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23 Feb 2004 : Column 99W—continued
Civil Servants
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997. [150267]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: Details of the numbers of current civil servants in DFID (there are no agencies), broken down by grade, are contained in the following table.
| Grade (highest first) | Staff numbers |
|---|---|
| Senior Civil Service | 71 |
| A1 (Level 6) | 178 |
| A2 (Level 7) | 368 |
| A3 (Senior Executive Officer) level | 139 |
| B1 (Higher Executive Officer) level | 297 |
| B2 (Executive Officer) level | 295 |
| C1 (Administrative Officer) level | 306 |
| C2 (Administrative Assistant) level | 90 |
| Total | 1,744 |
There were 1,177 Civil Servants in DFID, in 1997. A breakdown of that figure by grade, is not available.
CDC
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the estimated annual amount of investment that the Government will make through CDC when it becomes a Government-owned investment company. [153421]
Hilary Benn: The Commonwealth Development Corporation Act of 1999 transformed CDC into a Government-owned investment company that deploys some £1.1 billion of public capital for investment. This
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capital was injected into CDC by the Government over several decades up to the mid-1990s. We have no current plans to invest additional funds in CDC.
All new investments made by CDC in the future will be funded from the proceeds of realisation of existing investments. CDC's business plan for the next few years estimates that between £200 million and £300 million will be invested each year into the new funds to be managed by Actis. The intention is that, in the medium term, third party investors will be attracted to commit capital to these funds alongside CDC.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the environmental sustainability requirements of Actis and the Commonwealth Development Corporation will be following the reorganisation announced in his Written Statement of 8 January. [153445]
Hilary Benn: Since 1999, CDC has been required to follow a set of business principles that require compliance with best practice, both at fund and investee company level. These principles include environmental standards, where, as a minimum, World Bank rules must be applied, or at least met within an agreed timeframe.
The other business principles cover the areas of personal and corporate integrity, social issues such as child or forced labour or discriminatory practices, health and safety, transparency and legal and fiscal compliance.
The reorganisation does not affect these principles. They will in future apply to both Actis and CDC.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) objectives and (b) return requirements will be required for investment of capital provided to an Actis-managed fund by the CDC following the reorganisation announced in his Written Statement of 8 January. [153446]
Hilary Benn: As set out in my Written Statement of 8 January, Official Report, column 15WS, CDC's objective is to maximise the creation and long-term growth of viable businesses in poorer developing countries by making responsible investments and mobilising private capital alongside public funds. This objective will remain unchanged under the reorganisation proposals and will apply to all CDC capital invested in any Actis-managed fund.
The rates of return of the different Actis funds will vary according to the region or sector at which a particular fund is targeted; for example, the rate of return for the Africa fund will differ from that for the Power fund. Target rates of return will be set according to the requirements of businesses in the region or sector in question and according to the requirements of potential co-investors in the fund.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether ventures managed by Actis that are fully commercial will be eligible for investment capital from the Commonwealth Development Corporation. [153455]
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Hilary Benn: Actis will be a fully commercial organisation and all ventures that it manages will be on fully commercial terms. CDC will only invest its capital in businesses that offer the prospect, with the help of the investment offered by CDC, of generating returns acceptable to CDC and co-investors. CDC's mission is to develop the private sector in the poorer developing countries. It does not plan to make available any form of concessional financing
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the (a) salaries and (b) bonuses awarded to each board member and member of senior management of the Commonwealth Development Corporation for each year since 1997. [153456]
Hilary Benn: The salaries, bonuses and/or fees paid to the executive and non-executive directors of Commonwealth Development Corporation each year are published in the directors' remuneration report included in CDC's Annual Report. For the period 1997 to 2002, they were as follows:
(15) Inclusive of bonus.
Notes:
1. The remuneration committee of the board (made up of the independent directors) is responsible for recommending the total remuneration of executive directors including any bonuses. Bonuses reflect individual performances in the context of the overall performance of CDC including performance against the investment policy.
2. Prior to transformation into CDC Group PLC in 1999, remuneration data for the former Commonwealth Development Corporation was not published in full detail.
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Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of Commonwealth Development Corporation investment capital was directed to agriculture ventures for each year since 1997. [153457]
Hilary Benn: The proportion by year of CDC's new and total investments in the agricultural sector were as follows:
| Percentage of new investment into agricultural sector | Percentage of total portfolio in agricultural sector | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23 | 25 |
| 1999 | 23 | 18.5 |
| 2000 | 20 | 17 |
| 2001 | 10.2 | 10.2 |
| 2002 | 11.3 | 11.3 |
| 2003 | 5.4 | 10.9 |
I regret that the figures for 1997 are not readily available.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of Commonwealth Development Corporation investment capital was directed to the poorest quartile of Commonwealth countries in each year since 1997. [153472]
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Hilary Benn: The mandate of the former Commonwealth Development Corporation was widened to include all developing countries in 1969. After transformation into CDC in 1999, we gave it a target of making at least 70 per cent. of its new investments in the poorer developing countries (basically those with a GNI per capita of less than US$1,750).
The poorest quartile of Commonwealth countries all fall within this grouping. For the years 1997 to 2001 (which is the latest year for which data are available) these countries were Bangladesh, Cameroon (1997 only), Gambia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lesotho (1998 to 2001 only), Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The proportion of CDC's new investment that were made in these countries is as follows:
- 1997—32 per cent.
- 1998—47 per cent.
- 1999—25 per cent.
- 2000—26 per cent.
- 2001—44 per cent.
- 2002—24 per cent.
- 2003—61 per cent.
Note:
2002 and 2003 figures are based on the countries in the poorest quartile in 2001.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the measures that will be in place to ensure that Actis does not obtain capital from the CDC that could be obtained through private investors. [153454]
Hilary Benn: Under a five-year contract, CDC will place 95 per cent. of its investment capital into the funds that Actis will launch and manage. Actis will be encouraged to raise as much further capital from private and other third party investors as possible for investment in the poorer developing countries. Maximising the mobilisation of third party capital is the key feature of the reorganisation proposals.
CDC's investment policy (set by DFID) obliges it to concentrate its investment in the poorer developing countries where the private sector is generally reluctant to invest. We believe that in practice there is a wide gap between the demand for investment capital in the poorer countries and the amount actually available to them. It is our aim that CDC will help bridge this gap.
We are aware that CDC's investments must not crowd out or otherwise discourage private investors already active in developing countries. This .is the opposite of its purpose and we will expect the Board of CDC to be particularly vigilant about this issue.
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