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8 Jan 2007 : Column 385W—continued
China
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations the Government have made to the Government of China on the environmental impact of development in that country; and if he will make a statement. [113356]
Mr. Thomas: DFID has substantial programmes of co-operation with China in support of achievement of the millennium development goals in three areas: health (TB and HIV and AIDS), basic education, and water resource management, water supply and sanitation. The environmental impact on development is a strong theme throughout, but particularly in the water area.
DFID also works with China on international development issues, and is involved with the UK-China sustainable development dialogue. This is led by DEFRA, but with strong support from DFID. The four priority themes agreed with the Chinese for the next two years are natural resource management (especially forests, water and soils); sustainable consumption and production; capacity building for sustainable development; and sustainable urban communities. All of these themes address the environmental impacts of development, and involve collaboration and technical exchanges between different departments in the UK and China, as well as a range of small projects involving government, NGOs and the private sector.
Finally, DFID is a key participant in the UK-China working group on climate change, and plays a particularly strong role in promoting the need to adapt to the anticipated impacts of climate change, through both projects and dialogue.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid was given to China in each of the last six years; and if he will make a statement. [113357]
Mr. Thomas: Total UK bilateral aid to China in the last six years was as follows:
| £ million | |
In addition the imputed UK share of multilateral aid to China from calendar years 1999 to 2004 (the last year for which information is available) was:
| £ million | |
The UK’s bilateral aid to China is concentrated in three main areas: basic education; health, in particular the prevention of tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS; and in water supply and sanitation. We are helping China to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in these sectors. We are also working with China on international development issues, particularly on
Africa, sustainable development and climate change, aid harmonisation and effectiveness, and learning from China’s successes in reducing poverty.
Cluster Munitions
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which officials from his Department will be attending the conference to discuss a future cluster munition treaty in Oslo on 21st to 23rd February 2007. [110453]
Hilary Benn: Final decisions on DFID attendance at the meeting in Oslo have yet to made but it is likely that a member of our Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department will join the UK delegation.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Department will be the lead department on the forthcoming Norwegian conference on a future cluster munition treaty. [110454]
Hilary Benn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be the lead department. It is likely that representatives from the Ministry of Defence and DFID will also participate.
Conflict Areas
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the provision of (a) education and (b) healthcare in states affected by conflicts. [105029]
Mr. Thomas: DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’. We do have a list of ‘fragile states’ which we are currently reviewing, as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. This list will include countries that are generally recognised to be conflict-affected. Detail on DFID’s current definition and list of fragile states can be found in DFID’s policy paper, “Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States”, page 7 and Annex 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
The UK announcement in April to provide £8.5 billion over the next 10 years in support of education will contribute to international efforts to achieve universal primary education by 2015. The Education for All Fast Track Initiative's (FTI) Education Programme and Development Fund will help assist conflict affected states prepare education sector plans for donor support. The FTI is currently piloting support in DRC, Haiti, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan.
DFID also supports the direct provision of education in a number of countries affected by conflict through United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organisations (INGOS). For example in Somalia DFID has a 3-year partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to increase children's access to education, with a strong focus on
getting girls into school. In Burma our partnership with Save the Children UK supports early childhood education which provides safe schooling for young children in some of the poorest conflict-affected communities.
DFID is already providing much more aid to the health sectors in fragile states, with expenditure more than doubling between 2003-04 and 2005-06. Examples include a joint programme for HIV/AIDS in Burma. This has attracted increased funding and made possible a larger-scale national response. In Afghanistan, a multi-donor trust fund, the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) is helping to build government systems while at the same time raising additional finance for basic services such as health, education and water and sanitation that are focused on the poor.
DFID also contributes to Global Health Funds and Partnerships. An example, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, has committed US $ 1.5 billion in 142 grants in fragile states, accounting for over one-third of total commitments.
Corporate Hospitality
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months. [110459]
Hilary Benn: I have not accepted corporate hospitality on any occasion during the last 12 months. Paragraph 5.28 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.
Defence Export Services Organisation
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had with the Defence Export Services Organisation; and if he will make a statement. [113202]
Hilary Benn: As a member of the Export Licensing Community which operates the UK system for arms export licensing, DFID maintains regular contact with all other Government Departments in this community, including our counterparts in the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) in the Ministry of Defence. DFID officials also participate in regular discussions with all relevant Departments and agencies, including DESO, on a number of export control policy issues.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [113394]
Hilary Benn:
The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in March 2005. Since then important progress has been
made in implementing EITI in the DRC. A multi-stakeholder national EITI Committee was established by Presidential Decree in November 2005 charged with ensuring the DRC implementation process complies with EITI criteria. In February 2006, the DRC Government named members of the EITI Committee and allocated a budget for its operations from the Government’s finances. In addition, an EITI baseline study for the exploitation of copper, cobalt and diamonds is currently underway.
However, a lot more work will be needed before EITI is fully implemented in the DRC. Continued political commitment from the newly-elected DRC Government as well as capacity building and improved co-ordination within relevant DRC Government institutions will be crucial. Strong engagement from civil society, private sector and wider international community stakeholders will also be required.
Support for EITI implementation forms an important plank of DFID’s planned support in the minerals sector in DRC. Over coming months, DFID will be working with all EITI stakeholders to develop a package of support aimed at ensuring EITI is successfully implemented in the DRC.
Departmental Equipment
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's (a) computers and (b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period. [109207]
Mr. Thomas: In each of the last nine financial years the number of (a) computers stolen was Nil and (b) laptops as follows:
| Number of laptops | Value (£) | |
Departmental Finance
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid by his Department to (a) the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and (b) the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation in each year since 2000-01; and how these contributions were classified. [112768]
Mr. Thomas: DFID paid £259 million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria from 2000 to 2006 as follows:
| Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria: DFID spend 2000 to 2006 | |
| £ million | |
DFID paid £44.32 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation from 2000 to 2006 as follows:
| Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation: DFID spend 2000 to 2006 | |
| £ million | |
DFID’s contributions to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation were classified as bilateral official development assistance. Contributions to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria were classified as multilateral assistance, except for the costs associated with the UK-hosted 2005 Replenishment Conference, which were reported as bilateral official development assistance.
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in which recipient countries his Department pools funds with other donors to give poverty reduction budget support. [113166]
Hilary Benn: DFID generally provides poverty reduction budget support (PRBS) direct to a partner Government account rather than through any intermediary. In this respect DFID financing is not pooled with those from other donors prior to the release of funds to the respective Government account.
However, in most countries where we deliver PRBS other donors also provide this form of assistance directly to the Government. We work closely with other donors, for example, in many countries a joint Memorandum of Understanding governs the management of the PRBS relationship between Government and donors; performance monitoring frameworks are prepared jointly and jointly assessed and discussed with the Government.
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria are used in classifying bilateral aid earmarked for a specific programme as (a) sector budget support included under budget heading PRBS and (b) sector wide programmes included under budget heading Other Financial Aid; and how much was allocated to each category in each year since 2000-01. [113171]
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