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25 Oct 2006 : Column 1894W—continued
Palestinian Country Assistance Plan
15. Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what impact the refusal of Hamas to recognise Israel and renounce terrorism will have on the Palestinian Country Assistance Plan. [96584]
Hilary Benn: The 2004 Palestinian Country Assistance Plan (CAP) sets out how we will work towards three outcomes:
prospects for peace enhanced;
more effective, accountable and inclusive Palestinian institutions;
humanitarian and development assistance delivered more effectively.
These objectives remain valid. However, following the Hamas-led Government’s failure to meet the Quartet principles, we cannot support the Palestinian Authority. Instead, we have had to find ways to get aid straight to
the Palestinian people. DFID has produced an interim programme update setting out how we are working towards our CAP objectives in the current political environment. This is available at www.dfid.gov.uk I am also placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.
Africa (Climate Change)
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa who are at risk from diseases directly attributable to climate change. [96078]
Hilary Benn: The World Health Organisation has estimated that over 50,000 deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2000 were due to climate change (World Health Report 2002). These deaths were due to diarrhoea, flood injury, malaria and malnutrition. 2 per cent. of all cases of diarrhoea and malaria and almost one fifth of cases of malnutrition during this period were attributed to climate change. In their recent report entitled “The Climate of Poverty: Facts, Fears and Hope”, Christian Aid estimated that 182 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were at risk of dying from diseases directly attributable to climate change by the end of this century if temperatures rise by 6(o)C.
At Gleneagles in 2005, the UK and other G8 countries acknowledged the urgent need to increase efforts to combat climate change in their own countries and in the developing world. The Department for International Development has allocated £5 million over five years for work to improve the quality and availability of climate data in Africa and £24 million over five years to improve the capacity of African countries to adapt to climate change by building and maintaining a body of skilled African researchers.
We have funded assessments of the potential impact on health in 12 of the least developed countries’ nine of which are in Africa including Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Uganda. DFID is also the fourth largest donor to the Global Environment Facility contributing £118 million between 2003-04 and 2006-07.
DFID is also working with African countries to tackle the problem, through strengthening national health systems and providing targeted support to programmes against TB, malaria and other communicable diseases. In Kenya for example, DFID has funded the distribution of approximately six million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect against malaria. This year, DFID has also doubled its contribution to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria to £66 million.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of paying for fees at independent schools for the children of staff employed by his Department in the last year for which figures are available. [95989]
Hilary Benn: The cost of paying for fees at independent schools for the children of staff employed by the Department for International Development in the last year for which figures are available, is £626,113.
Lebanon
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance has been promised to the Lebanese Government for post-conflict rebuilding; and what percentage of this aid (a) has been and (b) is planned to be sent to the Lebanese Government. [95936]
Hilary Benn: The Government have allocated £22.3 million (around US $40 million) for humanitarian relief in Lebanon, including the UK’s share of the European Union’s humanitarian spending and the US $5 million drawn from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. Working through international partners and non-governmental organisations, the Department for International Development (DFID) has contributed to providing medicines and other emergency supplies; providing water and sanitation; munitions clearance and funding for temporary bridges to allow humanitarian access. Fortunately the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is now subsiding.
Including this UK contribution, the Government of Lebanon have received formal pledges of $940 million (around £500 million) for humanitarian and recovery activities. The Government of Lebanon will assess its unmet needs in advance of a donor conference in January 2007. DFID has not made further pledges for post-conflict rebuilding.
Moldova
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has made available to assist vulnerable groups in Moldova; and if he will take steps to ensure that recipients of the funding are involved in meetings to discuss funding with officials in his Department. [95631]
Hilary Benn: DFID is working closely with the Moldovan Government to support the priorities identified in its Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EGPRSP) 2004-06 and has funded a range of programmes in support of vulnerable groups. These include: a Social Investment Fund to help rural communities plan and manage social infrastructure investments, including community-based services for vulnerable groups; a Rural Investment and Services Project which has supported the development on 900 small and medium-sized enterprises/livelihood projects in the poorest communities in Moldova; social assistance capacity building through the development of a network of NGOs that represent the interest of community groups; and community projects including support for integration of disabled children into the wider community.
DFID is currently discussing with the Government of Moldova a Social Assistance Reform project and support to regional development in pilot regions of Moldova.
It is our practice in Moldova as elsewhere to consult widely in the design and implementation of our programmes including with Government, civil society and representatives of beneficiary communities.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will instruct his officials to attend technical co-ordination meetings of the OSCE in Moldova on anti-trafficking measures; and if he will make a statement. [95632]
Hilary Benn: DFID officials in Moldova are in regular contact with the OSCE office in Chisinau. DFID is not directly involved in anti-trafficking programmes. The OSCE, the International Organisation for Migration, the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Programme are leading on support to anti-trafficking measures.
DFID bilateral programmes, and support to multilateral agencies in Moldova, aim to reduce poverty and social and economic deprivation associated with trafficking. Priorities include social assistance reform, regional development, public administration and public financial management reform, and support to social investment and rural investment programmes.
DFID is currently discussing with the Government of Moldova possible social assistance reform support as well as support for regional development.
It is our practice in Moldova as elsewhere to consult widely on the design and implementation of all our projects and programmes including with Government, civil society and representatives of beneficiaries communities.
Temporary International Mechanism
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the UK has made to the Temporary International Mechanism. [95946]
Hilary Benn: DFID has so far provided £9 million to the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) for Palestinian basic needs. Of this, £3 million was for essential medical supplies; £3 million was to support the water, sanitation and electricity sectors, and £3 million was to provide allowances for the poorest Palestinian Government workers, such as teachers.
