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EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the EU Directives and Regulations which have been implemented by her Department since 17 April 2002. [106828]
Clare Short: Since 17 April 2002, the Department for International Development has not implemented any Directives.
EC Regulations are, in general, directly applicable in the Member States, without the need for further incorporation into national law. However, some Regulations require UK measures to make them
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workable and enforceable. Some Regulations enact small or technical amendments. As far as we have been able to verify the Department for International Development have not implemented any regulations since 17 April 2002.
Global Health Fund
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development further to her answer of 13 March, Official Report, column 354W, how her Department will measure the effectiveness of the Global Health Fund. [106916]
Clare Short: DFID is actively working with the Global Fund and has provided expertise to assist in the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework which will monitor the impact of the fund at both country and global levels. Progress against key indicators will be reported to the Board of the Fund on which DFID is represented. DFID is also represented on the Monitoring and Evaluation Finance and Audit Committee of the Global Fund which provides more detailed oversight.
In addition DFID will commission independent studies of the performance of the Fund. The first of these—to be carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—is currently underway.
Human Trafficking
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department is doing to tackle (a) human trafficking and (b) trafficking of women. [106926]
Clare Short: The trafficking of people is part of a wider set of issues related to the migration of poor people to better their lives, and to their vulnerability to national and international smugglers and traffickers. Trafficking is an international problem requiring co-ordinated action. DFID's role is to work to eliminate the poverty and social injustice that can lead to such abuse. Through our programmes to promote sustainable development and end poverty, DFID is helping to reduce the circumstances that give rise to this appalling trade, and which make women and children especially vulnerable. With other Government Departments, we are supporting the efforts of Governments and international agencies to strengthen social protection policies and justice systems in line with the international treaty framework covering these issues.
For example, in SE Asia, we are supporting the International Labour Organisation's work to reduce the trafficking of women in Laos, Thailand, China (Yunnan), Cambodia and Vietnam. It involves a number of interlinked interventions to raise awareness and prevent the trade. In the Balkans we recently supported the International Organisation for Migration in training the various agencies dealing with trafficked people, including police, social workers and the legal profession, in order to create and disseminate models of good practice.
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Iraq
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regarding humanitarian aid to Iraq (a) during and (b) after the war. [106864]
Clare Short: I discuss humanitarian assistance and planning for Iraq regularly with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian aid has been delivered in Iraq. [106865]
Clare Short: Stocks have been pre-positioned in country and in surrounding areas and are being utilised as required and in line with the evolving security situation on the ground.
In the north, UNICEF has brought in limited supplies, the Mines Action Group (MAG) is undertaking mine clearance, the World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered food, and the World Health Organisation is supporting local health providers to assess disease outbreaks.
In Baghdad controlled Iraq the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working with local technicians to repair water and power supplies in seven Baghdad hospitals and to provide drinking water.
In the south the coalition military are discharging their humanitarian obligations under the Geneva Convention and Hague regulations in order to provide relief in the interim in the territory they occupy. UN agencies and NGO's are now beginning to enter. The ICRC has been repairing water and power supplies at the main Basra pumping station and distributing medical supplies. UNICEF has begun to distribute clean water and emergency kits; the International Medical Corps (IMC) has begun to provide assistance to the hospital in Umm Qasr; and Caritas Iraq has sent emergency medical supplies from Baghdad to Basra. The Coalition military has completed a 3.5 km water pipeline from Kuwait to Umm Qasr allowing water to be delivered to surrounding populations.
This is far from a complete picture. Our daily published reports contain further information on humanitarian assistance in Iraq and are available from the Commons Library.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the United Nations regarding humanitarian aid to Iraq. [106866]
Clare Short: I visited New York and Washington on 19–20 March to meet the United Nations Secretary General and others to try to ensure that proper preparations are being made for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Iraq. Since then, I have had discussions with other UN officials including the Executive Directors of the World Food Programme and the United Nations Population Fund. I will be visiting New York again this week for further discussions.
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My Department is in daily contact with UN humanitarian agencies through the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) based in Cyprus, to which we have seconded two members of staff.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2003, Official Report, column 353W, why officials from her Department were not previously in a position to meet with local Iraqi non-governmental organisations. [106924]
Clare Short: DFID officials have not been able to meet local Iraqi NGOs due to the security climate in Iraq. DFID has on-going programmes of support in the North of Iraq, through Save the Children UK; HelpAge International; Christian Aid; Response Relief Resettlement and Rehabilitation (4Rs); A Community Oriented Rehabilitation Network (ACORN) and Care in the Centre/South. All of these work extensively with local Iraqi people and local NGOs to implement their programmes.
Any new or future support in Iraq will similarly seek to maximise partnerships with local Iraqi organisations.
Staff Numbers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff were employed by her Department in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [106974]
Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the central answer provided by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 4 April 2003, Official Report, columns 891–92W.
Staff Union Duties
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002. [106736]
Clare Short: We have two full time union officials—one in each of our UK offices. Paid leave is also granted to several other union officials at both locations. This totals to approximately the equivalent of one additional full time member of staff. The cost for the 2002–03 financial year was approximately £64,640 (based on the average cost of staff at those grades). We have no agencies or public bodies with staff in this category.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the statutory instruments issued by her Department in the last 12 months, indicating (a) the purpose of each and (b) the cost of each to (i) public funds, (ii) businesses and (iii) individuals. [106319]
Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 17 December 2002, Official Report, column 707W, which listed statutory instruments issued by my Department in 2002. Since then the House of Commons has approved two further statutory
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instruments: the African Development Fund (Ninth Replenishment) Order and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Fifth Replenishment) Order. With the exception of the International Development Act 2002 (Commencement) Order 2002, the purpose of each was to permit a contribution by DFID to a multilateral development bank. No significant costs were occurred from public funds in arranging for implementation of the orders prior to the contributions made under them.
Contributions made in the last 12 months under these statutory instruments were:
- African Development Fund (Additional Subscriptions) Order 2002—£40 million
Caribbean Development Bank (Further Payments) Order 2002—£8.748 million
International Development Association (Thirteenth Replenishment) Order 2003—£300 million.
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