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18 Jun 2007 : Column 1484W—continued
Departments: Advertising
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much revenue his Department received from advertisements on its (a) public information leaflets and (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [142340]
Mr. Thomas:
The only publication that DFID has received advertising revenue from is the free quarterly magazine “Developments”. Due to changes in accounting practices, figures are only available from 2003 onwards. To establish figures from 1997 onwards would incur disproportionate cost. “Developments”
magazine only accepts advertising from educational or training institutions. The figures are given in the following table.
| £ | |
Figures are not yet available for 2007.
DFID has never run any adverts on its corporate website.
Developing Countries: Construction
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding and resources the UK has pledged to the construction sector transparency initiative. [142533]
Mr. Thomas: Working with partners internationally and in a number of developing countries, DFID has led the development of the construction sector transparency initiative (CoST).
Corruption and inefficiency caused by corruption wastes billions of dollars of public money and leads to poor quality schools, hospitals and roads which do not meet people’s needs.
CoST aims to make sure people get good quality, sustainable infrastructure at a reasonable price from the money which Government spend on their behalf. The starting point will be provision of clear information which allows the public to compare original contract commitments about price and quality of planned infrastructure with the actual results—allowing them to ask the right questions about any wastage or poor, or non-existent, work.
Working with stakeholders in Vietnam, Ghana and Tanzania, as well as international partners (European Commission, World Bank, and others), industry and international civil society, we now have an outline design ready to be tested through country pilots.
CoST builds on the success of the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) by applying principles of transparency and accountability to construction procurement.
Application of EITI principles to other sectors was supported by G8 countries at the recent Heiligendamm summit, and their specific application to the construction sector was a commitment in the 2006 International Development White Paper.
DFID has committed £0.5 million this year to support the CoST design and pilots. As pilots progress we will assess the wider resources needed and DFID will work with other donors and development partners to secure the necessary resources to support CoST.
A major meeting for CoST partners will be held on 20 June, and be addressed by the Secretary of State. An official launch will take place in October, with the launch of pilots in around three countries to develop a model approach to increased transparency in construction procurement.
Developing Countries: Education
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many 10-year agreements under the Education for All initiative announced in April 2006 have been signed with developing countries since then; how much of the $15 billion fund earmarked has been delivered; and how many extra pupils are in education full-time in those countries. [142593]
Mr. Thomas: The authoritative source of global education data is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 report was published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in November 2006. It includes statistics by country of primary aged children enrolled at school up to the year 2004. This is the most recent source of global data available. Statistics up to the year 2005 will be available in the 2008 report which is due to be published by December 2007. Therefore, it is too soon to report on the additional numbers of children receiving an education in particular countries since the UK’s education initiative launched in April 2006.
The UK education initiative involves the provision of long-term predictable support to education through a commitment of £8.5 billion over a 10-year period from April 2006. The amount of bilateral aid disbursed in support of education in developing countries for the financial year 2006-07 will be reported in DFID’s Statistics on International Development to be published in October 2007. DFID’s total spend on education also includes funds disbursed via multilateral organisations.
In launching the UK education initiative, we asked governments to prepare ambitious 10-year education sector plans to which donors should contribute funding support. In Africa, 25 countries are involved. Of these, to date, 17 have produced their plans. The Education for All Fast Tract Initiative (FTI), supported by 15 donors, is also supporting the development of education sector plans. The FTI’s Education Programme Development Fund provides technical assistance to help with the preparation of plans and the Catalytic Fund for the implementation of endorsed plans. 31 countries have obtained FTI endorsement since its inception in 2002 and a further 30 countries are working towards endorsement in 2007 and 2008. The UK is contributing some £150 million through the FTI.
Since April 2006, the UK has announced 10-year agreements to support education plans in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania totalling £646 million. The UK has also made recent commitments to support education plans in Burundi, DRC, India, Nepal, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
Developing Countries: Medical Treatments
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals on a Medicines Transparency Alliance. [142532]
Mr. Thomas:
DFID is working with a wide range of partners, including the World Health Organisation, developing country Governments, pharmaceutical
companies and non-governmental organisation on the development of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA).
MeTA seeks to increase transparency over vital information on the price, quality and availability of essential medicines in developing countries so as to help tackle high prices, challenge corruption and address inefficiency. One third of the world’s population lacks access to essential medicines. The prices patients pay are often much higher than the price agreed at procurement, with cumulative mark-ups of 300 per cent. not being uncommon as medicines move from procurement through storage, supply, distribution and ultimately to health centres and pharmacies. In addition, up to a third of medicines on the market in developing countries are fake.
Procurement and supply systems are generally opaque, meaning excessive price mark-ups, corruption and inefficiency can go unchallenged. Most people have little idea about what medicines should cost, or what a good-quality medicine looks like.
MeTA seeks to change this by securing high-level political commitment to increased transparency and accountability over medicines procurement and supply in countries that choose to take part, and by bringing the right people around the table—Government Departments, civil society organisations, companies and others—to agree ways of disclosing information on the price, the quality and the availability of essential medicines into the public arena, with the aim of ultimately reducing the cost, improving the quality and increasing the availability of medicines.
MeTA builds on the success of the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) by applying principles of transparency and accountability to medicines procurement and supply. Application of EITI principles to other sectors was supported by G8 countries at the recent Heiligendamm summit, and their specific application to the health sector was a commitment in the 2006 International Development White Paper.