Trade and Industry
Claims Handling Agreement
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many compensation claims under the Claims Handling Agreement in which diagnosis occurred after the original medical assessment process report are still outstanding; and when he expects the backlog to be cleared. [94243]
Malcolm Wicks: The Claims Handling Agreement has no provision to deal with claimants who at the time of the Medical Assessment Process (MAP) do not have COPD but develop it at a later date. If a claimant wishes to claim for post-MAP development of COPD he is fully entitled to do so but will need to bring a separate claim under normal common law procedures.
Galileo Programme
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost for the UK has been of the Galileo programme; what the cost was of the last tranche of payment; which British companies are involved in the project; and what estimate he has made of the number and location of jobs in the UK which are dependent on the Galileo project. [91279]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 18 September 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has the policy lead on Galileo.
The European Union (EU) and member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) jointly fund the development of Galileo. To date the UK’s subscription to the ESA element of the programme has been €142 million. The last tranche of payment was €4.15 million.
The EU’s contribution to the design and development phase of Galileo is made from the EC budget and is estimated by the Commission to be €790 million. The UK’s contribution to the EC budget is around 17 per cent. of the total, before the UK receives any abatement.
About 15 UK companies are already involved in Galileo—providing hardware, software, management and operations expertise. Industry estimates in 2005 indicated that about 500 UK Galileo-related jobs had been created in the upstream sector since the start of the Development Phase. If the project develops successfully, and depending on the sourcing decisions made by the European Space Industry involved in Galileo, I would expect more to be created in downstream sectors.
Low Carbon Buildings
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice his Department gives to householders wishing to apply for a grant under stream 1 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme; and if he will make a statement. [96845]
Malcolm Wicks: Should a householder wish to apply for a low carbon buildings grant, we continue to direct them towards the website, www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk or helpline number 0800 915 0990, for all information on the scheme and how to apply for a grant.
It is important to be aware that for a householder to be eligible to apply for a grant, they need to undertake a number of energy efficiency measures prior to submitting their application. This is in line with the scheme objective of encouraging both energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in a range of buildings as part of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1 scheme criteria.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to ensure that household grant applications under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme continue to be accepted once the £3.5 million budget for year one of the programme is allocated. [96846]
Malcolm Wicks: Initial funding for household applications was £6.5 million over the next three years. The uptake of grants in year one has been far higher than anticipated, reflecting the keen interest in microgeneration from householders. Over half of the original three-year budget has been committed. To enable the programme to continue we are re-allocating £6.2 million from other streams of this programme to the householder stream. I anticipate this funding lasting until mid-2008; by this time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, facilitating the uptake of these technologies.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date stream 1 of his Department’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme began accepting household grant applications; and on what date he expects the year one budget will be allocated. [96847]
Malcolm Wicks: We began accepting household grant applications for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme at the beginning of May 2006. To date, we have committed £3.8 million to 2,456 successful applicants. However, not all of these applications are likely to go forward to completion.
We will continue to monitor the amount that is being paid out and are in the process of reviewing the level of funding that is made available for the household stream going forward.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the likely demand for household grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in years one and two of the programme; and if he will make a statement. [96848]
Malcolm Wicks: In year one of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme household stream, £3.8 million has been committed towards 2,456 projects to date, of which £300,000 has been drawn down.
The initial funding for household applications was £6.5 million over three years. To enable the programme to continue we are re-allocating £6.2 million from other streams of this programme to the householder stream. I anticipate this funding lasting until mid-2008; by this time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, facilitating the uptake of these technologies.
Steel Industry
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel on employment in the UK steel industry. [96817]
Malcolm Wicks: We have made no such assessment. Corus has stated that there would be no job cuts in the short term, although like any other company the unpredictability of markets meant that it could not offer guarantees on jobs in the longer term. However the link-up with a low-cost producer with access to raw materials and to high-growth markets for products where Corus has a particular strength will enable the company to compete on a global scale, and thereby help secure the future of plants located in the UK.
Wind Turbines
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of research into the appropriate acoustic separation distance for larger wind turbines from residential properties; what distances are recommended in the Department’s planning guidelines; and when those distances were last reviewed. [94244]
Malcolm Wicks: While there are no separation distances set down for noise, Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy gives guidance that Local Plans may include criteria that set out the minimum separation distances between the different types of renewable energy projects and other developments. The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms (ETSU-R-97) sets out the criteria when assessing the impact of noise on the nearest sensitive residential premises.
Constitutional Affairs
Computer Data (Privacy)
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what bilateral arrangements exist between the United Kingdom and the United States of America to secure the privacy of computer data owned by UK nationals and stored via the internet on servers located within the United States. [95801]
Vera Baird: The United Kingdom has no bilateral arrangements with the United States regarding the storage, via the internet, of computer data owned by UK nationals on servers located in the United States.
Where UK-based organisations transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area, they are required to make an assessment that adequate protection is in place for that data, via contractual or other arrangements. In the case of the USA, the European Commission has deemed that those US companies which are part of the "Safe Harbour" arrangements have adequate data protection for the purposes of complying with the 1995 Data Protection Directive.
Where individuals consent to the transfer of their personal data, there is no barrier to it being sent outside the UK. Individuals who directly purchase goods or services on-line need to be aware that there may not be the same level of data protection outside the EEA area and should consider the terms of any privacy policy operated by the vendor before they conduct a transaction.
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