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Newspaper Article

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she approved the article by the Parliamentary Private Secretary, the hon. Member for the Wrekin (Peter Bradley), which appeared in the Sunday Telegraph on 21 November. [202100]

Alun Michael: Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not obliged to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for anything they write in a personal capacity.

PFI Projects

Norman Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what action
 
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has been taken to ensure that other Government Departments deliver sustainability within the private finance initiative projects; 200713]

(2) what role her Department (a) has and (b) plans to take to make the PFI process more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability;. [200712]

(3) what assessment her Department has made of the sustainability and environmental impacts of private finance initiative projects and the effectiveness of the PFI process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects; [200711]

(4) what role her Department has played in ensuring that private finance initiative projects create the minimum of environmental damage. [200710]

Mr. Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 149W.

Since then the sections of the "Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate" on waste, estates management and construction, and on procurement have been published; these sections commit all Government Departments to include clauses relating to sustainable development issues in relevant contracts, including PFIs and PPs.

The Government is committed to ensuring that sustainable development considerations are taken into account in public procurement (including PFIs/PPPs).

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Age Discrimination

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is towards age discrimination. [200868]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has in place, an Equal Opportunities Policy that clearly outlines our commitment not to discriminate on the grounds of age.

We have taken numerous steps to address potential age discrimination including flexibility for staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS) grade to work on beyond normal retirement age, statistical monitoring of all of our selection processes, and training for all staff on diversity and equal opportunities.

DFID is a member of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) and has adopted some of the good practice techniques recommended by the EFA. Using the EFA policy assessment toolkit, we have initiated a review of our current policies and practices in relation to discrimination.

AIDS

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research his Department has carried out into the average life
 
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expectancy of someone who has been diagnosed with AIDS in (a) Sub-Saharan Africa, (b) other developing countries and (c) Western Europe; and if he will make a statement. [199554]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID, like many in the international system, uses data from a variety of sources, including UNAIDS, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations who are tasked with monitoring and reporting on the AIDS epidemic.

The latest UN Human Development Report estimates that life expectancy in many sub-Saharan African countries has fallen to under 33 years, primarily due to the AIDS epidemic. WHO report that overall life expectancy has dropped precipitously over the last 10 years—for females from 51.1 to 46.3 and males 47.3 to 44.8 years. WHO report that life expectancy in Africa has been cut by five to 10 years due to the AIDS epidemic, this is reduced even further by 15 to 20 years in Southern Africa. The Global Health Council report that in Thailand, Cambodia and Burma two to five years of life expectancy has been lost due to AIDS. UNAIDS report that life expectancy at birth in 2010 is projected to be 10 years less in Haiti and in Trinidad and Tobago nine years less than it would have been without AIDS.

Once someone is infected with the HIV virus their possible progression to AIDS or death will be affected by many factors. With access to treatment, not only ART but also basic health care people can live longer, potentially for more than 20 years. However for people with HIV with no access to clean water, or who are malnourished or who have little or no access to basic health services for treatment of opportunistic infections such as TB, life expectancy can drop substantially.

Angola

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the Government have offered to the Government of Angola in order to facilitate national elections by 2006. [201970]

Hilary Benn: DFID's Country Engagement Plan (CEP) for Angola, identifies the priorities for UK development assistance from 2003 to 2006. This includes support to the government and other stakeholders to prepare for the next general election which is expected to take place in September 2006.

Following discussions with the Angolan Government and civil society, DFID is looking at the possibility of funding a programme consisting of voter and civic education, election-related conflict management and election monitoring. Through the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, DFID has also been co-financing Angolan parliamentarians and civil society representatives to participate as observers in the elections of other Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. This list includes: Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and currently Mozambique.

In addition, the European Union made a declaration in August, in which it stated that it stands ready to contribute to the establishment of a proper and conducive environment for free and fair elections.
 
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Climate Change

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the impact of climate change on the developing world. [201289]

Hilary Benn: DFID uses the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and other multilateral assessments of climate change and potential impacts. However, it is clear that currently available information is inadequate. DFID has jointly commissioned, with DEFRA, a study on African climate research needs which is due to report this December. Climate change is a major theme of DFID's Research Strategy and we have commissioned a needs assessment to inform a call for new research proposals next spring.

DFID is also taking steps to help developing countries manage the risks of climate change and develop effective adaptation strategies. We have produced guidance for our country programmes and climate is included in our environmental screening procedures for all bilateral programmes.

DFID is working to integrate climate change risk management into the development and environmental safeguard policies of the main multilateral development institutions, starting with joint work on risk management with the World Bank in 2005.

Helping developing countries to meet their growth and energy needs through the adoption of more energy efficient technologies will also be crucial to tackling climate change. DFID is exploring ways to increase support for low carbon development with international development banks, including the World Bank.

Departmental Costs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost has been of criminal damage to his Department's buildings in each of the last two years. [200858]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The only costs incurred as a result of criminal damage to the Department's buildings in the UK in the last two years is £345, in 2003–04.

Information on costs incurred by overseas offices is not readily available and cannot be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of the cost of building refurbishment carried out by his Department in each of the last two years. [200861]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The costs of building refurbishment, carried out by DFID in the UK in the last two years are in relation to the work on our office in East Kilbride. The costs are as follows:

	£
2002–03	5,223,000
2003–04	8,706,000

 
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Costs associated with refurbishment of any overseas offices are not centrally available and cannot be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total external spend by his Department was on Private Finance Initiative consultants in each of the last two years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [200874]

Hilary Benn: DFID has no Private Finance Initiative arrangements.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total external spend by his Department was on public private partnership consultants in each of the last two years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PPP consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [200875]

Hilary Benn: DFID has no public private partnership arrangements.

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