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15 Oct 2007 : Column 755W—continued
Prisons
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what geographical subdivisions HM Prison Service uses for the purpose of administration; how many there are; how many prison establishments are located in each such area; and if he will make a statement. [158453]
Mr. Hanson: There are 11 geographical areas in HM Prison Service and the numbers of prison establishments in each is shown in the following table. A map of prison establishments in England and Wales is in the Library of the House. HM Prison Service areas correspond to the Government Regions and Wales, except that the South East Government Region is divided into two Prison Service areas.
| HM Prison Service areas | |
| Area | Number of establishments |
Prisons: Wales
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sites his Department has identified for a new prison in Wales. [158194]
Mr. Hanson: A number of potential sites in Wales are currently being investigated as possible sites for new prison development. Once the process has been completed the sites with the most potential will be considered and at that stage will be made public and be subject to consultation.
Young Offenders: Crime Prevention
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on crime prevention funding for youth offending teams over the next four years; and what discussions he has had on this issue with the Department for Children, Schools and Families. [157938]
Mr. Hanson: I have received representations on this matter from the Youth Justice Board, as part of the normal process of agreeing their budget, and in writing from a small number of delivery organisations. There are also ongoing discussions with Department for Children, Schools and Families. Funding arrangements for the next CSR period will be announced in due course.
International Development
Departments: ICT
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of buying new (a) laptops, (b) mobile telephones and (c) personal digital assistant devices for new Ministers in his Department following each Cabinet reshuffle since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [156726]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The information requested would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Parliamentary Under Secretaries
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total estimated annual cost is of (a) expenses, (b) salary, (c) office space, (d) administrative support and (e) special advisers for the two new parliamentary under-secretaries of state in his Department. [154627]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The information requested would be available only at disproportionate cost. A list of special advisers by Department and pay band will be published in due course. Details of ministerial salaries are available in the House Library and at:
Departments: Public Bodies
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list his Department’s (a) executive agencies, (b) executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), (c) advisory NDPBs, (d) tribunal NDPBs, (e) trading funds and (f) public corporations in each financial year since 2005-06. [156648]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) which DFID is responsible for are detailed in the report Public Bodies 2006, available on the following website:
In addition DFID is responsible for a public corporation, CDC (see DFID’s Annual Report 2007 for more details).
DFID does not have any executive agencies, tribunal NDPBs or trading funds.
Departments: Visits Abroad
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the official foreign trips which (a) he has made since July and (b) are scheduled for him to take before December. [155852]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since July I have made the following official foreign trips:
Washington—for discussions with the World Bank and US Administration;
Sudan—to visit Darfur and Juba, and for discussions with the Government;
Afghanistan—to visit Kabul and Helmand, and for discussions with the Government;
New York—for the United Nations General Assembly.
Future ministerial travel plans are not disclosed on security grounds.
Developing Countries: Exports
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what restrictions are available to be applied to imported goods which are manufactured for United Kingdom-based retailers by work forces (a) employed under conditions that do not meet minimum International Labour Organisation standards and (b) operating in factory conditions that breach local environmental pollution regulations; and what mechanisms are in place to evaluate the working conditions of work forces abroad producing goods for import into the United Kingdom. [156196]
Mr. Thomas: We continue to provide support and advice to build developing countries own ability to meet International Labour Organisation (ILO) and environmental standards, rather than seeking to impose solutions from outside.
The UK has consistently promoted efforts to ensure that international trade takes place on a sustainable basis, the principles of which include respect for the rights of workers and for environmental standards. We
support voluntary codes of practice such as the Ethical Trading Initiative and the Fairtrade Foundation. We also support the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which has a three-year, £20 million partnership agreement with DFID. The UK Government are also supporting sustainable development through measures such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative.
There are no restrictions available to be applied to imported goods which are manufactured for United Kingdom-based retailers by work forces that are either employed under conditions that do not meet International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards, or that operate in factory conditions that breach local environmental pollution regulations. This is because there would be significant practical obstacles to implementing such measures, as well as the fact that it would be difficult to make them compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
Developing Countries: International Assistance
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries the Government expect (a) to meet and (b) not to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. [157331]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The 2007 UN Millennium Development Goals Report, which can be found on http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Default.aspx, reports progress on each of the goals by region and shows where the challenges to achieving them by 2015 are greatest. Country level information is not currently published.
