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Global Fund

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for    International Development what research his Department has conducted on (a) the amount of disbursements made by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2003 and (b) the amount of money actually spent by recipient governments; and if he will publish his findings. [171210]

Hilary Benn: As a partner and Board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, DFID does not conduct its own separate research on the amount of disbursements made by the Global Fund or on money spent by recipient governments. The Global Fund is a public and private partnership and DFID works collaboratively with other partners through the Board to ensure that the financial reporting systems of the Fund are strong and transparent.

DFID is an active member of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Finance and Audit (MEFA) Committee of the Fund. Part of the mandate of this Committee is to review the Global Fund's performance, including areas such as financial audit and results-based disbursement.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been pledged to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; how much has been disbursed by the Global Fund; and how much has been spent on administration costs in that period. [171211]

Hilary Benn: The total amount pledged to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is currently US$5.3 billion. Disbursements by the Global Fund currently total US$ 285 million.

Administration costs are kept low and are subject to regular review by the Board. DFID expects these costs to decrease over time as disbursement accelerates. For 2002, they were US$12.8 million and for 2003 they were US$31.8 million. Costs for the first quarter of 2004 were US$10 million. Operating costs are expected to decline as grant expenditure increases. The Global Fund operates in a transparent way and information—including budgets for its operating expenses—can be viewed on the Global Fund website at www.theglobalfund.org.
 
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Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when in 2004 he estimates the Department's objective of securing relief of unsustainable debt for all heavily indebted poor countries will be achieved. [171690]

Hilary Benn: DFID's current Public Service Agreement with HM Treasury sets the target of working to ensure that three-quarters of all eligible Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) committed to poverty reduction receive irrevocable debt relief by 2006. DFID is on track to meet this target.

While progress in implementing the HIPC Initiative has not been as rapid as previously projected, the number of countries reaching Completion Point—the point at which irrevocable debt relief is granted—has increased in recent months. Five countries have reached Completion Point since December 2003 and DFID expects a further five before the end of this year. This would bring the number of countries at Completion Point to 18 out of the 27 eligible countries that have already passed Decision Point. Of the remaining nine countries, it is estimated that all will reach Completion Point by end 2006.

Iraq

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many international aid workers have left the British controlled sector of Southern Iraq in the last month; [171153]

(2) how many international aid workers have left Iraq in the last month; [171155]

(3) how many international aid workers there were in the British controlled sector of Iraq on the latest date for which figures are available; [171154]

(4) how many international aid workers there were in Iraq on the latest date for which figures are available. [171156]

Hilary Benn: Comprehensive statistics are not available on the numbers of people working for donor agencies in Iraq, nor of their movements in and out of the country.

In addition to the deployment of their own staff, many donors, including DFID, contract individuals and companies to work in Iraq on particular projects and programmes for specific periods of time. The number of people working for each donor in Iraq is likely to vary from week to week.

We are aware that some people working on reconstruction in Iraq may have left the country over the last month as a result of increased security concerns, and others may be delaying their arrival pending a stabilisation of the situation.

DFID temporarily delayed the deployment of some consultancy staff during April. However, no staff have been withdrawn, and essential workers took up or resumed their postings in late April.
 
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Over the next two months, DFID aims to reduce the   number of personnel seconded to the Coalition Provisional Authority as part of the process of handing over authority to an Iraqi Interim Government.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what his estimate is of the level of unemployment in (a) Iraq and (b) the British-controlled sector of Iraq immediately before the start of the recent conflict; [171172]

(2) what his estimate is of the level of unemployment in the British-controlled sector of Iraq immediately after the cessation of hostilities in the recent conflict; [171173]

(3) what his estimate is of the current level of   unemployment in (a) Iraq and (b) the British controlled sector of Iraq; [171179]

(4) what the level of unemployment in Iraq was immediately after the cessation of hostilities in the recent conflict; [171180]

(5) what his estimate is of the level of (a) female unemployment, (b) male unemployment and (c) unemployment among workers under the age of 30 in (i) Iraq and (ii) the British-controlled sector of Iraq immediately after the end of hostilities in the recent conflict; [171181]

(6) what his estimate is of the level of unemployment in (a) Iraq and (b) the British-controlled sector of Iraq immediately before the start of the recent conflict for (i) males, (ii) females and (iii) workers under the age of 30; [171182]

(7) what his estimate is of the level of female unemployment in (a) Iraq and (b) the British-controlled sector of Iraq for workers under the age of 30; [171195]

(8) what his estimate is of the level of (a) male and (b) female unemployment in (i) the British controlled sector of Iraq and (ii) Iraq. [171203]

Hilary Benn: No official figures on the Iraqi labour   force exist, so only very broad estimates of unemployment are available. It is not possible to break these down accurately by age, gender or geographic region.

