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Strategic Export Controls

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reason her Department is no longer a signatory of the annual report on Strategic Export Controls. [36510]

Clare Short: To date, my Department has not been a signatory to the four annual reports on Strategic Export Controls that have been published.

I made this decision on the basis of the few export licence application my Department advises upon in relation to the number passed by the Department of Trade and Industry to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence and the fact that no licences have been refused under the sustainable development criterion.

Equipment Leasing

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by her Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost to public funds in each case is. [38936]

Clare Short: The following equipment has been leased to my Department:

	£000
Reproduction/photocopying equipment
1998–99	88
1999–2000	76
2000–01	102
2001–02	110
Air conditioning equipment
2001–02	16

Ethiopia

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how aid to Ethiopia is linked

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to (a) the restoration of civil liberties and (b) the independence of the courts there; and if she will make a statement. [40822]

Clare Short: We are developing a partnership with Ethiopia to help reduce the very high levels of poverty there. In building this partnership we are encouraged by the Action Plan presented to the Ethiopian Parliament by the Ethiopian Prime Minster in October last year which has an emphasis on the improvement of democratic governance and which recognises the need to make progress on issues such as civil liberties and the independence of the judiciary.

DFID's expectations of a development partnership, which include the pursuance of policies that promote responsive and accountable government are set out in the 1997 White Paper on International Development.

Ministerial Private Offices

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the running costs were of (a) her Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff and (b) her Department in each year from May 1997 to the nearest date for which the information is available. [41038]

Clare Short: The gross running cost for DFID from 1997–98 to 2000–01 (the last year for which figures are available) were as follows:

£ million

	1997–98	1998–999	1999–2000	2000–01
Staff Costs	32	37	37	40
Other	24	22	28	30
Total	55	59	65	70

Figures for the running costs of Ministers' private offices are not recorded separately.

LNM Holdings

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will place in the Library the briefing provided to Mr. John Kerby at the EBRD on LNM Holdings. [39139]

Clare Short: No. All such briefings are provided on a confidential basis between officials.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department made of LNM Holding's credit rating before supporting their application for a £70 million bank loan. [39145]

Clare Short: Adherence to sound banking is one of EBRD's three core principles. The bank routinely prepares rigorous financial analysis for all investments. DFID does not duplicate EBRD systems, as this would be wasteful and unnecessary.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she had discussions with the Prime Minister's Office before supporting the £70 million EBRD loan to LNM Holdings. [39108]

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Clare Short: As I have made clear, the proposed loan was uncontroversial and within published and approved EBRD and UK objectives. Officials therefore did not consult Ministers.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether officials from her Department consulted the British Embassy in Bucharest before approving the £70 million EBRD loan to LNM Holdings. [39138]

Clare Short: No.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she was informed of LNM's application for a loan from the EBRD when officials from her Department asked Mr. John Kerby to support it. [39144]

Clare Short: As I have repeatedly made clear, Ministers were not consulted about this loan because it was judged by officials to fall within published EBRD and UK objectives and was uncontroversial.

AMO Congo

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department directs to AMO Congo. [32117]

Clare Short: My Department is not funding any projects with AMO in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Records show that our embassy in Kinshasa donated some computer equipment to AMO in April 1998.

Litigation

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many cases (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have defended in (i) industrial tribunals and (ii) the courts in each year since 1997; how many were concluded in their favour; and what the total cost to his Department of litigation was in each year. [41107]

Clare Short: Details of the number of cases DFID (there are no agencies) has defended in industrial tribunals and court cases since 1997, and showing the numbers of outcomes in our favour are contained in the table.

	Industrial tribunal cases	Court cases	Numbers concluded in DFID's favour
1997	1	0	1
1998	1	0	1
1999	0	0	n/a
2000	1	0	On-going
2001	1	0	On-going

The Department pays for on-going legal advice by arrangement with Scottish Executive/Treasury Solicitor etc. However, there are no central records of the costs.

Refurbishment

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who provided, or is providing, the (a) windows and (b) doors for the refurbishment of the International Development building on 1 Palace Street. [41348]

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Clare Short: The replacement secondary glazing units were supplied by Sealtite Ltd. Doors were supplied by Shadbolt International.

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what organisation provided the certification for the doors and windows for the refurbishment of the International Development Building on 1 Palace Street to show that they were produced from sustainably managed sources; and if she will place a copy of these certificates in the Library. [41347]

Clare Short: There were no timber-framed windows fitted as part of the recent refurbishment of 1 Palace Street. Doors were supplied by Shadbolt International. Details of this company's environmental procurement policies are set out on their website at www.Shadbolt.co.uk, and these were followed during the 1 Palace Street refurbishment contract. The company is a member of the WWF95+ Group, which supports the use of independent third party certification and labelling of forest products.

Public Appointments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many appointments to public bodies have been made through her Department (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 and (b) since 31 March 2001; and how many of these were (i) men and (ii) women. [42157]

Clare Short: My Department has made the following appointments to public bodies:

	Male	Female
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
April 2000—March 2001	1	2
Since 31 March 2001	8	2

The other two active DFID public bodies, apart from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, are the Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board and the Overseas Service Pensions Scheme Advisory Board—neither of them have recruited during the relevant periods.

The Commonwealth Development Corporation became a public limited company on 8 December 1999 but the Secretary of State has retained the right to appoint two non-executive Directors on the board. The first two (both male) were appointed on 8 December 1999 but following the resignation of one of the two HMG Directors in early 2001, a new appointment (male) was made on 25 June 2001.

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