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3 Nov 2005 : Column 1293W—continued
Departmental Consultation
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list formal consultations being sponsored by his Department and its agencies; and what the (a) commencement date and (b) deadline for responses is in each case. [22571]
Hilary Benn: DFID is currently carrying out the following formal consultations:
Draft plans for support to China by the UK's Department for International Development
UK consultation on advance market commitments for vaccines
Departmental Energy Policy
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much energy has been consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on energy in each year. [22455]
Mr. Thomas: The energy consumption/costs for the DFID UK estate over the last five years have been as follows:
| Consumption (kWh) | Cost (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | (9)8,310,124 | (9)272,878 |
| 2001–02 | (9)8,310,124 | (9)272,878 |
| 2002–03 | 8,310,124 | 272,818 |
| 2003–04 | 11,136,145 | 347,567 |
| 2004–05 | 10,948,525 | 388,723 |
(9) DFID has a baseline year of 2002–03 as the London office moved to a completely new refurbished building at the end of 2001 and work began to refurbish the East Kilbride office. Data prior to 2002 is incomparable to current data. The increase in consumption in 2003–04 is due to the East Kilbride refurbishment.
The recent refurbishments of our UK offices have given us the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings; for instance, DFID has installed Building Management Systems that allow us to monitor and manage energy usage to a much greater extent than in the past.
DFID has also installed energy efficient heating systems and also lighting systems which are movement sensitive and take account of natural lighting levels. An Environment Management System has been implemented at both UK offices. The design for the refurbishment of our East Kilbride office has received an excellent" and the London office a very good" rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM).
Information on energy costs at our overseas offices is not centrally available and could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost. Through our green awareness programme we are encouraging overseas offices to consider the implementation of similar energy efficiency measures wherever possible.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department will sign up to the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme. [23719]
Mr. Thomas: DFID is committed to meeting the Energy White paper target for central Government estates of reducing absolute carbon from fuel and energy efficiency used in buildings in their estate by 12.5 per cent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000.
The recent refurbishments of our UK offices has given us the opportunity to improve significantly the energy efficiency of our buildings. For instance, DFID has installed Building Management Systems which allow us to monitor and manage energy usage to a much greater extent than in the past. DFID has also installed energy efficient heating systems and also lighting systems that are movement sensitive and take account of natural lighting levels. An Environment Management System (EMS) has been implemented at both main UK offices and we are currently looking at the feasibility of a wind turbine and a combined heat and power plant at
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the East Kilbride office. The design for refurbishing the East Kilbride office earned an Excellent" and the London office a very good" BREEAM rating (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology).
DFID actively encourages car sharing schemes and we publish bus/train timetables on our internal website as well as links to external public transport sites. DFID is also part of a carbon offsetting project with three major airlines where air miles are exchanged for earth miles which contribute to carbon offset projects designed to neutralise harmful emissions from air travel. DFID welcomes any support and advice on managing carbon emissions so we will be giving serious consideration to joining up to the Carbon Trust Carbon Management Programme.
Gershon Review
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made, in terms of (a) headcount reductions and (b) cost savings, in achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review. [21298]
Hilary Benn: Progress was reported in the Budget 2005 and in the 2005 departmental report. Further progress will be reported in the forthcoming 2005 autumn performance report and at aggregate level in the pre-Budget report.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who in the Department has been made responsible for achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review. [21316]
Hilary Benn: As the Secretary of State, I am responsible for the overall delivery of the Department's efficiency programme.
Governance
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how frequently the Department formally reviews levels of good governance, transparency and corruption in the countries in which it works. [21955]
Mr. Thomas: Governance features in the assessments of aid partnerships at a frequency agreed with the partner. Normally this occurs every three to five years, with plans monitored annually.
A Fiduciary Risk Assessment is mandatory for all Poverty Reduction Budget Support programmes. It is normally updated every three years. In the interim, annual statements of progress are produced.
Where there has been a major change in circumstances, and or there is an overall negative trend in public financial management performance, the Fiduciary Risk Assessment is updated on an annual basis.
Healthcare Professionals Recruitment
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what representations he has received from (a) healthcare recruitment agencies,
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(b) developing countries and (c) representatives of health workers on the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals; [24235]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals. [24236]
Mr. Thomas: DFID and the Department of Health (DoH) officials are working closely together on ethical international recruitment practices of health care workers which includes DFID's participation in the Department of Health's International Recruitment Board. DFID was pleased to contribute to the revision of the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals last year and welcomed the strengthening of the code particularly in relation to the inclusion of the private sector.
During my recent trip to Zambia and Malawi with the Minister of State for the DoH, my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), we discussed health worker shortages and international recruitment practices with local officials and health workers. We recognised that while the code has had some impact, there is consensus that it can not address the root causes of worker shortages. A number of DFID country offices are working with developing country governments to address their health worker shortages based on locally recommended solutions to build stronger health systems and services. This includes increasing national training capacity while simultaneously making improvements to working terms and conditions which directly affect recruitment, retention and performance of existing workers.
Outside of my visits to Zambia and Malawi, I have not received formal representations from the other groups mentioned in the hon. Member's question. The DoH officials, along with national health service (NHS) employers are taking an active lead in the implementation and monitoring of the code and representations related to the code that have been directly addressed to the them.
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