Current estimates suggest that total unemployment levels now are broadly similar to those before the 2003 war. The United Nations and World Bank social and economic needs assessments, which were undertaken after the conflict last year, estimated that the unemployment rate before the 2003 war was around 30 per cent. Current unemployment rates are unofficially estimated at between 20 and 30 per cent. It is believed however that the rate may well be higher for those under 20-years-old.

It is estimated that women make up only 20 to 25 per cent. of the workforce but figures are not available on the numbers of women seeking work, who would be classified as unemployed.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what proportion of international aid workers based in the British-controlled sector of Southern Iraq are Iraqi citizens; [171176]
 
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(2) what proportion of international aid workers in Iraq are Iraqi citizens. [171177]

Hilary Benn: Comprehensive figures are not available on the nationalities of staff working for donor agencies in Iraq. For several agencies, such as United Nations bodies, the World Bank and some NGOs, only Iraqi national staff are working in Iraq at present. In other cases, such as DFID and USAID, non-Iraqi staff are also working in-country.

DFID aims to increase, as far as practicable, the numbers of Iraqis working on our reconstruction programmes.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what the level of inflation is in Iraq; [171198]

(2) what the level of inflation was in Iraq immediately before the start of the recent conflict. [171204]

Hilary Benn: The pre-2003 conflict inflation rate is estimated to have been between 20 and 30 per cent. although the data is not considered to be very reliable. The Coalition Provisional Authority is working on the development of sound methodologies for measuring inflation in Iraq's post-Saddam era.

Mr. John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what proportion of Iraqi households have access to running water; [171199]

(2) what proportion of Iraqi households in the British-controlled sector of Iraq currently have access to (a) running water and (b) electricity; [171200]

(3) what proportion of Iraqi households in (a) Iraq and (b) the British controlled sector of Iraq had access to (i) running water and (ii) electricity immediately before the start of the recent conflict. [171201]

Hilary Benn: Until the Gulf War in 1991 safe water was accessible to over 95 per cent. of the urban and 75 per cent. of the rural population of Iraq. The last reliable pre-conflict figures are for the year 2000 when urban and rural coverage had dropped to 92 per cent. and 46 per cent. respectively. Deterioration of the system had been particularly severe in the south, including Basra, due to the discriminatory policies of the former regime.

Access to safe water deteriorated further as a result of the conflict in 2003 and the subsequent looting. Estimates suggest that the immediate post-conflict coverage was 60 per cent. for urban and 30 per cent. for rural populations.

Considerable work has taken place since the end of the conflict to improve the quantity, quality and reliability of water supplies. There are no reliable statistics of current coverage, but informal estimates by the Coalition Provisional Authority (South) indicate that, in the south, coverage has increased by 10–15 per cent. since May 2003. By the summer of 2004, water quality and volume in Basra is expected to have exceeded pre-conflict levels.

The electricity supply in Iraq is measured by total power generated and the number of hours per day for which power is available. Recent reports by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) record that
 
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average electricity production is in the region of 4,000 megawatts (MW), approximately the same as before the 2003 conflict. A number of generating units are undergoing maintenance and should be back in service by the summer peak demand period. The CPA power generation target for 1 June 2004 is 6,000 MW, significantly above the pre-conflict levels.

The most recent figures for the availability of power by governorate are as follows:

	Average hours of power available per day as of 1 April 2004	Megawatts
Southern Governorates under British Control
Multanna	18	59
Basrah	24	258
Dhi Qar	20	103
Maysan	20	64
Najaf	13	88
Other Governorates under British Control
Najaf	13	88
Qadisiyah	14	60
Wasit	11	86
Karbala	19	84
Babil	15	100
Anbar	15	175
Salah Ad Din	15	210
Baghdad	17	1,155
Dyala	15	98
Naynawa	15	360
Dahok	14	90
Arbil	16	—
Tamim	16	134
Sulamaniyah	16	—

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of investment has been in the Iraqi (a) public, (b) private and (c) voluntary sector, over the past year. [171202]

Hilary Benn: Statistics are not available on aggregate levels of investment by sector in Iraq.

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