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9 Jan 2006 : Column 210W—continued
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the oral answer of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 8 December 2005, Official Report, column 984 on HIV/AIDS, what policy measures his Department are implementing to ensure that the target of universal access to antiretroviral drugs is met by 2010. [38336]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 19 December 2005]: Gleneagles secured an important agreement
to develop and implement a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care, with the aim of as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010".
Progress has been made since Gleneagles. The universal access commitment was also agreed by members states at the Millennium Summit in September. Building on these commitments, the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have set up a Global Steering Committee (GSC), co-chaired by the UK and UNAIDS. The focus of the GSC will be to clarify and prioritise the major obstacles that impede scale-up of prevention, treatment, care and support services in individual countries and communities and to identify appropriate solutions and actions. The GSC will meet for the first time in Washington DC on 9–10 January 2006 and is expected to provide a progress report to the High Level UN General Assembly Special Session in mid 2006.
The initial GSC discussions will focus on:
Adequate financing for scaled up AIDS responses (including addressing the macroeconomic constraints).
Internationally, there is a strong, shared commitment to joint action on universal access and that efforts must:
develop a package which balances treatment, prevention and care—a comprehensive response is essential to achieve the ambitious 2010 goal;
situate actions to achieve Universal Access in wider efforts to eradicate poverty, strengthening broader services, including health services;
Humanitarian Programmes
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department in support of the UN's appeal for$4.7 billion to fund humanitarian programmes in 2006. [40597]
Hilary Benn: The United Nations Humanitarian Appeal 2006, covers 26 countries and seeks to support some 231 million people worldwide. We are considering the various Consolidated Appeals and Country Plans in consultation with other donors and will decide on an appropriate United Kingdom contribution to the respective Appeals and Plans shortly.
In conjunction with some other donors, DFID is piloting a more flexible way of funding the appeals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. We intend to provide significant contributions to both, as unearmarked funding for the United Nations Humanitarian Co-ordinator to deploy on the highest priority unmet needs in the appeal. We have also pledged £40 million to the reformed Central Emergency Response Fund that was launched at the United Nations Millennium Review summit, as a way of promoting faster response and greater equity in humanitarian funding. This will be available for the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator to deploy on underfunded appeals, as well as on new crises that arise.
Millennium Development Goals
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Millennium Development Goal 1 is met in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015. [39763]
Hilary Benn: DFID assistance to Africa will be over £1 billion in 2005–06 rising to at least £1.25 billion in 2007–08, targeted on the Millennium Development Goals. The G8 agreed at the Gleneagles summit to double aid to Africa by 2010.
In addition, boosting economic growth is fundamental to making progress with eradicating extreme poverty and hunger (Millennium Development Goal 1). This requires more private sector investment, better roads to link producers to markets, and increasing the benefit Africa receives from regional and global trade. These are all areas in which DFID is actively engaged. For example, DFID will provide £21 million to the African Union—New Partnership for Africa's Development (AU-NEPAD) Investment Climate Facility which will help improve the environment for the private sector. DFID also acts to help ensure growth benefits the poorest—such as helping to increase the productivity of agriculture and creating jobs in non-agricultural labour markets.
DFID is also working to halve the number of people facing hunger in Africa by 2015. This often means providing humanitarian support for the effects of drought. During 2005 for example, DFID provided £64 million humanitarian relief to southern Africa alone.
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While continuing to respond promptly to crises, we are working to tackle chronic hunger more effectively. Poverty is an important factor. When large numbers of people live below the poverty line, even the smallest of shocks can lead to destitution and hunger. DFID is aiming to help countries that suffer from chronic hunger to establish safety nets to protect the most vulnerable from hunger (such as the elderly or orphans) and stop others falling into destitution as a result of shocks like drought or illness.
For example, in Ethiopia we are giving £70 million over three years to support a programme which aims to provide people with predictable and regular transfers of cash and food. This helps meet food gaps while also allowing households to invest in health, education or increase their farm production. In this way, safety nets can also serve as a springboard for poor households which can otherwise struggle to participate in economic growth. We aim to scale up this approach in Zambia, Kenya, Malawi and Lesotho over 2006.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many parliamentary questions to his Department in the period November 2004 to April 2005, were answered with the response that the information requested (a) is not held centrally and (b) could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost; how many were referred on to an agency chief executive; and what percentage of the total number of questions asked this constituted in each case. [16637]
Hilary Benn: For the period between November 2004 to April 2005, there were 834 parliamentary questions tabled to DFID; of which none were referred to an agency chief executive for answering and eight were answered with the response that the information is not held centrally or that the response could be obtained only by incurring a disproportionate cost.
Public Relations Companies
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the public relations companies that have had contracts with (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by his Department and other such organisations since May 1997. [39087]
Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) use consultants to cover a range of activities The following public relations companies have been used since 1997:
Public Service Agreements
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what systems are in place
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to measure his Department's progress against its publicservice agreement targets; and what baselines are used. [39767]
Hilary Benn: Progress against the Department for International Development's public service agreement (PSA) targets is assessed twice-yearly in DFID's autumn performance reports and departmental reports. The most recent analysis of progress against the Department for International Development's public service agreement (PSA) targets for the period 2003 to 2006 was published in the autumn performance report 2005, which was laid before Parliament on 9 December 2005. It is available both in hard copy in the Libraries of the House and electronically on DFID's website (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/autumnperfreport05.pdf).
The technical note to DFID's 2005–08 public service agreement provides full details of the indicators and methodologies which are used to monitor performance against the targets. The technical note is available on DFID's website www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/PSA/technicalnotes.pdf
Both the twice-yearly reports and the technical note contain information on the baselines used for DFID's PSA targets.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of its progress towards reaching its 2003 to 2006 public service agreement targets. [39768]
Hilary Benn: Progress against the Department for International Development's public service agreement (PSA) targets is assessed twice-yearly in DFID's autumn performance reports and departmental reports. The most recent analysis of progress against the Department for International Development's public service agreement (PSA) targets for the period 2003 to 2006 was published in the autumn performance report 2005, which was laid before Parliament on 9 December 2005. It is available both in hard copy in the Libraries of the House and electronically on DFID's website (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/autumnperfreport05.pdf). Updated assessments of performance against all PSA targets and sub-targets will be provided in DFID's departmental report 2006, which we expect to be published in late April.
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