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17 Nov 2004 : Column 1522W—continued

Commencement of Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what pieces of legislation passed in the last 30 years that the Department is responsible for remain to be brought into force, broken down by year of enactment. [195620]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: None.

Conditional Aid

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's recent discussions with the World Bank on the reassessment of conditional aid to third world countries. [198329]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: At this year's annual meetings in October 2004, the World Bank agreed it would review its policy and practice on lending conditions and report back at next year's annual meetings. The UK also launched its own draft policy paper on aid conditions at the meetings in order to begin a period of consultation with the World Bank and a range of other stakeholders.

DFID is now in discussion with the World Bank on how best to take its review forward. DFID believes the review should result in a comprehensive policy statement on the Bank's use of conditions, followed by
 
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clear guidelines to staff on the implications of the new policy for day-to-day World Bank operations. DFID considers that the review represents a good opportunity to explore challenging issues central to the debate over Bank conditions, particularly in relation to sensitive policy reforms such as privatisation and trade liberalisation.

DFID and World Bank staff have been exchanging views on the review at a number of levels. The UK is continuing to consult a range of stakeholders regarding its own policy paper on effective partnerships and aid conditions and will finalise this paper in early 2005.

Consultants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much expenditure his Department has incurred in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 to date on employing external consultants; and if he will make a statement. [196385]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Expenditure in the last three financial years on all contracted experts including consultants was as follows.

	£ million
2001–02	364.100
2002–03	406.490
2003–04	414.913

Côte d'Ivoire

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Côte d'Ivoire. [198778]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID is in close contact with agencies monitoring the humanitarian situation on the ground in Cote d'lvoire. Their current concerns are principally for the security of their staff. DFID will consider any proposals they put to us as the situation develops. During 2004, we have provided £1.55 million in humanitarian assistance.

Departmental Advertising Costs

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of (a) creative work, (b) media spend and (c) administration for his Department's advertising activity has been in each financial year since 1997–98, broken down by contractor. [197305]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It is not possible to separate the costs of (a) creative work or (b) media spend from overall advertising costs as records are not held centrally. Advertising costs over the last three years was as follows:

Year ended	£000
31–3-02	910,942
31–3-03	973,443
31–3-04	559,295

 
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The cost of administering advertising activity was as follows:

Year ended	£000
31–3-02	13,400
31–3-03	13,900
31–3-04	14,400

The advertising contractor for all three years was Barkers.

Information prior to 2001–2 could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's budget is spent on providing renewable energy projects in the developing world; and if he will make a statement. [198056]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Since 1997, DFID has commissioned and completed about £2.25 million of applied-research on renewable energy, covering all the main renewable energy technologies.

As was recognised at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), access to affordable and reliable energy services is important to economic growth and social development. In promoting improved access to services, we encourage consideration of the full range of appropriate technologies, including renewable energy.

As a follow-up to the WSSD, DFID is working with several international networks to promote improved access to energy services, including the Global Village Energy Partnership and the EU Energy Initiative. These networks involve dialogue with developing countries about their energy needs in support of their poverty reduction objectives. Most countries possess a range of indigenous natural resources that may help meet requirements such cooking, heating, lighting and water pumping. Where they are practical and financially feasible, renewable energy resources may have an important role to play.

In addition, we are participating in an international financing and policy study with the World Bank about increasing the role of renewable energy in meeting the energy needs of developing countries. This is expected to report its findings in March 2005.

Debt Relief

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the increased funding provided to writing off debt in the developing world will affect other projects under his Department's remit. [198057]

 
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Mr. Gareth Thomas: The increased funding provided to writing off debt will be additional to funding provided for DFID's other projects. The UK Government's recent 2004 Spending Review announced that total UK aid would rise to nearly £6.5 billion a year in 2007–08, a real terms increase of 140 per cent. since 1997. Part of the increase announced in the 2004 Spending Review was earmarked for the provision of further debt relief.

Land Mine Clearance

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding has been made available to help countries that are affected by landmines to meet their mine clearance obligations under the Ottawa Treaty. [198802]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: During the last three complete financial years (2001–03), in support of our obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty, DFID has provided a total sum of £39.7 million for global humanitarian demining.

Select Committee Recommendations

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many recommendations by parliamentary select committees have been adopted by his Department since June 2001. [197778]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Select committee reports are given very careful consideration by the Department's Ministers. Since June 2001 several committees of both Houses have made recommendations on matters for which the Department of International Development is responsible. Select committee reports and their responses are a matter of public record.

Water Facilities

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to co-ordinate his Department's Water Action Plan with the ACP-EU Water Facility. [197575]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The preparation of the ACP-EU Water Facility by the European Commission as part of the 9th European Development Fund (EOF) has involved consultation with member states, NGOs and other interested parties. The Department for International Development has been involved in this consultation process and has taken the lead on the Finance Working Group that has raised issues related to the regulations for spending the ACP-EU Water Facility corresponding to the criteria set out in the UK's Water Action Plan. These include ensuring a fundamental focus on the needs of the poor and the sustainability of the programme funded. The first call for proposals can be accessed through www.euwi.net or http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/cqi/frame12.pl and provides detailed information on how such funds are to be spent.
 
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