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15 May 2003 : Column 385W—continued
Aid (Developing Countries)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what level of aid is being provided to uprooted people in developing countries; and to what extent the Government has acted upon the agreements made at the Montevideo Convention in 2001. [110707]
Hilary Benn: People may be displaced from or forced to leave their homes and livelihoods for many different reasons. It is not possible to provide information on the level of assistance related to such a wide range of circumstances without incurring disproportionate cost.
Argentina
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources her Department has allocated in response to the severe flooding in northern Argentina. [112728]
Hilary Benn: Our assessment of the situation in Santa Fe Province is that while the flooding is serious, the national structures in place are proving sufficient in providing appropriate assistance. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
China
Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid is being made available to the People's Republic of China in regard to the SARS outbreak. [112605]
Hilary Benn: We will provide around £3.25 million as part of a co-ordinated donor response to help Chinese efforts to deal with SARS. DFID funding is likely to focus in the short term on: support to the Ministry of Health for immediate medical requirements via a World Bank Trust Fund; and strengthening the World Health Organisation in China. In the longer term, it will be important to address health systems and governance issues, particularly as they relate to access to services for the poorest.
Coffee
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had regarding support programmes for coffee farmers facing poverty following the collapse of coffee prices; and if she will make a statement. [111563]
Hilary Benn: Last November (2002), my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) attended the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) at which proposals for addressing the coffee crisis was discussed by EU Ministers.
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We remain concerned about the plight of those whose livelihoods have been, and continue to be, affected by the depressed producer prices that have prevailed in the coffee market over the last few years. Commodity dependence is a complex problem and there is no simple solution.
DFID are providing support to many countries affected by a decline in coffee prices we attempt wherever possible to help poor people recover from falling incomes and help commodity dependent countries diversify.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources her Department has allocated to helping coffee producers gain organic certification for their coffee; and to which countries. [111582]
Hilary Benn: There can be no automatic presumption that organic certification will deliver improved livelihoods for poor coffee producers. It is important that careful consideration is given to ensuring that any additional premium generated from the production and sale of organic produce justifies any additional costs that may be incurred, including associated certification costs. In 2000, DFID financed a study to examine the opportunities and constraints for resource poor farmers in organic production and trade. DFID is supporting a coffee certification feasibility analysis in Uganda.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources her Department has allocated to enable small coffee producers in developing countries to diversify into alternative livelihoods, and to which countries. [111583]
Hilary Benn: UK development assistance is provided on a bilateral basis to a significant number of coffee producing countries including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. UK bilateral assistance to these six countries in 2001–02 amounted to £200 million. Additional financial resources are also provided through multilateral channels including the European Commission's external aid programme and the Common Fund for Commodities.UK support to poverty reduction strategies, and other national strategic planning processes, provides an important contribution to livelihood diversification.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources her Department has allocated to enable coffee farmers to form co-operatives; and if she will make a statement. [111668]
Hilary Benn: UK development assistance is provided to a significant number of coffee producing countries.
The decision to establish a co-operative, or indeed any other organised grouping must be voluntary and based on a shared commitment. Activities must be bound by agreed rules including those relating to the behaviour and conduct of members and accountability. The lessons from past experience, particularly of the state-led drive to establish co-operatives in Africa in the 70s, highlight the difficulties that can arise when decisions to form a co-operative are imposed by external agents. UK development assistance lends support to a range of institutional arrangements as deemed appropriate.
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Commonwealth Development Corporation
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of total investments by the Commonwealth Development Corporation were in the agricultural sector in each of the last five years. [112729]
Hilary Benn: The percentages of total investments held in the agricultural sector by CDC Group plc (known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation until 1999) in each of the last five years were as follows:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 23 |
| 1999 | 23 |
| 2000 | 20 |
| 2001 | 10.2 |
| 2002 | 11.3 |
Departmental Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 44W, on departmental pay, if she will list the areas requiring further analysis to which her answer referred. [112319]
Hilary Benn: The main areas requiring further analysis are a full assessment of the impact of length of service in grade, and a more detailed survey of overtime arrangements. We expect to complete both exercises by the autumn of 2003. Other areas for further analysis in the medium term include the impact of qualifications, experience, overseas postings, career breaks, and secondments on rates of pay by gender, ethnicity and disability. We are currently introducing an electronic database which will greatly help with this further analysis. We hope to undertake it in early 2004 but the timetable is subject to employees providing the data and consenting to our access to it.
Education for All Fast Track Initiative
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources her Department has allocated to expand the Education for All Fast Track Initiative to enable all low-income countries with sound education plans to receive full donor support. [112726]
Hilary Benn: Our approach to the Fast Track Initiative is to ensure that it focuses on encouraging Governments with large numbers of children out of schools to develop credible education plans that will enable them to achieve the aim of universal primary education. We have successfully pressed for the inclusion of those countries with the most children out of school—like India (with 30 million children out of school), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A working group of which DFID is a member has been established to take this forward. In countries where we are engaged, we will consider increasing our support in the context of their PRSP and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. We will continue to engage with the Fast Track Initiative at
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all levels but do not envisage diverting existing anticipated commitments in order to support specific Fast Track Initiative proposals.
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the UK Government will follow up on commitments made at the IMF and World bank spring meetings on the Education for all Fast Track Initiative; and if she will make a statement. [112187]
Hilary Benn: The continuing progress that is being made on the Fast Track Initiative was welcomed at the IMF and World bank spring meetings. Our approach to the Fast Track Initiative is to shape it to focus on encouraging governments with large numbers of children out of schools put the policies and plans in place that will enable them to achieve the aim of universal primary education. We have successfully pressed for the inclusion of those countries with the most children out of school—like India (with 30 million children out of school), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A working group of which my Department is a member has been established to take this forward. The key challenge for the working group would be to encourage the countries concerned to commit themselves to making progress and to provide the necessary support and technical resources to develop costed credible education plans within the context of an overall PRSP.
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