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4 Apr 2005 : Column 1196W—continued
Housing Market Renewal Areas
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 579W, on housing market renewal areas, what specific targets the Government has agreed with the Merseyside pathfinder in relation to housing market renewal in the Welsh Streets of Liverpool. [223983]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not agreed with New Heartlands, the Merseyside pathfinder, targets in respect of housing market renewal specifically in relation to the Welsh Streets of Liverpool.
Parish Councils
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to change the number of parish councils. [223927]
Mr. Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policy is to create new parishes, as we consider appropriate, where this is recommended in reviews of parish arrangements undertaken by a district council or requested in a petition of local electors. In 2004 23 new parish councils were created.
Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to implement sections (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 4, (e) 5, (f) 6, (g) 7, (h) 8, (i) 9, (j) 10 and (k) 11 of the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004; and if he will make a statement. [224563]
Phil Hope: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004, which amend or add to provisions in the Building Act 1984, will be used as appropriate to make regulations to improve the sustainability and security of buildings. All proposals for regulations will be subject to full public consultation and a full regulatory impact assessment.
Section 6 of the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 requires a biennial report on the progress of sustainability in the building stock in England and Wales to be presented to Parliament. The first report must be presented by 16 November 2006. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently establishing baselines for this report.
Sections 10 and 11 of the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 do not require implementation.
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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Africa
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional resource commitments he plans to make to deliver the improvements in (a) monitoring and data capacity on climate change in Africa, (b) scientific collaboration to enhance the development process and (c) the integration of climate information and science into development, as set out in his Department's joint report on Climate Proofing Africa, published on 22 March. [224234]
Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to helping Africa adapt to climate change by improving climate monitoring networks and strengthening capacity to management climate risks to development including in disaster prevention.
DFID believes a concerted international response is the best way of providing effective assistance and are seeking a joint commitment from the G8 countries under the Climate Change pillar of the Government's G8 Presidency. To that end, the Secretary of State for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and I raised these matters on the agenda of the recent G8 Environment and Development Ministers meeting. I am pleased to say that Ministers agreed on the urgency of the problem and committed, in principle, to help build scientific capacity and integrate measures to address climate change in development assistance and national development plans. We will be working to agree specific practical measures at the G8 Heads of Government meeting at Gleneagles. In that context, we are currently considering additional UK resource commitments.
Details of the outcome paper from the meeting entitled 'G8 Environment and Development Ministerial, 18 March 2005', is available in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many permanent staff from his Department are stationed in (a) Sierra Leone, (b) Nigeria, (c) Angola, (d) Namibia, (e) Malawi, (f) Zambia, (g) Tanzania, (h) Kenya, (i) Uganda and (j) Ethiopia; and what changes have taken place in (i) the deployment of staff and (ii) the levels of expenditure by his Department in these countries in each of the last three years. [224300]
Hilary Benn: Numbers of permanent staff by country were as follows. Figures include UK-based staff, staff appointed in country and some permanent staff seconded to other organisations in country.
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | — | 3 | 3 |
| Ethiopia | (54)17 | (54)36 | 46 |
| Kenya | 43.5 | 43.5 | 42.75 |
| Malawi | 24 | 42 | 59 |
| Namibia | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Nigeria | 71 | 71 | 81 |
| Sierra Leone | (54)8.5 | (54)10.25 | (54)11.75 |
| Tanzania | 36 | 44 | 48 |
| Uganda | 44 | 46 | 52 |
| Zambia | (54)2 | 34 | 34 |
(54)For these years, DFID staff were based in British embassies/high commissions, preceding the opening of DFID offices.
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Total DFID spending by country, for the last three completed financial years, was as follows:
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many visits have been undertaken by staff from his Department to (a) Sierra Leone, (b) Nigeria, (c) Angola, (d) Namibia, (e) Malawi, (f) Zambia, (g) Tanzania, (h) Kenya, (i) Uganda and (j) Ethiopia in each of the last three years; and for what purpose, in each case. [224299]
Hilary Benn: Visits to these countries are a frequent and routine aspect of programme management and administrative support to DFID overseas offices. Visits include those from Ministers and senior officials, project and programme design missions, policy and technical advisers, missions to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of DFID programmes, and support to the management and running of DFID in-country offices in areas such as staff training, audit and accounts, estates management and communications. To obtain the information requested would incur a disproportionate cost.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment the Commission for Africa made of the economic and environmental sustainability of uranium exports from African countries. [223765]
Hilary Benn: No specific assessment was made of the economic and environmental sustainability of uranium exports from African countries in the Commission for Africa's work.
Angola
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of the discussions between the International Monetary Fund and the Government of Angola concerning budgetary control and transparency of taxation; and if he will make a statement. [224590]
Hilary Benn:
The Bretton Woods institutions confirm that most areas of off-budget spending in Angola decreased in 2004. However, much more progress has to be made to eradicate this practice completely. The next mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Angola is expected in early April. The purpose of this mission is to conclude negotiations on the start of a Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) which will, among other things, focus on bringing all revenue and expenditure into the annual budget process in a transparent fashion. Fiscal discipline is another area which the Ministry of
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Finance itself has identified as a national priority. DFID, working together with the World Bank, is planning to fund a training programme in budgetary processes including fiscal discipline for line ministry staff at both the central and provincial levels.
As regards transparency of oil revenues, including taxes from the oil industry, Angola has taken several significant steps forward. These include full annual financial audits of Sonangol, the state oil company, and publication of up-to-date oil revenues by production blocks on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The UK continues actively to encourage the Government of Angola to make progress on the remaining components of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). One other important issue which the IMF will be raising during its forthcoming mission is how the Government intends to use the windfall resulting from higher than expected oil prices. The first step will be to declare how much additional revenue has accrued and then to ensure that these funds are incorporated transparently into the annual budget system.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was disbursed to Angola by the UK in 2004–05; what aid is planned for 2005–06; and what projects will be the major recipients of that aid. [224616]
Hilary Benn: DFID's programme to Angola amounted to some £8 million in 2004–05. £8.6 million has been allocated for the Angola programme in 2005–06. This will focus on the key areas of consolidation of peace, relief and recovery, democratisation and economic reform, poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS. Projects currently being funded are:
Consolidation of peace (£0.3 million)
Relief and recovery (£1.2 million)
Economic reform and poverty reduction (£2.9 million)
We are currently considering funding for further projects in the above-mentioned areas of focus.
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