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Trade Negotiations

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will publish the influencing strategy on trading opportunities for developing countries referred to on page 189 of the 2004 Departmental Report. [174115]

Hilary Benn: I have placed copies of a document that sets out the main elements of DFID's Doha Development Agenda strategy 2004–2005 in the Libraries of both Houses. The document is entitled 'DFID Doha Development Agenda Strategy 2004–05'.

Water

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action has been taken on the recommendations made in the NAO report "Maximising impact in the water sector", published in January 2003, that his Department (a) should ensure that good quality information is available to assess progress towards poverty targets in those countries where it uses budget support to assist the water sector and (b) should give due weight to sanitation in developing its country assistance programmes. [177484]

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is as follows:

(a) Where DFID provides general budget support, our assistance to sectors such as water can best be assessed in terms of the proportion of budget going to particular sectors and in consultation with other donors. However, in terms of impact, progress in the sector is
 
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best assessed by the data returned by the country departments themselves, supported where appropriate by technical assistance. For example, DFID have provided a water adviser to work with the Ministry of Finance in Uganda to assist in measurement of investment and impact in water and sanitation. Internationally, DFID provide support to the Joint Monitoring Programme of UNICEF and WHO, which assemble data on coverage by country, and DFID are currently supporting work to establish a better evidence base linking water and sanitation improvements to progress against the full range of poverty indicators using one of our Resource Centres.

(b) It is correct that sanitation often does not get the prominence it deserves, particularly at the national government levels. But there are some good examples of how greater importance can be focused on sanitation. In Bangladesh for example DFID is supporting WaterAid in raising the profile of water and sanitation in the Poverty Reduction Strategy and national sanitation strategy, as well as provided financial assistance in holding a regional sanitation conference for South Asian countries at the end of 2003 resulting in a declaration signed by ministers from nine countries. These examples show what can be done and how a higher profile for sanitation can be achieved. DFID are working with other countries and donors and our research centres to build on these lessons.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of water scarcity in (a) Yemen, (b) North West India, (c) Western China and (d) parts of Mexico. [177404]

Gareth Thomas: In general terms, DFID agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg the target for all countries to develop Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency plans by 2005, with support to developing countries. DFID support the "Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment" reports of the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme which include water availability data and work under the Global Water partnership on integrated water resource management.
 
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These reviews assist in developing frameworks for better assessment, allocation and monitoring of water use, particularly in the water scarce areas mentioned.

(a) In Yemen recent DFID visits confirm that there continues to be very poor management of the water resource and a lack of action by government and others to prevent what is expected to be a severe water crisis in the next few years. The donor community has tried to intervene in this sector with little success due to the poor institutional arrangements. DFID is funding community based water supplies through its contributions to the Social Fund for Development and is considering more direct engagement in the sector once our Yemen programme is more established.

(b) In India DFID currently works in four focus states, none of which are in north-west India, as human development indicators for the NW states are relatively better than for other states where DFID work. As a result, DFID has not conducted specific examination of water scarcity in NW India nor undertaken specific projects there. However, our support to other programmes, notably through DFID-supported work with UNICEF, includes specific work on water scarcity in Rajasthan.

(c) There are substantial shortages of water in China, particularly in the west and north. In China as a whole, per capita water availability is a quarter of the world average. Almost one third of the world's population without access to safe drinking water and sanitation live in China. Water scarcity is increasingly seen as a factor limiting overall economic growth. DFID has developed a significant water related programme with a total commitment of around £30 million. This includes assistance in revising the national water law to promote more sustainable use; improving water demand management in the two provinces in the north-west and north-east; improving irrigation water use; and rural water supply and sanitation programmes in the south-west. DFID has a close collaboration with the World Bank and others in this area.

(d) DFID has no active water bilateral programme in Mexico although our support to international water programmes includes assistance to Mexico.
 
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HEALTH

Abortion Clinics

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many abortion clinics have failed inspection by the National Care Standards Commission in the last 10 years; [163161]

(2) how many doctors employed in abortion clinics have been the subject of General Medical Council disciplinary proceedings since 1990; [163162]

(3) what safeguards are in place to ensure that abortions performed under section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act 1967 (as amended) take place within the 24-week time limit. [163164]

Miss Melanie Johnson: No approved independent sector abortion clinics have been closed by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC), through lack of compliance with the Private and Voluntary Healthcare (England) Regulations 2001 (the Regulations), since it came into being on 1 April 2002. Following the 2002–03 inspection, however, one clinic chose to close voluntarily in order to give the provider time to comply with the requirements set.
 
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Prior to 1 April 2002, abortion clinics were inspected separately by health authorities and the Department. In the last 10 years, one clinic had its registration under the Registered Homes Act 1984, and its approval under the Abortion Act 1967, withdrawn.

The General Medical Council is an independent, statutory body. The Department does not hold information on doctors that have been the subject of General Medical Council disciplinary proceedings.

Practitioners are legally required to send a notice of each termination performed in England to the chief medical officer. This notification must include details of the number of complete weeks of gestation and the grounds on which the abortion was carried out. Notifications are checked by the Department to ensure that the forms have been correctly completed. Statistics are published annually.

Agency Nurses

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was spent on agency nurses in (a) Hull and East Riding Hospitals NHS Trust and (b) Hull and East Riding Community Health NHS Trust in each year since 1997. [172758]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the tables.
(a) Expenditure on 'Agency Nurses' by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trusts—1997–98 to 2002–03 £

Trust name	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust	89,678	205,393	128,634	n/a	n/a	n/a
East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust	1,796	15,354	91,737	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	91,474	220,747	220,371	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust	n/a	n/a	159,045	0	309,187	551,525

(b) Expenditure on 'Agency Nurses' by Hull and East Riding Community Health NHS Trust—1997–98 to 2002–03 £

Trust name	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–0-1	2001–02	2002–03
East Yorkshire Community Healthcare NHS Trust	14971	132709	24356	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hull and Holderness Community Health NHS Trust	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	14,971	132,709	24,356	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hull and East Riding Community Health NHS Trust	n/a	n/a	21,487	163,007	281,161	923,245

Note:
'Agency Nurses' = Non NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff.
Source:
Annual financial returns of NHS trusts.

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