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Debt Repayment
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding repayments of debts owed by African countries to (a) the UK and (b) the Paris Club. [55332]
Hilary Benn:
I have frequent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on debt and development issues, including issues relating to African debt and the Paris Club. In recent months, discussions between the Treasury and DFID have included Nigeria, which last year secured the largest single deal from the Paris Club by a sub-Saharan African country. The deal will cancel
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more than $18 billion of Nigeria's debt, and lead to the Government of Nigeria spending an additional $1 billion annually on poverty reducing.
The UK continues to meet and exceed its bilateral debt relief obligations under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and to deliver its share of debt relief agreed within the Paris Club for other African countries.
Departmental Telephone Numbers
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) public bodies which report to him. [56541]
Mr. Thomas: The only number that DFID administers is the Public Enquiry Point number which is 08453004100.
None of our public bodies have 0845 numbers. They have 0207, 0208 or 01355 numbers.
Drought
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to address the impact of drought in (a) Ethiopia, (b) Somalia, (c) Eritrea, (d) Tanzania and (e) Burundi. [55430]
Hilary Benn: Following my announcement of an additional £15 million contribution to the response in Kenya on 1 March, the total DFID commitment to the immediate relief effort in the Horn of Africa has now reached £35.8 million. This is made up of £7 million in Somalia, £21.7 million in Kenya, £5 million in Ethiopia and £2.1 million in Eritrea. In addition, we have also made commitments of £700,000 to Tanzania and £3 million to Burundi, which are also facing food shortages. Our contributions will help save lives by enabling the UN, non-governmental organisations (NGO)s and governments to deliver urgently needed food aid, nutritional therapy, emergency water supplies and health care.
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what tax disclosures companies are required to make under the accounting standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. [55058]
Mr. Thomas:
Implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) requires the disclosure of all material oil, gas and mining payments by companies to governments. Each country which commits to implement the EITI does so in a way that properly reflects that country's legal and regulatory environment. Information required for publication such as tax disclosures would therefore be decided upon by
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the implementing country in agreement with other partners such as operating companies and local community groups.
Fair Trade
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what activities he is (a) sponsoring and (b) supporting for Fairtrade Fortnight. [55371]
Mr. Thomas: DFID is not officially sponsoring Fairtrade Fortnight, although the UK Government is a strong supporter of Fairtrade products to help farmers and other producers earn a decent living and get more of the final value of their product.
DFID recognises the significant role that Fairtrade has had in raising awareness of the development issues surrounding commodities trade. DFID supports fair-trade certification schemes and has given over £1 million to the Fairtrade Foundation (FTF) in support of its development awareness and education campaigns including events such as Fairtrade Fortnight. Through investing in the future of Fairtrade, DFID aims to help achieve sustained improvement in livelihoods of disadvantaged producers in the south.
A number of Government Departments ensure that their catering facilities make available a range of Fairtrade products including DFID. In addition, it is policy in the House of Commons to promote, where possible, the use of Fairtrade products within the refreshment department. Some of the Fairtrade products currently sold are: coffee, tea, drinking chocolate sachets, fruit geo bars, Tradecraft cookies, Divine chocolate, bananas and wines.
Global Fund
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) contributions and (b) pledges to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. [55353]
Mr. Thomas: Since the Global Fund began its operations in 2002, the International Community, including public and private donors has pledged and/or contributed a total of US $8.6 billion to support the institution's work through to 2008. This is a substantial achievement for such a young institution and has helped to dramatically increase international funding to combat the three diseases over the last four years. During the September 2005 Replenishment conference, the Global Fund achieved pledges of US $3.7 billion against its estimated resource needs of US $7 billion for 2006 and 2007 which has allowed it to finance all ongoing projects. A further US $3.3 billion is needed to enable the Global Fund to finance new projects over the next two years.
The UK has pledged £359 million to the Global Fund for the period 2002 to 2008. Our contribution in 2005 was £51 million, which brings our total contribution delivered to date, to £159 million. Over the next two years we have pledged to provide £100 million to the Global Fund for 2006 and £100 million for 2007, to support the Fund's estimated resource needs of US $7 billion for this period. The two-year total of £200 million represents 8.4 per cent. of the total pledged
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to date (i.e. £3.7 billion) and 5.1 per cent. of the US $7 billion total resource needs. This is above our gross national income fair share and is consistent with our past support. The UK is currently the fourth largest donor for the period 2006 and 2007 (after France, the US and Japan) and the second largest in the European Union. At present, the UK has no plans to increase our contributions.
There will be a mid-term review of the Global Fund's replenishment process in June. This will be an opportunity for the International Community to review further the Global Fund's performance and urge new and existing donors to put in more money. The UK (DFID) will continue to encourage donors to do as much as they can to fill any gaps in Global Fund resources—in particular we will be working to encourage support from new donors, especially the oil producing countries and the private sector.
Haiti
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the election of Rene Preval as President of Haiti. [55497]
Mr. Thomas: The first round of presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Haiti on 7 February. On 16 February, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) declared Rene Preval the winner of the presidential elections with 51.15 per cent. of the vote. The European Union sent an observer mission to monitor the elections. The mission's preliminary declaration reports that polling took place in a calm environment, with only one or two instances of violence. There was a high voter turn out and we are hopeful that the elections mark a major step forward for Haiti's democratic process. The European Union mission will produce a full report on the election process once the second round of parliamentary elections has taken place.
A representative from DFID attended the Haiti Donors Contact Group meeting held in Washington on 21 February. Donors congratulated Haiti on the result of the election, but recognised that there are still serious challenges ahead for the people of Haiti and their new Government.
The UK Government will remain engaged with other members of the international community on issues concerning Haiti. We are providing over £20 million through our share of the commitments made by the European Commission, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank at the 2004 Donors' Conference. In addition, the UK made a significant increase in its contribution to the Caribbean Development Bank's soft loans fund for its poverty reduction programme in Haiti—our contribution will provide approximately £3 million a year over the next three years for Haiti. We are currently negotiating the possibility of placing an advisor in Haiti alongside other donor partners to assist in enhancing the effectiveness of the donor response. The UK also pays 7.4 per cent. of the costs of the UN peacekeeping mission.
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