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Bilateral Aid

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of his Department's spending on bilateral aid has been allocated to (a) Africa, (b) Sub-Saharan Africa, (c) Iraq and (d) Afghanistan in each year since 1997. [34842]

Hilary Benn: Details of DFID's spending on bilateral aid to Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan in each financial year since 1997 are set out in the following table along with the proportion that each represents of DFID's bilateral aid programme.
Bilateral aid to Africa, South of Sahara, Afghanistan and Iraq: 1997–98–2004–05

	£ 000	As a percentage of total DFID bilateral aid
Africa
1997–98	345,013	33.09
1998–99	445,966	38.39
1999–2000	493,779	37.12
2000–01	641,951	45.62
2001–02	575,912	38.10
2002–03	736,425	41.11
2003–04	710,820	36.25
2004–05	867,477	40.45
Of which:
South of Sahara
1997–98	332,793	31.92
1998–99	432,290	37.21
1999–2000	484,083	36.39
2000–01	626,024	44.49
2001–02	532,506	35.23
2002–03	699,759	39.06
2003–04	671,584	34.25
2004–05	825,228	38.48
Iraq
1997–98	3,351	0.32
1998–99	5,749	0.49
1999–2000	6,585	0.50
2000–01	9,545	0.68
2001–02	7,760	0.51
2002–03	18,853	1.05
2003–04	209,313	10.68
2004–05	49,107	2.29
Afghanistan
1997–98	6,873	0.66
1998–99	3,873	0.33
1999–2000	5,262	0.40
2000–01	7,047	0.50
2001–02	49,996	3.31
2002–03	74,546	4.16
2003–04	79,683	4.06
2004–05	79,589	3.71

Source:
Statistics on International Development





 
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Commonwealth Development Corporation

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of compensation paid to (a) UK and (b) foreign employees of CDC/the Commonwealth Development Corporation has been since 1997; if he will list the cases concerned; and how much was awarded in each case. [33806]

Hilary Benn: There were four deaths of Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) employees in service during this period, all due to medical conditions. They received normal death-in-service payments of four times their salary, spouse pension and child allowance where appropriate. There were five medical retirements of CDC employees during the period, who received accelerated medical pensions from the CDC pension scheme. The exact details of these cases are confidential.

One employee left the CDC with a stress related illness and received a compensation payment of £10,300.

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the team-building exercises undertaken by CDC/the Commonwealth Development Corporation since 1997; and what the cost was of each such exercise. [33807]

Hilary Benn: I refer the member for Hemel Hempstead to the reply given on 4 October 2004, Official Report, column 1775W.

Information prior to 2002, covering the former Commonwealth Development Corporation from 1997 to 1999, and CDC Group plc since 1999, is not readily available. There has been no expenditure on team-building by the CDC since June 2004.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project. [33221]

 
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Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has spent nothing on the design and production of new logos; or on public relations in the years in question. Spending on graphic design agencies are as follows:
£

	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
Booklets	156,087	866,305	140,033
Departmental report	83,439	54,566	58,180
Posters	905	1,679	—
Developments magazine	283,285	314,454	288,835
Web	—	2,406	—
Total	523,716	1,239,410	487,048

Owing to changes in the DFID accounting system figures for the years 2000–01 to 2002–03 could be extracted only by incurring a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Projects

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many projects his Department is engaged in; in which developing countries; and at what total cost. [34656]

Hilary Benn: DFID's Performance Reporting Information System for Management (PRISM) contains details of our current portfolio of projects and programmes. There are currently over 3,300 projects/programmes shown as operational on the system. The total commitment value of these projects/programmes is £9 billion.

Within the portfolio we have projects/programmes operational in 130 countries. There are also a number of projects/programmes focused on regions and in some cases these will benefit countries not included above.

Note:

The figures given exclude core funding provided by DFID to multilateral agencies.

Information on the amount of money spent in different countries by year can be found in DFID's annual publication 'Statistics on International Development'. The 2005 edition was published in October and is available from DFID's website address at: www.dfid.gov.uk and in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Tendering Policy

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on including (a) ethical and (b) environmental factors in tenders for services. [33335]

Mr. Thomas: DFID expects to let all its contracts in accordance with ethical principles, and would consider any case where evidence to the contrary was presented. All DFID initiatives over £1 million are automatically subject to environmental screening processes. DFID purchasing staff and procurement agents are required to follow DFID's environmental procurement policy, which is in line with UK policy on sustainable procurement.
 
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Free Trade

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to promote free trade; and if he will make a statement. [34821]

Mr. Thomas: The UK Government are committed to the development of an open and rules-based international trading system that fulfils its potential to contribute to the reduction of poverty in poorer countries. Our key policy commitments on trade and development, as well as our objectives for the current Round of multilateral trade talks, are set out in the Government's White Papers, Making Globalisation a Force for Good (July 2004) and Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor (December 2000). The UK Government are working hard to support the poorest and most vulnerable producers, be it through multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or regional trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreements.

The UK Government do not support forced liberalisation or unfettered free trade but trade that is fair as well as free. The UK Government supports the view that developing countries need to decide on the timing, pace and sequencing of any market opening in line with their own national development and poverty reduction plans. In the context of the WTO negotiations we are firmly committed to ensuring that developing countries are given appropriate flexibility to adjust to trade reforms.

In the longterm, the removal of trade barriers, if managed properly, can help developing countries gain better access to developed country markets and more competitively priced inputs. By increasing Aid for Trade, (AFT) the UK hopes to help poorer countries seize the opportunities presented by more open markets. DFID will treble its support to £100 million a year by 2010 to help boost poor countries' capacity to trade. This shows the UK re-affirming the commitment at the G8 summit to help developing countries trade their way out of poverty.

At the WTO ministerial in Hong Kong we are working with international partners to deliver on the ambition of Doha and build on G8 commitments. The UK Government are working to achieve an outcome that delivers real gains for developing countries, including the poorest.

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