DFID will continue to provide an update on progress against the MDGs for individual countries identified within the Public Service Agreement in its Annual report. The latest assessment of progress can be found in the 2007 report “Development on the Record”, which is available at:
Ethiopia
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement. [157706]
Mr. Thomas: A United Nations team made an assessment of the situation at the beginning of September. It concluded that although there was no major humanitarian crisis in the Somali (Ogaden) region, humanitarian conditions within conflict areas were deteriorating; there was an urgent need for food and medical supplies and for help with water and sanitation.
The Government of Ethiopia have accepted the report’s conclusions and is working with the UN on an action plan to implement the recommendations.
Restrictions on commercial traffic, which were causing dramatic increases in food prices, have now been lifted and four major cross-border commercial routes have been opened. Improvements are expected as a result of the resumption of trade and the start of the rainy season. DFID and the other donors are working with the Ethiopian Government and the United Nations to ensure that humanitarian assistance will be delivered to those who need it.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Ethiopian Government about the security situation in the Ogaden region; and if he will make a statement. [157707]
Mr. Thomas: The British ambassador raised the issue of the security situation in the Somali (Ogaden) region of Ethiopia with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in September. This followed a United Nations assessment mission to the region from 30 August to 5 September, the conclusions of which have been accepted by the Ethiopian Government, and security is now improving. The Ethiopian response to the UN assessment has been reassuring, and we hope that the situation will continue to improve in the coming months.
Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria: Finance
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy to make a contribution of £700 million over three years to the Global Fund to fight (a) AIDS, (b) tuberculosis and (c) malaria; and if he will make a statement. [156406]
Mr. Malik: At the Global Fund Replenishment conference on 27 September, the UK made an unprecedented eight-year commitment of up to £1 billion.
The Global Fund has performed sufficiently well, and the need is so great, that we decided to maintain the UK's current high level of contribution to the fund. We therefore pledged £360 million over the three-year replenishment period (2008-10), with £30 million of this subject to demand and results. This represents a 20 per cent. increase on our current level of commitment and maintains our share of the total replenishment at 7.5 per cent.
But over and above this, we also pledged an additional £640 million from 2011-15, providing the Global Fund is receiving good quality demand, continues to perform well, and is demonstrating sustainable impact.
People suffering from HIV/AIDS need life-long uninterrupted treatment. Building up the health services of developing countries to treat HIV/AIDS sufferers and cure those afflicted by TB and malaria requires reliable and sustained investment. The long-term predictable funding now committed by the UK to the Global Fund will significantly enhance the fund's capacity to support developing countries in fighting the three pandemic diseases and making the investment in their health systems needed to sustain this fight and serve the full health needs of their populations.
Iraq: International Assistance
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects the (a) International Monetary Fund and (b) World Bank has financed in Iraq. [156071]
Mr. Malik: Since 2003, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has had two programmes in Iraq. The first of these was the Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance programme, approved in September 2004 to the value of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 297 million. The second and current programme is the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which gives Iraq access to SDR 475 million should it require assistance. This programme will finish in December 2007, and the Government of Iraq and IMF are currently discussing a successor programme. The IMF is also providing US $6 million in technical assistance and capacity-building on fiscal, monetary, financial and statistical issues.
The World Bank, which started to re-engage with Iraq in mid-2003, manages a multi-donor Trust Fund to provide short and medium-term reconstruction needs. It has committed most of its resources, but disbursement has been limited ($108 million out of $490 million to date). This year the World Bank has approved four International Development Association loans worth $400 million for projects in the electricity, infrastructure and education sectors. It is also providing important analytical services to help strengthen public institutions: for example it is carrying out an assessment of Iraqi public financial management systems with the intention of developing a reform programme. More information can be found at:
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to reply to the letter of 10 July from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire addressed to the Prime Minister and passed to his Department, on international development issues, on behalf of Mr. Owen Morgan. [157431]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: My hon. Friend Baroness Vadera has replied to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire’s letter of 10 July.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 10 July, addressed to the Prime Minister and passed to his Department, about international development issues, on behalf of Mrs. D. M. Green. [157950]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: My hon. Friend Baroness Vadera has replied to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire’s letter of 10 July.
Mr. Harper:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean dated
6 July to the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath on international aid. [158039]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: My hon. Friend Baroness Vadera has replied to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean’s letter of 6 July.
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