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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 23 June 2003

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

African Aid (Drugs)

Mr. Caton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what actions the Government is taking to assist African nations to produce their own generic pharmaceutical drugs. [119192]

Hilary Benn: The UK Government are committed to significantly improving access to medicines, both branded and generic, in developing countries. We need to work with others, including our G8 partners, to tackle the issues affecting access if we are to make lasting improvements.

The factors recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that can improve poor peoples' access to medicines are: affordable pricing, sustainable financing, reliable health and supply systems, and the rational selection and use of existing drugs.

In line with this, since May 1997, DFID has committed over £1.5 billion since 1997 to support the strengthening of health and supply systems in developing countries, which will help to build capacity to deliver medicines to the poor and to make effective choices about the selection of drugs. The UK has also pledged $280 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). This will help pay for increased access to medicines for the three diseases and some associated health systems strengthening.

My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) chaired a High Level Working Group on Increasing Access to Essential Medicines in the Developing World, which examined the key factors above in detail. The Working Group made a series of recommendations for action, which are being taking forward by a number of other stakeholders.

The recent G8 Summit at Evian also secured commitment to action on these issues in line with the Working Group's recommendations.

With regard to generic production in particular the UK is also engaged in seeking a solution to the outstanding mandate from the Doha Declaration on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Public Health—the issue of how countries with insufficient or no manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceutical sector can make effective use of compulsory licensing procedures within the TRIPS Agreement. It is important to find a solution to this issue, both for its own sake and in order to allow the international community to focus on the many other issues affecting access to medicines.

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On the wider question of trade and transfer of technology, within the WTO, the Doha Declaration mandated a new WTO Working Group to examine the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, including possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries. The UK Government takes the view that as a general rule, the transfer of technology is most effectively facilitated through the provision of open markets and good regulation.

Air Traffic Control System (Tanzania)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what reports he has received on whether (a) the military air traffic control system sold by BAe Systems to the Tanzanian Government is in use and (b) a civilian air traffic control system supplied subsequently to Tanzania is now in use. [121015]

Hilary Benn: DFID has received information from the Government of Tanzania and the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority that the air traffic control system sold by BAe Systems to them is in use. They have reported that it has dual military and civilian use.

India

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many (a) small, (b) medium and (c) shared loans were provided to poor people in Andhra Pradesh as a result of Departmental programmes in each year since the project began; what the target was for these years; and if he will make a statement. [120484]

Hilary Benn: Access to credit is a critical issue for many poor people in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere in India, with indebtedness being a major cause and symptom of poverty. Over the last few years, the state government has strongly supported activities in this area, particularly the formation of women's self-help groups. More than 450,000 groups (with membership of around 6 million women) have been established in Andhra Pradesh—the largest number in any state in India. These groups are centred on savings and credit, enabling the members to build up their own savings and to borrow from group funds to cover unexpected expenses eg illness, or as start-up capital for income-earning activities eg purchasing livestock. DFID is supporting this work under the Credit and Small Household Enterprise (CASHE) project, which provides funding to local organisations. The project operates in five of the poorest districts in Andhra Pradesh, and also districts in Orissa and West Bengal. The CASHE project works with around 250,000 groups in Andhra Pradesh, helping to facilitate their establishment and providing training to enable them to operate effectively. The group members keep their own records and make the decisions on the amount and number of loans that will be made from their group savings. No targets are set and no central records are kept of the transactions.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many children have been taken out of labour in Andhra Pradesh as a result

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of Departmental programmes in each year since the project began; what the targets were for these years; and if he will make a statement. [120485]

Hilary Benn: Andhra Pradesh has one of the highest incidences of child labour in India. Since 2000, DFID has been supporting the International Labour Organisation's Integrated Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) in the state. This programme works with trades' unions, parents, employers, and non-governmental organisations to build support for eradicating child labour. It works in parallel and as a support to the state government's own efforts to eliminate child labour and to ensure that all children attend school; the government has set universal primary education as a target to be reached by 2005. It is not possible to determine how many children have been taken out of child labour by the ILO-IPEC project and how many from government's own efforts. The government has estimated that combined effect of these actions in 2002 was that almost 500,000 children were taken out of child labour.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Government of India's District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) includes establishing "bridge" schools for former child labourers. Children attend these schools for around four months with the aim of moving into mainstream schools at the end of the period. DFID is one of the donors supporting DPEP in Andhra Pradesh, providing up to £46.5 million over 9 years.

Sewel Motions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will list Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999 that apply to his Department's responsibilities and Government Bills he has sponsored. [120698]

Hilary Benn: Of the Bills sponsored by DFID, the International Development Act 2002 was the subject of an International Development Sewel motion in the Scottish Parliament. This Sewel motion received approval on 8 March 2001.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to (a) limit the distances that stock can travel without rest periods and (b) prevent animals from staying overnight at livestock markets; and if she will make a statement. [120535]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 20 June 2003]: The Government would prefer animals to be slaughtered near to the point of production and for long distance transport for slaughter to be replaced by a carcase trade. EU Commissioner David Byrne has said that he will shortly bring forward proposals to amend the current rules on animal welfare in transport including maximum permitted journey times and rest periods. Between March and May we consulted on a package of biosecurity measures for the livestock industry

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including a proposal to prevent animals from staying overnight at livestock markets in England and Wales. We expect to make an announcement shortly.

Varroa

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what aid, including financial assistance, has been provided to bee farmers by her Department to help combat the threat of varroa in each of the last five years. [119971]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 18 June 2003]: Combating varroa as been the greatest single challenge to UK beekeeping since the mite was first detected in Devon in 1992. Defra funds a range of bee health measures to assist bee farmers and the beekeeping sector generally, the cost of which has been around £1.3 million in each of the last five years. Under these measures, the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Central Science Laboratory, provides a free diagnostic and inspection service to beekeepers in England as well as training and technical advice to help them become more self-reliant through improved bee husbandry. In addition, the NBU has been carrying out routine screening throughout England and Wales for varroa mites that are resistant to authorised treatments, having first detected them in August 2001.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of varroa mite infestation there have been in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the past five years. [119970]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 18 June 2003]: The number of new varroa infestations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in each of the last five years is set out in the following table:

Numbers of new cases of varroa mite infestation: 1999–2003

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003(to date)
England	261	286	38	58	31
Wales	47	15	1	3	1
Scotland	19	10	21	39	31
Northern Ireland	0	0	0	28	2

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