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Parliamentary Questions
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many answers to parliamentary questions have not been answered by her Department under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information in each year since 1994. [29416]
Clare Short: No questions have been unanswered by my Department under this exemption since 1994.
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Air Conditioning
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures were taken by her Department to ensure that the consultant advising on the installation of air conditioning during the recent refurbishment of 20 Victoria Street, London was aware of the Government's policy on the use of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in air-conditioning; and if she will make a statement on the measures taken by the consultant to source practical and safe alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon-based air-conditioning. [41175]
Clare Short: The consultants used in the design and selection of the water source heat pump installation confirmed to DFID that the exercise was undertaken in the full knowledge of the Government's policy on the use of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant in air conditioning, the Kyoto agreement, the latest ACRIB recommendations (Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board) and BS EN378. The specification of a water source heat pump installation at 20 Victoria Street made the best use of the existing risers and plant space. This system also contains a small amount of refrigerant in each heat pump unit and so avoids any refrigerant leaks from the pipework, which contains only water.
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which consultant was used to advise on the installation of air conditioning during the recent refurbishment of 20 Victoria Street, London. [41174]
Clare Short: John Melville Partnership (JMP) were the mechanical and electrical consultants employed on behalf of DFID by our project managers, Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ).
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether an installer capable of installing not-in-kind air conditioning was invited to quote for the recent refurbishment of 20 Victoria Street, London; and if she will make a statement. [41176]
Clare Short: One supplier expressed an interest in tendering and offered a propane-based refrigerant for the project.
- (1) Propane systems carry an inherent fire risk when installed in an office environment such as 20 Victoria Street, and consequently the danger from leaks of propane are more serious than that of R407C.
- (2) Propane systems are still relatively new to the UK air conditioning market unlike the R407C units specified.
- (3) Propane systems require additional maintenance to ensure that safety checks/measures are in place, which increases the running costs of a building.
- (4) The received quotation from the supplier for the propane- based equipment was significantly in excess of the specified system.
Special Advisers
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many special advisers were employed by her (a) between 1 May and 31 December 1997 and (b) in each year from 1998 to 2001 inclusive; and what the total amount spent on special advisers by the Department was for each of those years. [41252]
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Clare Short: Two special advisers have been employed by DFID in each year since 1997. The salary costs set out are held by financial year.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 43,250.04 |
| 1998–99 | 61,386.87 |
| 1999–2000 | 72,885.00 |
| 2000–01 | 72,292.77 |
Other costs are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.
HIV
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the UK's overseas aid budget is given to addressing global HIV. [41751]
Clare Short: In 2000–01, my Department invested over £150 millions in HIV/AIDS related programmes out of total UK Government development assistance expenditure of £3.2 billion.
Global Fund for AIDS/TB/Malaria
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of GDP is given to the Global Fund for AIDS/TB/malaria by (a) the UK and (b) other member states of the EU. [41783]
Clare Short: The UK's contribution of US $200 million over the next five years to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM) represents 0.002 per cent. of estimated GNI over that period.
The same information for the other member states of the EU could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Accountancy Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the contracts agreed by her Department with the five largest accountancy firms since May 1997; and what was the total value of contracts with each. [42105]
Clare Short: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 896W.
Golden Jubilee
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what events (a) she is and (b) other Ministers in her Department are planning to attend as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations; and what events her Department is planning to arrange to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. [33254]
Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gave on 11 February 2002, Official Report, column 58W.
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press
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conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in each of the last four years giving the title, purpose, date and cost of each. [34297]
Clare Short: This information is not held centrally and it would incur a disproportionate cost to provide it.
Accommodation Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of hotel accommodation for departmental staff working away from home in each of the last four years. [41058]
Clare Short: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Job Sharing
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in her Department. [41049]
Clare Short: My Department currently employs 18 job sharers on official job share contracts.
We maintain a job share register where staff can find potential job share partners or new job share opportunities. We have also provided guidance to all our employees which commend the value to both the organisation and the individual of job sharing and other flexible working patterns.
Press Office
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in her Department's press office have received (a) termination and (b) redundancy payments in each of the last four years. [41087]
Clare Short: No such payments have been made to press office staff in the last four years.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been given by the United Kingdom to the Zimbabwean Government as support of their Land Acquisition Act 1991; and for what reason the United Kingdom ceased making payments in support of the Land Acquisition Act 1991. [42697]
Clare Short: The Land Act 1992; which allowed compulsory land purchase for resettlement after the expiry of a 10-year constitutional limitation to the acquisition of agricultural land from willing sellers; was not in itself an obstacle to UK funding for land reform. The UK Government spent £44 million on the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase 1 between 1981 and 1996.
The UK and other donors made clear their willingness to support transparent land reform that took full account of the needs of poor Zimbabweans since 1996. This failed to find favour with the Zimbabwe Government. The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase 2 proposed in 1998 was not supported by the UK as it has not been
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implemented in a transparent, fair, orderly, or sustainable manner. It has not attracted support from the international community for the same reasons.
Gender Pay Gap
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the extent of the gender pay gap among staff in her Department. [41006]
Clare Short: The Department undertook a review of its pay systems in 2001 and implemented a range of measures to deal with the historical anomalies of the system which affected both sexes. The major change was the introduction of guaranteed progression for satisfactory performers to the top of the pay range. We now propose to undertake a formal Equal Pay Audit during the next 12 months to identify any other action required to address unjustified gender pay gaps. We have already embarked upon a diversity audit to ensure that all our systems, including those which ultimately link to our pay system such as postings and promotion arrangements, are free of gender and other bias.
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