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Market Testing

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the estimated level of saving to the Department is from the use of market testing in 2002–03. [107768]

Clare Short: My Department does not have a programme of formal market testing. We ensure value for money by selecting external suppliers through strict competitive tendering processes. Internal services are provided under service level agreements that set out agreed standards of efficiency, informed by benchmarking where relevant.

Public Service Agreement

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (a) how many and (b) what grades of officials are responsible for the monitoring of progress towards the public service agreement targets of the Department. [109466]

Clare Short: Monitoring progress towards the Department's PSA targets is undertaken by a wide variety of staff at all levels of the organisation.

St. Helena

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the provision of an airport on St. Helena. [111253]

Clare Short: As a result of talks held last September in St. Helena, an invitation to the private sector seeking innovative proposals for the development of air access was launched by the St. Helena Government on 7 April 2003. Details of this invitation can be found at www.giclimited.com.

United Nations Development Programme

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects undertaken by the Conflict and Recovery Unit of the United Nations Development programme in each year since its inception and the contribution of her Department for this programme in each year. [110354]

Clare Short: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) in November 2001, in order to address the increasing demand for well-co-ordinated assistance on crisis prevention and recovery and the need for a strengthened capacity within the UN system to help bridge the gap between humanitarian response and longer-term development assistance. The main purpose of BCPR is to provide technical support to UNDP Country Offices and their programmes, rather than carrying out directly executed projects. Since its

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establishment, the Bureau's capacity to provide support in conflict prevention, security sector reform, recovery, small arms reduction, mine action and natural disaster reduction has increased considerably.

At present, approximately 65 out of UNDP's 135 Country Offices implementing crisis prevention or recovery programmes draw on BCPR support. However, to ensure a strategic use of its resources, BCPR focuses the provision of its technical support on Afghanistan, Angola, Central Asia, Colombia, Georgia, Great Lakes, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iraq, Nepal, Somalia, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and West Africa.

DFID has worked closely with the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery since its establishment and has made an overall contribution of £13.4 million to date: £6.6 million in 2001–02 and £6.8 million in 2002–03. Our contribution has been utilised across the full range of BCPR's activities.

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to deal with the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. [111717]

Clare Short: DFID has contributed £51 million to help Zimbabwe since the humanitarian crisis began in mid 2001. We are currently supporting the World Food Programme, which is feeding nearly five million people, while government and non-governmental organisations are also supplying food. DFID is directly funding NGOs that are providing supplementary food to 1.5 million, mostly children, pregnant and nursing women and the elderly. We have supported home care programmes for families affected by HIV/AIDS and have provided seeds and fertilisers to 180,000 households to assist food production.

The international response has helped avert a crisis and malnutrition rates have increased only marginally. Adequate supplies of food have been secured until June when the harvest will improve the situation. However, it is already evident that the crisis in food production will persist for a third year, as the structural causes of agricultural decline have not been addressed. The economic crisis also means that poverty is rising and many people will remain vulnerable. Detailed assessments and the plans of the Zimbabwe Government are awaited; from there we will develop specific programmes for 2003–04.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU Contact Committee European Economic Interest Group, the number of times and the dates on which it has met since January 2002, the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, the decisions it has made since January 2002 and the means used to communicate these decisions to the House. [110493]

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Ms Hewitt: There are no officials of the Department permanently appointed to sit on the Committee; such officials would be selected according to the subject matter under discussion at any meeting of the Committee. There have been no meetings of the Committee since January 2002, and consequently, there have been no agenda items or decisions taken by the Committee to communicate to the House during that period.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to ensure that regional plans for renewable energy generation take account of the impact of new generating facilities on the wider rural economy] [109832]

Mr. Wilson: The recent Energy White Paper set out the Government's plans with regard to regional plans for renewable energy developments. It sets out the Government's commitment to ensure that a strategic approach to energy issues is developed in each English region. This includes encouraging regional bodies and local authorities to strategically examine resources and opportunities for renewable energy projects within their areas. When drawing up their development plans, regional bodies and local authorities need to have regard to all relevant planning policy guidance, including those relating to rural development (PPG7) regional planning (PPGII) and renewable energy (PPG22). Any proposed energy development must be considered on its merits on a case by case basis. Among the factors taken into account would be the economic, environmental and any other relevant material planning considerations.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the environmental impact of plans by the South West Regional Development Agency for further onshore wind power generation. [109840]

Mr. Wilson: The South West Regional Development Agency has made no plans for further onshore wind power generation. That is not its role. The number and location of onshore wind turbines is a matter for developers and the relevant planning authority. The environmental impact of proposals is considered on a case by case basis.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about the environmental impact of plans by the South West Regional Development Agency for further onshore wind power generations. [109841]

Mr. Wilson: Since the South West Regional Development Agency has not made plans for further onshore wind power generation (this is not its role), the issue of representations does not arise.

Adoption Leave

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce a statutory right to adoption leave for parents with a newly adopted child; and if she will make a statement. [110776]

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Alan Johnson: New statutory rights to leave and pay for parents adopting a child came into effect on 6 April this year.

Eligible employees who adopt will be able to take 52 weeks' adoption leave, beginning around the time their child is placed with them for adoption. Eligible adopters will receive Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 26 weeks.

Eligible employees who adopt, or are the partner of an adopter, can take one or two weeks' (their choice) paternity leave around the time the child is placed for adoption. If they are eligible they will receive Statutory Paternity Pay during that time.

Where a couple adopts they are able to choose which of them will take adoption leave and which will take paternity leave.

Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay are both paid at £100 per week or 90 per cent. of average weekly earnings if this is less than £100.

Guidance for employers and employees and further information about these new rights is available from the Department of Trade and Industry's website,

www.dti.gov.uk/workingparents.

Arms Trade

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) pursuant to her answer of 11 April 2003, Official Report, column 460W, on arms exports, what independent assessments by computer security analysts her Department has sought on the levels of security and encryption required for computers used by those applying for arms licences; [110539]

(2) pursuant to her answer of 11 April 2003, Official Report, column 460W, on arms exports, whether there will be security protocols for the electronic transfer of information via intranets specifically to guarantee security when companies have global networks which extend to countries for which individual export licences have not been granted. [110540]

Nigel Griffiths: Applicants for licences are responsible for the level of security in whatever form they choose to submit it. Appropriate advice will be given.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 11 April 2003, Official Report, column 460W, on arms exports, if she will estimate the cost of establishing a register of arms dealers and brokers to which interested parties would have to sign up before applying for arms licences. [110541]

Nigel Griffiths: The Government have not proposed such a register and therefore have made no estimate of the consequent costs.

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is on dealing with outstanding UK contracts with countries that face new restrictions on arms trading; and if she will make a statement. [110393]

Nigel Griffiths: Where a UK, EU or UK embargo is placed on a country which is being supplied by a UK contractor, there are established mechanisms in place to ensure the embargo is fully complied with.

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Implementation periods have been proposed relating to the new legislation to enable applicants to consider how to comply with the new legislation.

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria are used in assessing a country's probability as a conduit for arms supply to banned countries; and if she will make a statement. [110394]

Nigel Griffiths: I refer the hon. Member to the reply from my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain), the then Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley, on 26 October 2000, Official Report, column 199–203W.

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