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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Budgetary Forecast

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the projected direct budgetary support from his Department for each country is for the next three years. [32271]

Hilary Benn: DFID plans for Poverty Reduction Budgetary Support (PRBS) for the period 2005–06 to 2007–08, broken down by country and region, are as set out in the table. The figures include amounts earmarked for General PRBS and Sector PRBS.

All forecast figures are provisional and subject to review against progress towards meeting agreed development objectives.
£

	PRBS total
Country/region	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
Africa
DRC	0	0	0
Ethiopia	(18)—	(18)—	(18)—
Ghana	25,000	35,000	35,000
Kenya	0	0	0
Malawi	25,000	20,000	20,000
Mozambique	35,000	40,000	40,000
Nigeria	0	0	0
Rwanda	31,000	31,000	31,000
Sierra Leone	15,000	15,000	(18)—
South Africa	0	0	0
Sudan	0	0	0
Tanzania	85,000	90,000	105,000
Uganda	50,000	55,000	55,000
Zambia	16,000	21,300	12,500
Zimbabwe	0	0	0
Total	282,000	307,300	298,500
Asia
Afghanistan	0	0	0
Bangladesh	8,000	6,000	5,000
Burma	0	0	0
Cambodia	0	0	0
China	0	0	0
East Timor	0	0	0
India	119,000	137,000	158,500
Indonesia	0	0	0
Nepal	10,000	10,000	10,000
Pakistan	37,000	47,000	38,000
Sri Lanka	0	0	0
Vietnam	42,000	38,000	40,000
Total	216,000	238,000	251,500
Rest of the world
Nicaragua	850	1,000	(18)—
Palestine Authority	5,000	(18)—	(18)—
Total	5,850	1,000	(18)—
Total PRBS	503,850	546,300	550,000

⁽¹⁸⁾ To be decided.



 
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Chagossian Community

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to provide development aid to the Chagossian community in (a) Mauritius and (b) the Seychelles; and what representations he has made to the EU to provide assistance. [32182]

Hilary Benn: We have no such plans and have made no representations.

Departmental Salaries

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the 10 highest-paid employees in his Department, broken down by (a) job title and (b) salary including bonuses; and whether the individual concerned is (i) a civil servant and (ii) a contractor in each case. [27573]

Hilary Benn: The following table lists the 10 highest-paid employees within DFID. The salary figures do not include any bonuses which will be determined at the end of March 2006. DFID has no contractors within its 10 highest-paid employees.

Job title	Salary (£)
Director General	164,436
Permanent Secretary	155,850
Director General	129,352
Director General	124,786
Director General	104,504
Director	101,905
Director	96,517
Director	94,828
Director	93,011
Director	92,088

Departmental Staff

Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who the Director of Finance and Corporate Development is in his Department; what relevant specialist finance qualifications he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date. [26329]

Mr. Thomas: The Director of Finance and Corporate Performance in DFID is Richard Calvert. He expects to complete qualification as a chartered management accountant in the course of 2006. His career to date includes:

Head of Service Quality in Children, Schools and Families Directorate, Hertfordshire county council (2002–03)

 
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Head of Information and Civil Society Department, DFID (1998–2002)

Head of Ministerial Offices, DFID/ODA (1995–98)

First Secretary, UK Permanent Representation to the European Union, Brussels (1991–95)

Range of finance and other programme management roles, ODA (1983–91).

Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who the Director of Human Resources is in his Department; what relevant specialist qualifications he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date. [26330]

Mr. Thomas: The Director of Human Resources in DFID is Liz Davis. Her relevant specialist qualifications are post graduate diplomas in Leadership, Innovation and Change (1996) and Teaching and Training Adults (1990). Her career to date includes appointments as:

Deputy Director, Cabinet Office (2000–05)

Director of Human Resources, Hull and Holderness Community Health NHS Trust (1994–2000)

Training Manager, Humberside Social Services (1993–94)

Local Organiser, Humberside county council (1988–92)

Community Development Worker, Hull Council for Voluntary Service (1987).

Departmental Telephone Lines

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the money that is raised from his Department's 0845 prefix contact telephone number is spent. [27130]

Mr. Thomas: DFID has an 0845 number which enables members of the public to call the Public Enquiry Point in East Kilbride from anywhere in the United Kingdom. Calls are charged at standard local rates, and there is no revenue generated for the Government.

Development Spending Targets

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK is on track to meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross domestic product on international development by 2013. [32874]

Hilary Benn: The UK is on track to meet the target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (oda) by 2013. Total net oda from the UK to developing countries was £4.3 billion in 2004 which represented 0.36 per cent. of GNI. In the Spending Review 2004, the Chancellor announced that total UK oda will reach nearly £6.5 billion a year by 2007–08. This represents 0.47 per cent. of GNI, and is a real terms increase in UK oda of 140 per cent. since 1997. He also stated that the Government wishes to maintain these rates of growth in the overseas aid budget in order to meet the UN target by 2013.

Earthquake (Kashmir)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths from exposure that will occur this winter following the earthquake in Kashmir. [32019]

 
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Mr. Thomas: It is not possible to give a meaningful estimate of possible deaths from exposure in affected areas during the winter months. The Government of Pakistan and international relief effort is focussed on providing shelter and other assistance to those who choose to remain above the snow line and also providing camps for those relocating to lower altitudes. The immediate priorities are to deliver shelter materials with warm rooms" to remove the risks of exposure and provide water and sanitation interventions for the camps to prevent the spread of disease. The emergency shelter programme involves mobile outreach teams providing material and technical support for the construction of warm rooms" for families above the snow line. To support this effort an 86-strong Royal Engineers unit has deployed to the region.

The Government are providing £58 million towards the international relief effort and has allocated £70 million for reconstruction.

Roll Back Malaria Programme

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to encourage greater accountability and transparency in the World Health Organisation's roll back malaria programme. [29697]

Mr. Thomas: There is a distinction between the World Health Organisation's Roll Back Malaria Department and Roll Back Malaria Partnership: The Roll Back Malaria Department of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is responsible for the co-ordination of the WHO'S global efforts on malaria. As part of the HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria cluster, the Roll Back Malaria Department reports progress using standard WHO results-based management systems, primarily against the organisation's programme budget. During 2004, DFID conducted an assessment of the WHO's effectiveness; the results concluded that the WHO was working towards better strategic planning, organisational efficiency and improved accountability for results.

At the World Health Assembly this year, member states commended the WHO for the progress it is making in implementing results-based management across the organisation, which now provides greater transparency and accountability.

The Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) is a global initiative against malaria which provides a co-ordinated international approach for joint action to tackle the global burden of malaria. The WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank launched the RBM Partnership in 1998. The WHO is an important partner of RBM, which is housed within the WHO's Malaria Department.

The UK, as a board member of the partnership is working with partners to address a number of issues concerning the effectiveness of RBM Partnership which includes accountability and transparency. DFID has supported RBM Partnership to develop a five-year global strategic plan and a two-year work plan to assist with greater accountability and transparency by setting out clearly the goals and responsibilities of the partnership. We have also supported the Partnership
 
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Forum where the partnership is accountable to many additional stakeholders; the most recent forum was held in Cameroon in November. In addition, the UK has pushed for greater transparency on the way the partnership operates and, as a result, most RBM materials are now available on the website. We will continue to push for more transparency in development of technical guidance by the WHO.

The third and final High Level Forum for Health met in November in Paris. Participants encouraged RBM and other global health partnerships to adopt and implement a set of best practice principles. Four of the 21 principles deal with accountability and transparency. We will be looking to ensure that these principles are endorsed by the RBM Board.

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