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1 Feb 2006 : Column 486W—continued
Millennium Development Goals
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements have been made by the UK to deliver the commitment made at the Millennium Review Summit of September 2005 to support comprehensive national strategies to achieve the millennium development goals by providing the necessary increases in aid of sufficient quality and timeliness. [46587]
Hilary Benn:
The UK has argued strongly for increased levels of aid and debt relief to support partner countries in implementing strategies to achieve the Millennium
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Development Goals. Commitments made by European and G8 governments last year will increase global aid from $79 billion in 2004 to $129 billion in 2010. The UK wants to increase the impact of this by creating the International Finance Facility. Governments also made commitments on improving the quality of aid, by providing more direct support to partner governments'.
The UK has published expenditure plans for 2005–06 to 2007–08, and we intend to meet by 2013, the UN target of providing 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI) as development assistance.
The United Kingdom's proposals for supporting countries to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals are set out in the paper From Commitment to Action" prepared by the Department for International Development (DFID) and Her Majesty's Treasury. I have arranged for copies of this document to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what paediatric-centred policies have been put in place further to the Department's commitment to focus on the needs of children in the publication of its 2004 HIV and AIDS Treatment and Care Policy. [46832]
Mr. Thomas: DFID's HIV and AIDS Treatment and Care Policy, published in July 2004 alongside the UK's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world, focuses on supporting countries to develop and implement their own country specific policies using guidance from multilateral such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), organisations that receive regular DFID funding. Like the rest of the international community DFID relies on the WHO for technical guidance on these issues.
In November 2004, the Medical Research Council's (MRC) clinical trials unit reported that using a widely available antibiotic drug could cut AIDS-related deaths in children after infancy by 43 per cent., by stopping infections associated with a weakened immune system. The outcome of the DFID-funded trial is that co-trimoxazole is now in the WHO paediatric treatment guidelines for children with HIV, and is now regarded as standard treatment even in the poorest countries. The treatment was also found to reduce the need for children's hospital admissions by 23 per cent.
In December 2004, DFID and the MRC jointly funded (£4.7 million) the Antiretroviral Therapy Research for Children (ARROW), run by the MRC clinical trials unit. The trial will address ways of providing antiretroviral therapy to children in resource poor settings and could both reduce costs of treatment as well as reducing side effects, and will begin in the next few months.
The UK is co-hosting, with UNICEF, the Global Partners Forum for Children and AIDS on 9 and 10 February. The forum will focus on key blockages to scaling up towards universal access to prevention, treatment and care for children. Paediatric treatment is one of the six key areas.
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DFID has regular meetings with the pharmaceutical industry to advance the framework for good practice in the pharmaceutical industry, published in March 2005. The next meeting of this group will be dedicated to discussions on paediatric treatment.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor General if he will make a statement on the responsibilities of each directorate in the (a) Treasury's Solicitor's Department, (b) Serious Fraud Office and (c) Crown Prosecution Service. [41728]
The Solicitor-General: The responsibilities of the directorates in each of the three Departments are shown as follows:
(a) Treasury Solicitor's Department
Litigation group: Provides civil litigation services to Government Departments and other publicly funded bodies.
Employment and Commercial Practices Group: provides employment litigation ,and/or advisory services and gives advice on general contractual issues to Government Departments and other publicly funded bodies.
The Department-specific Advisory Divisions, several co-located with client Departments, provide legal support for all aspects of the client Department's work.
The European Division provides and co-ordinates legal services in support of the Government's policies in relation to the European Union, including conducting all litigation on behalf of the U.K. in the European Court of Justice.
The Bona Vacantia Division raises money from the estates of those who die intestate, and from the assets of devolved companies, on behalf of the Crown.
The Government Legal Service Secretariat supports the Treasury Solicitor (Head of the GLS) and GLS teams on a range of management and professional issues affecting more than one Department.
The Directorate of Corporate Strategy is responsible for planning and implementing strategic, business and policy development throughout the Agency.
The Treasury Solicitor's Department's Estimate also covers funding for HMCPS, and for the Attorney General's Office, which provides legal and policy advice and support to the Law Officers,
The SFO has five investigation and prosecution divisions, each containing a number of multi-disciplinary case teams comprising lawyers, financial investigators and support staff. These divisions are supported by:
Accountancy Support and Forensic Computing—the former allocating support from a central resource; the latter responsible for the seizure, processing and analysis of all electronic-based evidence.
Asset Recovery Unit, which provides assistance on and handles applications for restraint and confiscation orders.
Mutual Legal Assistance Unit, which assists overseas authorities where there is evidence in England, Wales or N. Ireland relating to a suspected fraud overseas.
Policy Directorate: developing prosecution policy and providing practical guidance to CPS staff, as well as representing the interests of the CPS within the CJS.
Business Development Directorate: supporting and monitoring the 42 CPS areas in delivering Criminal Justice targets, and in the coordination and implementation of change.
Finance Directorate: developing and managing the planning and financial management framework, dealing with spending reviews etc.
Human Resources Directorate: supporting the CPS on all issues relating to people employed within the Service.
Business Information Systems Directorate: responsible for all aspects of the development and delivery of the CPS' Information and Communications Strategy.
Special Crime Division: prosecutes/assists the prosecution of the most sensitive, specialised and novel cases.
Counter Terrorism Division: advises on, and prosecutes, cases of terrorism, incitement to racial hatred, war crimes, official secrets and other offences within the definition of state crime".
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Press Dining Room
Jim Dowd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission for what reason a one-way electronic lock and alarm has been fitted to the fire exit door from the Upper Committee Corridor North to the Press Dining Room; how much this cost; and what assessment has been made of the impact on the safety of those using the Press Dining Room in the event of an emergency. [47154]
Nick Harvey: The mechanical alarmed door lock between the Upper Committee Corridor staircase and the Press Dining Room has been in situ for many years. It is designed to allow people to escape in an emergency from the staircase into the Dining Room. The fire risk assessment does not identify a requirement for escape in the opposite direction. The cost of installation is unknown.
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