26 Feb 2004 : Column 55WS

Written Ministerial Statements

Thursday 26 February 2004

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commission for Africa

The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): The Prime Minister is today launching a new initiative—the Commission for Africa—to take a fresh look at the challenges Africa faces. The Commission aims to generate increased support for the G8 Africa Action Plan and the New Partnership for African Development (NePAD).

The Commission will conclude its work and report next spring. The Commission will set out the facts on Africa and its assessment of policy on Africa (both within Africa and internationally): where it has worked; where it has failed; where more could be done; and where more support is needed from the international community

The commissioners will be politicians and opinion formers, drawn from developed countries and Africa. Gordon Brown, Hilary Benn, Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia, K.Y. Amoako (Head of the UN Economic Commission for Africa), Trevor Manuel (South African Minister of Finance), Michel Calmness's (President Chirac's Africa Personal Representative) and Sir Bob Geldof are already confirmed as commissioners. The Prime Minister will chair meetings of the Commission and will agree the final report. The International Development Secretary will oversee the ongoing work of the Commission on the Prime Minister's behalf.

The commissioners, supported by a secretariat, will consult a wide range of experts and thinkers on each issue. The process will be open with public seminars and meetings to discuss the themes and issues. We hope that many organisations will contribute to this work. Each commissioner will host meetings, hold debates and call for papers on the theme he/she is leading. The full Commission will meet once or twice before the report is finalised to discuss and agree its overall direction.

Over the next 12 months the commissioners will take forward discussions on the key challenges to Africa's development. The themes of the report—and commissioners' responsibilities—will be decided at the first meeting of the Commission in April, but are likely to include some or all of the following: the economy (including development finance, economic integration and trade); education; conflict resolution and peacebuilding; health; the environment; HIV/AIDS; governance; and culture.

The Commissioners' work will help inform the UK's agenda for Africa during its G8 and EU presidencies next year.

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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Framework for Sustainable Development(Government Estate)

The Minister for the Environment (Mr. Elliot Morley): The Government is publishing the fifth part of the "Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate (Framework)" on energy today. This will be available from the sustainable development in Government website. Copies of the website, on CD-Rom, will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The energy section of the framework breaks new ground: it sets a Government-wide commitment to reduce carbon on the Government estate that will make an important contribution to the UK's Kyoto target, and will help to deliver our Energy White Paper commitments. The framework will now require all estate mgement contracts to take account of measures and opportunities for reducing carbon emissions and collecting energy data.

Our ongoing work on the framework defines a set of cross-Government targets for sustainable development, and outlines the mechanisms by which Departments will be expected to achieve them. These challenging targets give a clear indication of the Government's continued determination to take a lead in the practical implementation and achievement of sustainable development.

The framework for sustainable development on the Government estate can be viewed at www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/index.htm.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Defence Grant

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): The aggregate of civil defence grants to be made for the financial year 2004–05 is £19,038,000. Some £100,000 will be retained as discretionary grant for special projects and special events deemed of benefit to the wider civil protection community in England and Wales. The remaining £18,938,000 will be allocated to individual authorities as set out below.

