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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 Service71
A1 (Level 6)178
A2 (Level 7)368
A3 (Senior Executive Officer) level139
B1 (Higher Executive Officer) level297
B2 (Executive Officer) level295
C1 (Administrative Officer) level306
C2 (Administrative Assistant) level90
Total1,744

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

23 Feb 2004 : Column 100W

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:

£

Salary/feeBonus
2002
Non-Executive Directors
Lord Cairns (Chair)48,000
Jayne Almond (Deputy Chair)22,432
Jonathan Kydd16,658
Lalith de Mel17,000
Pen Kent (to 1 December 2001)10,250
Russel Seal (to 2 May 2001)4,375
Peter Smitham (from 15 March 2001)17,000
Tim Parker (from I December 2001)17,000
Executive Directors
Alan Gillespie (CEO to 30 November 2002)143,05590,000
Paul Fletcher (from 17 January 2001)141,22590,000
Richard Laing139,42575,000
Andrew Reicher (from 17 January 2001)137,00090,000
Nicholas Selbie (from 17 January 2001)147,90067,500
2001
Non-Executive Directors
Lord Cairns (Chair)37,500
Jayne Almond (Deputy Chair)16,333
Jonathan Kydd10,833
Lalith de Mel (from 13 April 2000)10,916
Pen Kent (to 1 December 2001)10,250
Russel Seal (to 2 May 2001)4,375
Peter Smitham (from l5 March 2001)8,637
Tim Parker (from I December 2001)1,416
Executive Directors
Alan Gillespie (CEO)170,00043,350
Richard Laing (from 24 January 2000)135,00035,000
Paul Fletcher (from 17 January 2001)128,76942,300
Andrew Reicher (from 17 January 2001)128,76932,300
Nicholas Selbie (from 17 January 2001)138,30832,100
2000
Non-Executive Directors
Lord Cairns (Chair)32,250
Jayne Almond (Deputy Chair)13,146
Pen Kent9,000
Jonathan Kydd8,250
Russel Seal10,260
Lalith de Mel (from 13 April 2000)5,909
Executive Directors
Alan Gillespie (CEO)160,00057,600
Richard Laing (from 24 January 2000)114,58345,000
1999
Members of the Corporation (to 7 December 1999) and Non-Executive Directors of CDC Group plc (from 8 December 1999)
Lord Cairns (Chair)30,813
Jayne Almond (Deputy Chair)11,625
Pen Kent9,000
Jonathan Kydd8,250
Russel Seal8,953
Chief Executive Officer (to 7 December 1999)
Roy Reynolds148,75035,000
Executive Director of CDC Group plc
Alan Gillespie (CEO from 8 December 1999)13,333
Members of the Corporation (to 7 December 1999)
Carolyn Hayman7,728
Roger Murray7,728
David Pearce7,728
Hari Shankar Singhania (to June 1999)3,750
1998
Chairman (Lord Cairns)29,000
Other Members of the Corporation (Board)68,000
CEO (Roy Reynolds)(15)168,189
Executive Management Committee members819,429
1997
Chairman (Lord Cairns)27,000
Other Members of the Corporation (Board)68,000
CEO (Roy Reynolds)(15)153,762
Executive Management Committee members747,071

(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.


23 Feb 2004 : Column 102W

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 sectorPercentage of total portfolio in agricultural sector
19982325
19992318.5
20002017
200110.210.2
200211.311.3
20035.410.9

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:









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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