; [32118]

(2) what progress has been made in ensuring that the global health fund will utilise countries' existing co-ordination mechanisms and experience. [32119]

Clare Short: An underlying principle of the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, for which the UK argued strongly, is that, except in narrowly defined circumstances, proposals must come from country co-ordination mechanisms which bring together developing country governments, private sector, non- government organisations and civil society. The fund will use existing country co-ordination mechanisms wherever possible. These mechanisms will be free to shape their applications around their own assessment and experience of in-country priorities. A final decision on which proposals to support will be made by the GFATM Board which has equal representation of donors and developing countries.

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what work the global health fund will undertake to ensure necessary drugs will be more freely available in less developed countries to combat (a) HIV/AIDS, (b) tuberculosis and (c) malaria; [32113]

(2) what direct assistance the global health fund will provide for poverty reduction in Africa. [32114]

Clare Short: The global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has been established as a new public-private partnership to mobilise additional financial resources to make more and better drugs and commodities for the prevention and treatment of malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS available in the poorest countries, many of which are in Africa. It will also provide some associated health systems strengthening to ensure supplies are delivered safely, effectively and equitably. As the recent report of the Commission for Macro-economics and Health indicated ¹ , such investment in health will play a vital role in the wider fight against poverty in Africa and elsewhere.

¹ Macro-economics and Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development, Jeffrey D. Sachs, 20 December 2001, World Health Organisation

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Private Medical Insurance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees in (a) her Department and (b) her Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have had private medical insurance provided for them in each year since 1997–98; what the total cost is; and if she will make a statement. [32322]

Clare Short: All DFID permanent and pensionable employees (as well as those in non-departmental public bodies) have access to the NHS (or while overseas, NHS standards of treatment on a cost reimbursement basis) and do not have private medical insurance provided for them. In certain countries overseas some of our locally appointed employees have access to private medical insurance (where it is normal practice in those countries) on a part contributory basis. However, no details are currently held centrally and they could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

SCOTLAND

Forth Rail Bridge

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the answer from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), of 21 January 2002, Official Report, columns 627–28W, on the Forth Rail Bridge, if she will make a statement on which Scottish transport issues are reserved matters. [33432]

Mr. Foulkes: Schedule 5, Part II, Head E to the Scotland Act 1998 as amended by subsequent secondary legislation, sets out the matters of transport policy and direction within Scotland that are reserved to this Parliament. These responsibilities include the provision and regulation of rail services and rail transport security, with the exceptions set out.

Scottish Ministers have responsibility for issuing Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in relation to passenger rail services that both start and end in Scotland, within a national framework for franchising of the railways. Funding powers and public expenditure responsibility have been transferred to the Scottish Executive in respect of the ScotRail franchise.

The Scottish Executive has the power to issue Directions and Guidance to the SRA in respect of ScotRail sleeper services, subject to the Directions and Guidance not impacting adversely on the SRA's costs outside Scotland or the operation of passenger or freight services generally. The Scottish Executive is able to issue non-binding guidance in respect of other cross border services (currently operated by GNER and Virgin).

The Scottish Parliament has legislative competence to determine the rail responsibilities of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority and Executive and of any new such bodies which might be established in Scotland, subject to these falling within the overall framework of the new railway regulatory structure.

The Scottish Parliament has legislative competence over grants for passenger rail services and the Scottish Executive has responsibility, under executive devolution,

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for the payment and administration of freight facilities grants and track access grants in Scotland, working within the rules of the schemes agreed at GB level for these subsidies.

Scottish Ministers have responsibility for appointing the Chairman of the Rail Users' Consultative Committee for Scotland (RUCCS). The reports of the Rail Users' Consultative Committee for Scotland and a copy of the Central Rail Users Consultative Committee (CRUCC) are laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Private Medical Insurance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees in (a) her Department and (b) her Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have had private medical insurance provided for them in each year since 1997–98; what the total cost is; and if she will make a statement. [32325]

Mrs. Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999.

No employees in my Department have had private medical insurance provided for them.

Air Traffic Control (Prestwick)

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations she has received from the National Air Traffic Services about the timetable for building the new Air Traffic Control Centre at Prestwick. [33937]

Mr. Foulkes: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I met Mr. Richard Everitt, CEO of National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS), on 16 January. Mr. Everitt confirmed that NATS remain committed to a two-centre strategy and to the construction of the new Scottish centre at Prestwick that will be brought into operation within a time scale of 2008–09. Mr. Everitt has agreed to keep me informed over the coming months about NATS plans for the implementation of the project at Prestwick.

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