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Civil Servants
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 611W, on civil servants, if he will list the type of information held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's manpower system, whether it provides information on the type of school that staff attended; and what steps his Department takes to ensure that its stated objective of reflecting the diversity of British society is monitored and implemented. [48698]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's manpower system holds data on personal details, which include marital status, gender, date of birth, number of children, home address, next of kin. Other data held include entry and leaving details, promotion details, staff whereabouts and history, previous Foreign and Commonwealth Office service, appraisal history, skills details, language details, qualification details, employment details and training course details. Historical information on the type of school staff attended is held only in some cases, hence the data are incomplete. The recruitment section monitors ethnicity, gender and disability statistics at each stage of the recruitment process. Since 1995, the recruitment section records have identified the type of school attended for those candidates at policy and operational entry points who successfully gain entrance to the diplomatic service. Before 1995, recruitment data on the type of school were collected only on policy entrants. These figures are published annually
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in the departmental report. A copy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office diversity strategy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Appointments
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the non- diplomatic service appointments he has made since 7 June 2001. [46226]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 210W.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has made nine appointments to FCO non- departmental public bodies since 7 June 2001. As well as those included in my answer of 4 December 2001, three appointments have been made to Wilton Park Academic Council (the new appointment of Mr. David Heath MP, and the reappointment of Lady Suzanne Warner and Mr. Nik Gowing).
There have also been a number of non-diplomatic service appointments made by several departments within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, records of which are not held centrally. These would include members of home civil service staff, 225 having taken up their appointment through open competition, 14 through transfer from other Government Departments; and five reinstated staff.
Timber
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the companies from which his Department has obtained timber and wood products and the total spent with each firm over the last five years. [43406]
Mr. MacShane: Detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, it is FCO policy to buy timber and wood products from sustainable and legal sources.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Egypt
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to increase the provision of overseas aid to Egypt; and if she will make a statement. [48778]
Clare Short: We have no plans to increase direct development assistance to Egypt. The country already receives high levels of assistance from the EC of which the UK contribution was £17.5 million in 1999. Our bilateral allocations to Egypt are £4 million and £3.5 million in 2002–03 and 2003–04 respectively. New commitments will be focused on improving the effectiveness of EC assistance.
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much overseas aid has been provided by her Department to Egypt in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [48777]
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Clare Short: Since 1997 my Department has provided the following amounts of direct assistance to Egypt:
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 6,229 |
| 1997–98 | 7,246 |
| 1998–99 | 4,947 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,546 |
| 2000–01 | 2,661 |
We also provide significant indirect assistance via multilateral institutions in particular the EC. In 1999 our share of the EC programme was £17.5 million
India
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Andhra Pradesh Government on ensuring that the impact on food security for the population of Andhra Pradesh of strategies developed under the Government's Vision 2020 strategy is taken into account; and if she will make a statement. [48764]
Clare Short: Enhanced livelihood security for the poor is one of the five priorities for DFID support for Andhra Pradesh. We are in on-going dialogue with the Departments of the Government of Andhra Pradesh responsible for policy in the areas of agriculture production and productivity of natural resources. We are providing £45.4 million for the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project which seeks to help 1.5 million people, directly or indirectly, by reducing poverty and vulnerability to drought through land rehabilitation, productive and sustainable farming methods, social mobilisation, employment and non-land based income generation. All these elements have an important contribution to make in enhancing the food security of the poor.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Andhra Pradesh Government regarding the consolidation of farms and the impact of the reduction in number of farms on the population of Andhra Pradesh; and if she will make a statement. [48765]
Clare Short: Improving the livelihoods of people in rural areas is a major theme of our dialogue with the Government of Andhra Pradesh. There has been no discussion of any reduction in the number of farms in the state.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Andhra Pradesh Government on ensuring that the poorest citizens of Andhra Pradesh benefit from the strategies developed under the Government's Vision 2020 strategy; and if she will make a statement. [48767]
Clare Short: Our partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh is entirely focused on the reduction of poverty. As part of our on-going dialogue, DFID representatives participate in discussions of the Government's Poverty Eradication Mission, which the Chief Minister chairs. The Government are establishing a Technical Support Unit in the Mission, in order to strengthen capacity for social and poverty analysis and
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monitoring. We are currently discussing with the Government possible ways of supporting the Technical Support Unit.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Andhra Pradesh Government on ensuring that the environmental impact of strategies developed under the Government's Vision 2020 strategy are taken into account; and if she will make a statement. [48763]
Clare Short: Vision 2020 is a draft document, which was published by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1999 setting out a series of goals, including the eradication of poverty in the state in 20 years. In 2000, we initiated a discussion with the Government of Andhra Pradesh and others, including civil society, about how best to deploy our resources so that they contributed most effectively to poverty reduction in the state. This resulted in a DFID strategy paper for Andhra Pradesh, which sets out our approach to assisting in the elimination of poverty in the state by working towards five priorities. A copy of the strategy in the Library of both Houses.
Improved human development outcomes are one of the five priorities for DFID support for Andhra Pradesh. We are in on-going dialogue with the Departments of the Government of Andhra Pradesh responsible for policies affecting the environment about the linkages between environment and poverty. The Government of India are currently considering a proposal from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for DFID to provide support for additional strategic environmental assessment of Vision 2020.
Palestine
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what assessment has been made of the recent damage to the water supply pipelines in (a) Ramallah, (b) Qalqilya, (c) Bethlehem, (d) Tulkarm and (e) Nablus; [48800]
- (2) what assessment has been made of the damage to the emergency water and sanitation programme in the West Bank by recent Israeli action; and what is the (a) estimated cost of this damage and (b) estimated number of beneficiaries affected. [48773]
Clare Short: Water is a critical issue with the WBGS, and since the Intifada began, the international community has collaborated with the Palestinian institutions to help address both urgent short term needs and the longer term institutional and physical infrastructure.
Water and sanitation, along with other basic services, has been dramatically affected by the recent escalation of violence. The international community, together with the Palestinian authorities, is gathering data on areas where there is no direct access to water supplies. But it has not yet been possible to make a comprehensive assessment of the damage incurred. Access to many areas is still denied.
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