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Iraq

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the war in Iraq has affected progress towards the Millennium Development Goals of (a) halving by 2015 the number of people in Iraq who suffer from hunger, (b) halving by 2015 the number of people in Iraq without sustainable access to safe drinking water, (c) improving the mortality rate for children under five in Iraq, (d) achieving gender equality in primary education in Iraq and (e) moving towards universal youth literacy in Iraq. [162893]

Hilary Benn: Under Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq was moving away from the Millennium Development Goals. The provision of health care, education and essential services declined significantly between the 1980s and 2003. Iraq's position on the Human development Index fell from 76th in 1990 to 126th in 2000.

Following Saddam's overthrow, the international community pledged $32 billion in assistance for 2004–2007 at the Madrid Donors' Conference last October. A significant proportion of this finance will be invested in health, education and essential services including water supply and sanitation. Consideration is also being given to reducing Iraq's unsustainable external debt. This support, together with Iraq's considerable natural and human resources, should enable the country to move quickly towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals in the coming years.

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Statistics are not available on progress over the last year on the specific Goals referred to in the question.

Malaria

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action he is taking to tackle malaria in sub-saharan Africa. [162972]

Hilary Benn: Great progress was made in reducing malarial mortality in the 1970s and 1980s, yet many parts of Africa are now seeing an increase in the number of deaths from malaria. A key cause is the increase in the resistance to anti-malarial drugs and the lack of affordable alternatives. In addition the capacity of health systems in sub Saharan Africa is often inadequate to respond effectively to malaria. Nonetheless, malaria remains a disease that is preventable, treatable and curable.

Since 1998 the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided in excess of £110 million to support malaria control activities globally and at country level. At the global level this include support to Roll Back Malaria; support to the Medical Research Council; support to the Malaria Consortium Resource Centre; and initiatives to help find new low-cost malaria treatments. DFID has committed US$ 280 million over seven years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). The GFATM will fund distribution of insecticide impregnated bednets and appropriate ant-malarial medication.

DFID also supports malaria control activities at country-level through our bilateral county programmes, either through direct support to the health sector or through general budget support. DFID is committed to supporting national Governments and their partners to help ensure that effective drugs and commodities, including effective anti-malarial drugs, are accessible to the poor. Since 1997, DFID has committed £1.5 billion to strengthen health systems to deliver vital drugs and health care treatment.

Press Officers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many press officers were employed in his Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04; what the total cost was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [162857]

Hilary Benn: The information for all years from 1996–97 is as follows:

	Number of press officers	Annual Cost (£000)
1996–97	6	195
1997–98	6	243
1998–99	4	240
1999–2000	3.3	100
2000–01	4.5	150
2001–02	4	148
2002–03	5	191
2003–04	6	230

Information for 1990–95 is not centrally available and could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.

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Search and Rescue Dogs

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many search and rescue dogs based in the UK are available to attend disasters. [162696]

Hilary Benn: There are twelve collapsed structure search and rescue dogs that are registered with the National Search and Rescue dog group of which two are presently quarantined following their deployment to the Bam earthquake and two are being kept in Spain.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Department made available for the provision of search and rescue dogs in each of the last five years. [162697]

Hilary Benn: The provision of search and rescue dogs is managed and supported by the non-governmental organisations themselves that comprise the National Search and Rescue dog group. DFID meets the costs of their deployment and return when the dogs are used overseas as part of a United Kingdom response to natural disasters such as earthquakes. It is not possible to disaggregate the deployment costs of the dogs as they are one part of a larger search and rescue effort and immediate response that usually also includes the delivery of other relief items by the same chartered aircraft.

Water

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will increase resources made available for water management in Africa. [163374]

Hilary Benn: DFID's overall aim is to reduce global poverty and promote sustainable development, in particular through achieving the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Our goal in the water sector is to enable poor people to lead healthier and more productive lives by helping to increase and sustain their access to safe drinking water supply and appropriate sanitation.

The UK has worked hard to improve aid effectiveness by untying aid, focusing support on strategies drawn up by developing countries themselves, harmonising our assistance with other donors, and the use of new means of aid, such as direct budget support. More effective use of aid therefore, means moving away from donors allocating funding to selected sectors or to donor-led projects, and moving towards providing support that is consistent with national poverty reduction strategies. For this reason, DFID budgets according to regions and countries, and allows country programmes to determine priorities according to national plans.

DFID's strategy for water and sanitation is therefore aimed at seeking to ensure that water and sanitation issues are given the right level of priority within developing countries' plans although evidence suggests that this is not always the case. It is for this reason that DFID has recently published a Water Action Plan,

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which sets out how we intend to take this work forward. The Plan sets out what needs to be done at the national, regional and international level. The key elements are: making sure water and sanitation issues figure prominently in policy discussions with our main partner countries in their reform agendas; providing evidence of the links between improved water management, water supply and sanitation and achieving all the MDGs, and ensuring that we are making use of this evidence in our policy dialogue; improving the way the international system works, by focusing support on key international partnerships and networks, particularly those that can improve co- ordination in the water sector.

The next step will be to put the plan into operation.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

New Entrepreneur Scholarship

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have benefited from the New Entrepreneur Scholarship programme since its creation. [163320]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: 40 scholars participated in the initial pilots in 2000/01 (in Greenwich, Manchester and Cornwall) of whom 75 per cent. completed. 850 scholars participated in the national pilot during 2001/02 and 2002/03 of whom 85 per cent. completed. Following the success of the pilots the programme has been extended until at least 2006/07. 1,147 scholars have been recruited to the programme in 2003/04 with an expected completion rate of 90 per cent.

"Funding of a Better Future"

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Association of London Government about the Funding of a Better Future report. [163379]

Mr. Miliband: I wrote to Sir Robin Wales on 18 November 2003 to thank him for sending me a copy of the Funding a Better Future report. In my reply I noted the work being done to ensure London schools receive maximum benefit from all available sources of funding, and welcomed his views on how best to ensure the coherence of funding streams relating to the Extended Schools initiative. Officials meet regularly with the Association of London Government to discuss a range of issues, including funding for London schools, in the context of the London Challenge Programme.

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