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12 Jun 2007 : Column 1010W—continued
Crop Post Harvest
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what date his Department commenced funding for the Crop Post Harvest programme; what his Department's total expenditure has been on the programme; which projects have been funded by the programme; which institutions are funded to carry out each project in the programme and what amounts have been allocated by his Department to each and over what period in each case; in which country each project was based; what the outcome has been of each project; what assessment he has made of the impact on host harvest crop losses and other gains; and what the closing date is for his Department's funding for the programme. [140874]
Mr. Thomas: DFID started funding the crop post harvest programme (CPHP) in April 1995. The programme was designed to run for 10 years, until March 2005. However an additional year was added from April 2005 to March 2006 to allow for greater dissemination of findings. Total expenditure was £28,529,870.
A total of 170 projects were completed up until 2005 and a full list with details of each project is available at:
or through DFID's searchable research database at:
CPHP was evaluated as part of the overall evaluation of the renewable natural resources research strategy (RNRRS 1995-2006) by an external independent team which found the outputs of the CPHP to be:
"...impressive and demonstrate well-planned and conducted studies." (annex 10, page 355).
The full report is available at:
Departments: Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was raised from the sale of departmental property in each of the last five years. [139313]
Mr. Thomas: The following amounts were raised from the sale of departmental property in each of the last five financial years:
| £ | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was received by his Department from the letting of its properties in each of the last five years. [139332]
Mr. Thomas: The following amounts were received by the Department from the letting of its properties in each of the last five financial years:
| £ | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what properties his Department (a) owned and (b) rented in each of the last five years. [139352]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has owned the following properties in each of the last five years (all of the properties were owned for the entire period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2007 unless otherwise stated):
Abercrombie House, East Kilbride, G75 SEA.
20 Epping road, Harare, Zimbabwe;
11 Hendrikz Way, Harare, Zimbabwe;
11 Brentford road, Harare, Zimbabwe;
seven residential properties in Lilongwe, Malawi, purchased November 2002;
one residential property in Lilongwe, Malawi, purchased March 2004;
TCO House, Honiara, Solomon Islands, sold January 2006.
The Department has rented the following properties in the UK in each of the last five years (all of the properties were rented for the entire period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2007 unless otherwise stated):
1 Palace street, London, SW1 5HE;
20 Victoria street, London, SW1H 0NF. The lease on 20 Victoria street was not renewed by DFID on its expiry on 25 December 2006;
Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB;
43 Fairfield Place, East Kilbride, G74 5LP.
We cannot provide a list of overseas properties rented without incurring disproportionate costs.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate has been made of the value of his Department's property portfolio. [139374]
Mr. Thomas: Abercrombie House was most recently valued on 31 March 2006. Total valuation was £9,250,000, including land valued at £1,575,000.
Overseas properties were most recently valued at 31 March 2007. Three properties in Zimbabwe were valued at £252,000. Eight properties in Malawi were valued at £475,000.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of leasing buildings and office space was for (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years. [139471]
Mr. Thomas: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The cost of leasing buildings and office space for the Department, both in the UK and overseas, in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
| £ | |
(b) The Department did not have any agency bodies in the last five financial years.
Developing Countries: Climate Change
Chris Huhne:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking ahead of the forthcoming G8 meeting to ensure that consideration of the effect of climate
change on the world's poorest nations is integrated into the World Bank energy policy. [140628]
Hilary Benn: Climate change is likely to have the greatest impact on the poor, with Africa being particularly vulnerable, even though it has not caused the problem. A high priority for DFID is to work with our international partners, including the World Bank, to help reduce man-made climate change as well as help developing countries adapt to some of the inevitable impacts.
At the Gleneagles summit in 2005, the UK secured G8 agreement that the World Bank should lead on establishing a new Clean Energy for Development Investment Framework (CEIF) that would operate across the international financing system. The aim of this framework is to accelerate and catalyse public and private sector investments in cleaner energy in developing countries.
The CEIF has three main parts: improving access to energy, especially in Africa; promoting transitions to low-carbon energy, especially in large emerging economies; and helping countries adapt to climate variability and change.
The first phase of this work is under way with the World Bank and regional development banks, like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American and Asian Development Banks. They are developing work programmes to help their borrowers tackle climate change. Each bank is tailoring its approaches and initiatives to the conditions and challenges of its region and its specific experience and comparative advantage. The World Bank is continuing to work on exploring financial options to support clean energy investments.
The second phase in implementing the World Bank Action Plan for the CEIF will be reported at the G8 Summit in 2008, to be hosted by Japan. The World Bank has already increased its commitments and resources for clean energy investments. A recent World Bank report shows that in 2006 the Bank increased the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects by 45 per cent., to a total of $668 million, exceeding the 20 per cent. annual increase target set in 2004.
