---

Culture Funding

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the Government will take steps to increase funding for culture; and if she will make a statement. [55014]

Mr. Caborn: In the context of the 2002 Spending Review, my Department and the Treasury are looking closely at current and future spending needs across all the cultural sectors. The outcome of the Review will be announced in July.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EU Aid Budget

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she will take to improve the performance of the EU aid budget. [54687]

Clare Short: My Department published a revised strategy for improving the poor performance of the European Community development programme in August 2001. I welcome the positive steps that have recently been taken, including establishment for the first time of an EC Development Policy with poverty reduction as the central objective, streamlining of procedures and improvements in financial and staff management. The Commission are

10 May 2002 : Column 387W

also delegating significant new responsibilities to their offices overseas in order to improve dialogue with developing country partners and cut delays. The Government is working with other member states, the Commission and the European Parliament to ensure that these measures begin to have an impact on the ground and allow the European Community to make a much more significant contribution to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. We are also working for agreement that a much greater share of EC aid should be allocated to low income countries where it will have the greatest impact on poverty reduction. In 2000, only 38 per cent of EC aid was spent in low income countries compared to 70 per cent in 1990. Our objective is to reverse this decline in order to secure radical improvement in the effectiveness of EC aid.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made in reforming the EU aid budget. [54688]

Clare Short: My Department published a revised strategy for improving the poor performance of the European Community development programme in August 2001. We welcome the steps that have recently been taken, including establishment for the first time of an EC Development Policy with poverty reduction as the central objective, streamlining of procedures and improvements in financial and staff management. The Commission are also delegating significant new responsibilities to their offices overseas in order to improve dialogue with developing country partners and cut delays. The Government is working with other member states, the Commission and the European Parliament to ensure that these measures begin to have an impact on the ground and allow the European Community to make a much more significant contribution to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. We are also working for agreement that a much greater share of EC aid should be allocated to low income countries where it will have the greatest impact on poverty reduction. In 2000, only 38 per cent of EC aid was spent in low income countries compared to 70 per cent in 1990. Our objective is to reverse this decline in order to secure radical improvement in the effectiveness of EC aid.

Debt Relief

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made on debt relief for poor countries. [54685]

Clare Short: So far, 26 out of a total of 42 countries have qualified for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, and by the autumn, Cote d'lvoire could be added to the list of countries benefiting from the Initiative. Relief of more than US $60 billion will be provided to these countries, reducing their debts by more than two-thirds on average. Of the 26 countries, 21 have reached Decision Point and are receiving interim debt relief on their "flow" of payment, and five have completed the HIPC process, and have received an irrevocable reduction in their stock of debt. We hope that a further three will reach their Completion Point this year. The prospects for the remaining eleven unsustainable countries are not good. Six—Burundi, Congo Republic, Liberia, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan—are still affected by conflict; Togo has governance problems; Central

10 May 2002 : Column 388W

African Republic, DR Congo and Comoros might go through next year; and Lao PDR is undecided as to whether to opt for HIPC relief. Angola, Kenya, Vietnam and Yemen are regarded as sustainable cases, eligible for relief from the Paris Club.

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the performance of the Commonwealth Development Corporation against its objectives for 2001–02. [54686]

Clare Short: In 2001, CDC made £134 million of new investments, and met both its Investment Policy targets. Over the last five years, 83 per cent of CDC's new investments have been in the poorer developing countries, and last year 69 per cent of the new investments were in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Private equities and emerging markets all declined sharply in 2001, and CDC's portfolio valuation was reduced by 10.3 per cent. A copy of CDC's annual review and financial statement for 2001 has been placed in the Library.

Middle East

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations her Department has made to the Israeli Government to secure the safe access of the Palestinian civilian population to (a) clean water supplies, (b) working sanitation and (c) medical care; and if she will make a statement. [55171]

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to my Answer of 1 May 2002, Official Report, column 859W.

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact of the political instability in Zimbabwe on regional security. [54260]

Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.

The situation in Zimbabwe is having a negative impact on Southern Africa. The crisis has increased levels of illegal immigration from Zimbabwe into neighbouring countries, created economic imbalances in border areas and, more generally, reduced investor confidence in the region. All of these threaten the stability and security of Southern Africa. Regional governments will need to remain closely involved in helping to secure a lasting solution to the crisis.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Official Visits

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will list the official visits to (a) Paris and (b) Brussels made by each Minister in his Department in 2001 and the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in his Department on the choice of mode of travel for such visits; [38157]

10 May 2002 : Column 389W

(2) if he will list the official visits within the UK outside London made by each Minister in his Department in 2001, giving for each (a) the origin and destination and (b) the mode of travel used; and what guidance is provided to Ministers in his Department on choice of mode of travel for official visits. [38193]

Mr. Wills: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 6 March (Hansard column reference 421W).

Census Online

Mr. Brady: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the 1901 Census Online facility will be reinstated at the designated regional service centres. [52754]

Ms Rosie Winterton: QinetiQ Ltd. is continuing to work on the technical enhancements. Once configuring of the technical enhancements is complete, rigorous testing will be undertaken on all aspects of the system. These enhancements are intended to make the site sufficiently robust to permit general Internet access, and are being done with a sense of urgency. Before the full Internet service is restored, it will be relaunched at the service centres as part of the testing programme; details of the relaunch will be available in due course.

Human Rights

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the terms of reference are for the quarterly plenary of human rights contacts in each department of Government; and if he will list the members of the body. [53772]

Mr. Wills: These are informal meetings of human rights contacts in all the main Whitehall Departments. Our aims are to:

collect systematically examples of the impact of the Act on policy and practice in public authorities, in particular Government departments;
to disseminate and promote good practice and raise awareness amongst public authorities; and
to maintain and update a list of "notable cases" which illustrate important themes.

There are currently 26 contacts, all of whom are invited to the quarterly meetings.

Criminal Courts

Mr. Wray: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent steps the Government have taken to renovate the criminal courts. [54206]

Mr. Wills: The Court Service is currently undertaking a major Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme, an important part of which is aimed at improving the use of technology in the criminal courts. This includes the introduction of digital audio recording of court proceedings, expansion of TV links for vulnerable witnesses and links to local prisons, and the installation of IT equipment in court for the electronic presentation of evidence.

10 May 2002 : Column 390W

The Court Service undertakes general improvements to the criminal courts as part of major maintenance schemes according to priorities and funding. At the moment it is also in the second year of a three-year programme of improvement works to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995).

Renovations and modernisation initiatives in the magistrates' courts are bid for by individual Magistrates' Court Committees and Local Authorities and are funded from the Department's Capital Grant allocation.

---