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Blindness

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the governments of developing countries on
 
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education for blind children; and what measures his Department is planning to tackle preventable diseases that lead to blindness in least developed countries. [192710]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to working with the governments of developing countries towards the education of all children, including those with limited vision and blindness. Poor vision has a detrimental impact on access to education and literacy. DFID is therefore engaged in ongoing discussions with developing countries governments to help find ways to improve the vision of children and adults. For example, in Ghana, DFID will be providing £150,000 to support Adaptive Eyecare—a project designed to provide easy and affordable vision correction for the poor.

DFID also supports the work of ministries of health in developing countries to tackle preventable diseases that lead to blindness. This includes a range of programmes that work towards the prevention and treatment of blindness. In addition, DFID also support the Onchocerciasis Control Programme—a global initiative to protect a total population of £30 million people in 11 countries from river blindness.

Cayman Islands

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the percentage change in gross domestic product per capita of the Cayman Islands has been in each of the last 10 years. [192612]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The figures in the following table, which are based on data published by the Cayman Islands' Government, give the information requested. The Cayman authorities changed the method used to calculate Gross Domestic Product in 1998, which is reflected in the figures by a jump in the 1998 growth rate. The figures after that date, therefore, are not strictly comparable with the earlier percentages.

	Percentage change in GDP per capita
1994	3.9
1995	3.7
1996	3.2
1997	4.2
1998	26.2
1999	5.7
2000	1.4
2001	- 0.3
2002	1.7
2003	0.8

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the socio-economic effects of Hurricane Ivan on the Cayman Islands. [192624]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Government of the Cayman Islands has commissioned an assessment of these effects. It will be for the Government of the Cayman Islands to decide whether these results are made public when they are finalised.
 
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Consultants

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the contracts awarded by his Department to consultants in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) the name of the consulting company, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the purpose for which the contract was awarded; and if he will make a statement. [190753]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 18 October 2004]: DFID uses consultants to help development partners manage a wide range of aid programmes on the ground. For example, in Uganda, DFID-funded consultants have helped the Government manage the HIV/AIDS crisis. In Bangladesh, consultants have helped the Government strengthen management of health services, saving administration costs and improving service delivery at local level. In Grenada, a DFID funded consultant is helping the Prime Minister's Office plan for reconstruction and development following the hurricane.

Spending on consultants and other contracted experts as a proportion of the total aid budget has fallen since 1997 from 16 per cent. to 10 per cent. Details of new contracts awarded by DFID have been published on the DFID website since 2003. All contracts worth more than £100,000 are subject to international competition. I am arranging for a list of contracts issued by DFID in the last 5 years entitled "DFID Contracts issued from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2004" to be placed in the Libraries of the House very shortly. This does not include lower value contracts issued by DFID's overseas offices, details of which are not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring a disproportionate cost.

Dalit People

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department funds Dalit (a) development and (b) empowerment programmes in South Asia. [192592]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Tackling social exclusion, of which caste discrimination is an important element, is a key issue for reducing poverty in South Asia. DFID funds a range of programmes in South Asia that directly empower and benefit socially excluded groups. Some of these, such as the Dalit NGO Federation's Dalit Empowerment and Inclusion Project in Nepal, are explicitly designed to support Dalit organisations.

Departmental Staff

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what records his Department keeps of staff members' caste origins; and whether caste inequalities are monitored. [192590]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID monitors, records and has targets for gender, ethnicity and disability. DFID does not currently have any formal systems in place for monitoring caste in its own, or in partner, organisations.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which castes his South Asian members of departmental and agency staff, employed in South Asia belong to. [192591]

 
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Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID monitors and has targets for gender, ethnicity and disability. DFID does not currently have any formal systems in place for monitoring caste in its own, or in partner, organisations.

Ethiopia

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the food shortage in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. [190566]

Hilary Benn: The Tigray region of Ethiopia is dependent upon both the short (March to May) and main rainy seasons (June to September). The short rainy season was poor resulting in reduced or failed staple crop production and loss of pasture and water. Preliminary assessments of the main rainy season have also indicated that harvests are likely to be poor.

The Government of Ethiopia's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission early warning report issued in August 2004 indicated that 1.2 million people need assistance until the end of the year. This need translates to 62,982 metric tonnes of assorted food; this need is currently fully covered.

The Department for International Development continues to monitor the situation closely and will respond to humanitarian needs accordingly.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in helping Ethiopia to improve (a) access to clean water, (b) access to food resources and (c) access to primary education; and if he will make a statement. [191281]

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development's (DFID) engagement in Ethiopia as described in our Country Assistance Plan (CAP) was developed around the Government of Ethiopia's (GoE) Poverty Reduction Strategy known as the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Programme (SDPRP). DFID's support will be based mainly on Direct Budget Support (DBS), with technical co-operation focusing on food security, capacity building and education, plus support to tackle HIV/AIDS.

In the water sector, DFID is working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support the supply of clean water and sanitation to the drought affected population of Oromia and southern Ethiopia regions.

DFID is actively working in partnership with a number of donors to support the Government of Ethiopia's Food Security Programme. Specifically, DFID is seeking to provide £80 million over the next three years, to the Productive Safety Net Component of the Food Security Programme. This component seeks to lift 5.1 million of the most food insecure people in Ethiopia out of the need for emergency food assistance.

Through DBS, DFID supports the GoEs Education Sector Development Plan, which emphasises primary education. DFID works closely with the Ministry of Education and development partners to improve sector dialogue, policies and strategies in education. DFID is also working in partnership with other bilateral donors
 
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to increase teacher supply and quality and access to education for girls, and improve education about HIV/AIDS.

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