We are also working with the World Bank on the adaptation part of the CEIF. For instance, future climate change may affect rainfall patterns, which in turn could directly affect electricity generation from hydropower schemes, so the work involves climate change risk screening. The aim is to make sure that investments, including those in the energy sector, take full account of the potential future impact of climate change and establish what it will cost to adapt.
We are looking for a range of G8 outcomes on energy and climate change this year. This includes an invitation to the World Bank to undertake pilot schemes to reduce emissions from deforestation in developing countries. On this, the World Bank is developing a proposal for a Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to provide support for pilot schemes in developing countries. This follows on from pilot studies to determine low-carbon opportunities in middle-income countries.
Both the 2005 Gleneagles Plan of Action and the 2006 St. Petersburg Summit endorsed the need to improve energy efficiency. We would like to see faster implementation of energy-efficiency options and are working towards agreement on this at the G8 in Germany this year.
Developing Countries: Education
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made to ensure that support is delivered effectively and flexibly to conflict and post-conflict states through the Fast Track Initiative since the Education Beyond Borders initiative was announced on 5 April 2007. [140883]
Mr. Thomas: The Education for All Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI) is an international partnership currently supported by 15 contributing donors.
The UK has been leading an FTI Fragile States Task Team to explore how the FTI might better support education in fragile states. The Task Team met on 21 May and subsequently reported to the FTI's Technical Meeting, in Bonn on 24-25 May.
The issue of fragile states and fragility was also considered at meetings of the Expanded Catalytic Fund Strategy Committee, the Education Programme Development Fund (EPDF) Task Force and the Capacity Development Task Team. Donors acknowledged that countries with weak capacity but strong political will need support to access funds to deliver education services while developing their sector plans.
The Technical Meeting agreed broad endorsement for extraordinary support for such countries and that an interim means of support is needed beyond the existing FTI architecture. The Fragile States Task Team is developing a framework that could be used by governments and donors to measure a country's progress towards FTI endorsement and whether interim financing could be used effectively. It will be piloted in Somalia by UNICEF Somalia.
As there is no internationally agreed list of conflict and post-conflict countries, the FTI Fragile States Task Team has agreed to use the definition of fragile states from the World Bank's 2007 Global Monitoring Report.(1) The FTI Partnership is already providing direct support to a number of countries regarded as fragile states. The FTI has endorsed eight such countries (Cambodia, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste), of which six have benefited from the FTI's Catalytic Fund. 11 countries (Afghanistan, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Haiti, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Timor-Leste) have benefitted from the EPDF. On 23 May the Catalytic Fund Strategy Committee approved an allocation of US $13.9 million for Sierra Leone for 2007-09.
Sixteen countries regarded as fragile states (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nigeria, Papua New
Guinea, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Togo, Vanuatu) are working towards FTI endorsement during 2007-08.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on the Make A Teacher campaign. [141085]
Mr. Thomas: The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) hold an annual Week of Action aimed at raising awareness of the importance of Education for All. The 2006 Week of Action (24-30 April 2006) included a focus on the global shortage of teachers. Following the Week of Action many schools across the United Kingdom discussed the issues and subsequently raised their concerns with their local Members of Parliament or through direct correspondence. My Department received about 80 letters from schools. Most of the letters asked the Government to help provide more teachers for those children living in poorer parts of the world.
It is estimated that 18 million extra teachers will be needed globally to provide every child with a quality primary education. Teachers are vital to quality education and are important if we are to achieve the millennium development goal of universal primary education by 2015.
Last year, the UK Government committed £8.5 billion to be spent over the next 10 years in support of education in developing countries. This long-term commitment will help to recruit and train more teachers, get more pupils into and completing school and improve the quality of education being provided.
The GCE's 2007 Week of Action took place on 23-29 April. The theme was Education as a Human Right. I look forward to receiving further letters from school children concerned about education for children in poor countries.
Developing Countries: Poverty
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on meeting the 2005 G8 commitments on poverty relief; and if he will make a statement. [141166]
Hilary Benn: There has been some good progress in delivering the commitments made at Gleneagles and elsewhere in July 2005. DFID submits a regular report to Parliament detailing the UK’s progress against agreed milestones. Globally there has been a significant rise in global aid. It has increased by 25 per cent. to just over $100 billion since 2004.
At this year’s summit there was important progress especially on education and HIV/AIDS. Yet there is still much more to do, particularly on trade, and we are working closely with donors and African Governments to make sure that the commitments are fully implemented.
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