A major stakeholder meeting for MeTA was held on 18 April, attended by all relevant groups and addressed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development. An official launch will take place in the summer, with the launch of pilots in around five countries to develop a model approach to increased transparency and accountability in medicines procurement and supply.
Trade and Industry
Defence Equipment: Exports
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether export licences for military equipment are required by a (a) private individual and (b) museum or collection for the export of historic former military aircraft. [142129]
Malcolm Wicks:
The requirement for an export licence is determined by the nature of the goods being exported, not the exporting entity. In general, military equipment, including historic former military aircraft,
is highly likely to require an export licence but a definitive decision can only be given where detailed information is made available by the exporting entity in order to allow for a full assessment against the “UK Military List”.
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many export licences for arms and other military equipment were applied for in the last three years for which figures are available; and how many applications were refused. [142132]
Malcolm Wicks: For the last three years for which figures are available, the Government received 5,385 (2004), 5,378 (2005) and 6,003 (2006) applications for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs), 486 (2004), 449 (2005) and 364 (2006) applications for Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs); for arms and other military equipment. In addition, there were 703 (2004), 434 (2005) and 354 (2006) registrations for Open General Export Licences (OGELs) for dual-use and military listed items.
The Government publishes detailed information on its export licensing decisions, including the total number of licences refused, in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. The Government's Annual Reports are available from the Libraries of the House and the DTI Export Control Organisation website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europeandtrade/strategic-export-control/index.html
Departments: Advertising
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much revenue his Department received from advertisements on his Department's (a) public information leaflets and (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [140669]
Jim Fitzpatrick: These records are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Carbon Emissions
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what methodology is used by his Department to account for its carbon emissions. [140785]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department uses the guidelines for “Company Reporting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions” produced by DEFRA. These guidelines provide a set formula for calculation of carbon emissions from a variety of activities listed within the guidelines schedule.
To demonstrate the commitment and achievement in carbon reduction, up to year end March 2006, the Department and its executive agencies have made a 17 per cent. reduction since the base year 1999-2000, as published by BRE.
Dietary Supplements: EC Law
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his estimate is of the value of the specialist natural health product (a)
manufacturing and (b) retailing sectors; what recent discussions he has had with representatives of these sectors on the regulatory and economic impact of European regulations on food supplements and associated issues; and if he will make a statement. [141950]
Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently carried out an informal consultation on an initial regulatory impact assessment that sets out the current position in the United Kingdom with respect to food supplements and seeks information from stakeholders to measure the potential impact in advance of future European Commission proposals for setting daily dosage levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. The information will be used to inform the draft regulatory impact assessment, which will then be subject to a formal consultation process.
Based on the information provided by 25 May 2007, the FSA has not concluded on an estimate of the value of the natural health product sectors to date. I met with the specialist manufacturing and health food retail sectors in March 2007, to discuss the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals under Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive and associated issues.
Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civic amenity sites there are in England and Wales; and how many such sites will have facilities to collect waste electrical and electronic equipment under the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. [142772]
Malcolm Wicks: There are 807 civic amenity sites in England and Wales all of which will have facilities to collect waste electrical and electronic equipment. How much they collect will vary according to the size of the site.
Energy Technologies Institute: Wales
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007, Official Report, column 336W, on Energy Technologies Institute: Wales, in what ways the Welsh Energy Research Centre fell short against the selection criteria; and whether he expects there to be opportunities for the Welsh Energy Research Centre to collaborate with the Energy Technologies Institute in the future. [142442]
Malcolm Wicks: The submissions to host the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) Director were considered in confidence by a group of representatives of the industrial and public sector funding partners. The group has already indicated that it will provide feed-back to those organisations which made a submission, if they so request.
There will be opportunities for energy research organisations to engage in the research activities of the ETI as the technical priorities begin to emerge over the course of the year.
Exhaust Emissions: Aviation
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department will commission research and development into minimising (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) general environmental impacts caused by commercial aircraft engines. [140603]
Margaret Hodge: The DTI is currently funding a number of research programmes to assess the environmental effect of aviation emissions and to explore developments in technology to reduce their harmful effects. In particular, the OMEGA project being led by Manchester Metropolitan University and supported with a £5 million HEFCE grant, covers, among other things, characterising aviation emissions (Particulate Matter, NOx, CO2), airframe and engine design for low carbon emissions and alternative fuels and bio-fuels. Another recent project with Airbus and academic partners has developed trade-off modelling for aircraft design and climate impact.
The Government are also working closely with industry to ensure that the UK’s aerospace industry responds to environmental concerns. The most recent project, known as the “Environmentally Friendly Engine” is supported with funding of £95 million of which £30 million is being provided by DTI. This research will develop specific technologies to improve engine efficiency and thereby minimise CO2 emissions from future aircraft.
The DTI will continue to consider the need for additional research to address the environmental impact of aviation and to ensure the competitiveness of UK aerospace companies and their European partners.
India: Intellectual Property
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made on the creation and development of an intellectual property rights agreement between the UK and India; and if he will make a statement. [139651]
Malcolm Wicks: The Joint Statement of Intent was signed in June 2006. Under the JETCO agreement between India and the UK, we are currently developing a bilateral action plan with the Indian IPR authorities in order to put in place a technical assistance programme for Indian government officials dealing with IP.
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