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Fairtrade

Claire Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department is taking to promote the use of Fairtrade goods in the UK. [164089]

Hilary Benn: DFID works with the Fairtrade Foundation to promote the use of Fairtrade goods in the UK.

Through the Development Awareness Fund, we have provided 120,000 to the media campaigns of the Fairtrade Foundation. These are designed specifically to raise both supermarket and consumer awareness of products carrying the Fairtrade Mark. In 2002, DFID provided £300,000 to the Foundation to help extend the range of Fairtrade products on UK supermarket shelves over the next two years. We also gave a grant to support the Fairtrade town/city brand in the UK over three years. This year, I took part in the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight and participated in a number of other events.

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DFID will continue to support Fairtrade initiatives that raise awareness of the impact our buying decisions can have on poverty.

Opinion Sampling

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [162747]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In 1998, DFID commissioned Opinion Leader Research (OLR) to undertake baseline focus group research among the UK public. In 2003, we commissioned OLR to undertake further focus group research to explore ways of increasing understanding and support for international development in the UK. DFID also commissions two annual opinion polls on public attitudes to development. One poll, undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), monitors the

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opinion of the UK adult population, and the second, undertaken by Market and Opinion Research International (MORI), monitors the opinion of schoolchildren. In 1999, we also undertook a readership survey of "Developments" magazine, in order to test its impact and reach. The results of the focus group research and the opinion polls are used to inform, and monitor the impact of, our work on development awareness and education.

The Department for International Development was established in 1997. Information on focus group research and opinion polling undertaken in 1995–96 by the Overseas Development Administration is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Contracts for focus group and opinion poll research are let in accordance with agreed tendering procedures to ensure value for money. The annual cost of focus group research and opinion polls is detailed in the following table:

	Focus groups	Cost (£)	Opinion polls	Cost (£)	Total (£)
1997–98	OLR Baseline Study	43,000	—	—	43,000
1998–99	—		—	—	—
1999–2000	—		ONS Poll	28,200	44,704
			MORI Poll	14,700
			Developments Survey	1,804
2000–01	—		ONS Poll	33,000	47,629
			MORI Poll	14,629
2001–02	—		ONS Poll	34,300	45,815
			MORI Poll	11,515
2002–03	—		ONS Poll	31,880	43,395
			MORI Poll	11,515
2003–04	OLR Research	50,309	ONS Poll	32,990	95,519
			MORI Poll	12,220

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials. [164702]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID follows Cabinet Office guidance on the disclosure of interests that is set out in Section 4.3 of the Civil Service Management Code. The letters of appointment for staff draw their attention to the rules on use of official information and related activities that are set out in full in our Staff Handbook. The Handbook states that employees must obtain permission from the Head of Human Resources (a Senior Civil Servant) before entering into any business or financial dealings with individuals or businesses with whom they come into official contact, either directly or indirectly. They must also declare immediately if, in the course of their work, they come into contact with an outside organisation in which they have an interest. We do not hold an official register of interests. There is no requirement to do so.

Water Supplies (Africa)

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance is being made available by (a) the United Kingdom under bilateral arrangements, (b) the European Union, (c) the United States of America and (d) aid agencies to develop clean water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa; and if he will make a statement. [164303]

Hilary Benn: The UK is working with the EU Water Initiative finance working group to improve the tracking of aid flows in the water sector. This is because different donors currently use different criteria to calculate support to the water sector or track support within multi sector projects. Figures may also include or exclude related issues such as water resources management or concessional loans. Data on water expenditure are not, therefore, directly comparable. The most recent available data for support to the water sector in sub-Sahara Africa 2001–02 show expenditure as:

UK = £29million (NAO 2003 report, excludes programme aid)

USAID = $12.4 million (based on OECD figures)

European Commission = Euro 210.7 million (based on OECD figures)

European Member States total = $ 1.2 billion

The UK figure does not include our contributions to the European Commission development funds or other multilateral organisations. UK figures include only direct expenditure on the water sector and not multi-sector projects. EC and US figures include broader resource management projects and concessional loans.

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DFID's approach to these issues is set out in the Water Action Plan which I presented to the House on 5 April 2004.

Wildlife Management

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) if he will assist the governments of (a) Ghana and (b) Cameroon in implementing the indicative actions of the African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance ministerial declaration with respect to (i) wildlife and (ii) bushmeat; [164669]

(2) what new funding has been released to improve wildlife management since the publication of the Department's Wildlife and Poverty Study; [164670]

(3) what resources have been allocated to ensure that wildlife and bushmeat issues are incorporated into poverty assessments since the publication of the Department's Wildlife and Poverty Study. [164671]

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to working with the governments of Ghana and Cameroon to strengthen their capacity to deal with wildlife and poverty issues. We do this by supporting sector reform. It is for the governments concerned to prioritise actions within their sector reform programmes. Whether or not these governments choose to prioritise the "indicative actions" included in the Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) Declaration, DFID's support will be to the programme as a whole and not to any particular elements of it.

The DFID Wildlife and Poverty Study estimated that 150 million very poor people are significantly dependent on wildlife for their food and livelihoods, and that bushmeat is one important part of this. The study drew out implications for donors, governments, the private sector and civil society, but did not make any explicit recommendations to DFID. No new funding has been released specifically to improve wildlife management since its publication. We have however disseminated the findings of the study widely.

DFID has a two-pronged strategy for ensuring that biodiversity is integrated into development policy and practice by:

supporting partner governments to identify links between biodiversity and poverty and integrate environmental matters, including biodiversity, into their national policy frameworks for poverty reduction (DFID includes biodiversity in its screening processes for bilateral programmes).

promoting the adoption of strategic environmental assessments in the multilateral agencies DFID supports, the EC, the UN, the development banks and others.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

District Judges

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General how many district judges (crime) it is intended will be in post in Teesside in 2004. [164445]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

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There will be two additional district judges (magistrates courts) in post in Teesside in 2004, from May this year making three in total.

Electronic Tagging

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what the Crown Prosecution Service's policy is on prosecuting for criminal damage people on home detection curfew who remove or break their electronic tag. [164444]

The Solicitor-General: An offender who intentionally damages their electronic tag in order to secure its removal or intentionally damages the monitoring equipment will be in breach of the licence conditions for early release from prison. The electronic monitoring contractor will submit a report to the Early Release and Recall Unit of HM Prison Service, which may result in the licence being revoked and the offender recalled to prison.

It is for the electronic monitoring contractors to consider reporting to the police for investigation any allegation of criminal damage caused to the tag or the monitoring equipment. Any subsequent decision to pursue a prosecution for criminal damage will be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service in accordance with guidance in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

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