Local AuthorityGrant Allocation 2004–05 (£)
Anglesey/Ynys Mon 61,342
Barking & Dagenham 75,969
Barnet 80,694
Barnsley 76,076
Bath & North East Somerset 90,011
Bedfordshire 136,511
Bexley 78,758
Birmingham 187,380
Blackburn with Darwen 70,658
Blackpool 66,662
Blaenau Gwent 63,083
Bolton 82,674
Bournemouth 70,122
Bracknell Forest 63,899
Bradford 125,756
Brent 86,592
Bridgend 68,323
Brighton & Hove 81,172
Bristol 98,486
Bromley 84,980
Buckinghamshire 200,557
Bury 71,195
Caerphilly 73,088
Calderdale 74,574
Cambridgeshire 163,057
Camden 84,175
Cardiff 87,322
Carmarthenshire 73,858
Ceredigion 64,143
Cheshire 189,969
Conwy 64,811
Cornwall 189,279
Corporation of London 60,145
Coventry 77,776
Croydon 90,666
Cumbria 216,116
Darlington 63,899
Denbighshire 71,434
Derby 76,503
Derbyshire 220,459
Devon 217,294
Doncaster 85,516
Dorset 175,886
Dudley 82,908
Durham 213,601
Ealing 90,344
East Riding of Yorkshire 72,166
East Sussex 208,288
Enfield 88,198
Essex 315,112
Flintshire 77,741
Gateshead 79,140
Gloucestershire 189,960
Greater Manchester FCDA 64,060
Greenwich 86,482
Gwynedd 67,698
Hackney 88,145
Halton 68,137
Hammersmith and Fulham 76,719
Hampshire 298,996
Haringey 85,624
Harrow 65,726
Hartlepool 64,650
Havering 77,685
Herefordshire 70,229
Hertfordshire 310,886
Hillingdon 81,386
Hounslow 80,742
Hull (Kingston upon Hull) 72,265
Isle of Wight 72,230
Isles of Scilly 53,708
Islington 83,424
Kensington and Chelsea 74,788
Kent 339,586
Kingston upon Thames 67,654
Kirklees 95,431
Knowsley 74,359
Lambeth 87,789
Lancashire 315,233
Leeds 172,987
Leicester 88,896
Leicestershire 192,957
Lewisham 83,978
Lincolnshire 212,793
Liverpool 97,648
London FEPA 151,825
Luton 59,894
Manchester 147,667
Medway 81,547
Merseyside FCDA 73,332
Merthyr Tydfil 60,998
Merton 72,053
Middlesbrough 71,355
Milton Keynes 81,404
Monmouthshire 62,154
Neath Port Talbot 70,259
Newcastle Upon Tyne 102,823
Newham 88,226
Newport 68,616
Norfolk 276,813
North East Lincolnshire 71,624
North Lincolnshire 69,532
North Somerset 71,248
North Tyneside 74,091
North Yorkshire 244,523
Northamptonshire 239,260
Northumberland 188,122
Nottingham 86,321
Nottinghamshire 210,927
Oldham 79,294
Oxfordshire 202,459
Pembrokeshire 66,735
Peterborough 72,214
Plymouth 81,708
Poole 66,635
Portsmouth 74,467
Powys 85,886
Reading 67,386
Redbridge 82,566
Redcar and Cleveland 69,693
Rhondda Cynon Taff 82,319
Richmond upon Thames 69,424
Rochdale 77,310
Rotherham 81,654
Rutland 56,443
Salford 72,386
Sandwell 88,413
Sefton 84,015
Sheffield 96,386
Shropshire 153,834
Slough 68,566
Solihull 73,716
Somerset 164,359
South Gloucestershire 76,183
South Tyneside 71,516
South Yorkshire FCDA 84,356
Southampton 77,470
Southend 71,966
Southwark 77,343
St Helens 73,333
Staffordshire 226,842
Stockport 79,992
Stockton-on-Tees 73,877
Stoke-on-Trent 74,413
Suffolk 221,786
Sunderland 101,107
Surrey 297,388
Sutton 73,126
Swansea 78,933
Swindon 71,355
Tameside 77,310
Telford and Wrekin 72,385
Thurrock 68,666
Torbay 67,440
Torfaen 64,876
Tower Hamlets 93,509
Trafford 75,754
Tyne & Wear FCDA 34,892
Vale of Glamorgan 72,385
Wakefield 86,667
Walsall 83,639
Waltham Forest 83,532
Wandsworth 79,155
Warrington 72,804
Warwickshire 181,722
West Berkshire 67,815
West Midlands FCDA 60,386
West Sussex 225,386
West Yorkshire FCDA 61,593
Westminster 86,804
Wigan 84,497
Wiltshire 194,786
Windsor and Maidenhead 66,796
Wirral 89,861
Wokingham 66,525
Wolverhampton 82,030
Worcestershire 186,835
Wrexham 72,926
York 72,220

26 Feb 2004 : Column 59WS

To determine the individual allocations the following formula was adopted:





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