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22 Oct 2007 : Column 42Wcontinued
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expertise the UK has shared with Indonesia on effective and safe disposal of household waste. [159189]
Mr. Malik: Waste disposal forms part of the reconstruction work DFID is funding in Aceh and Nias. DFIDs support through the UNDP Tsunami Waste Management Programme has included technical training for local government bodies on municipal solid waste collection and transportation, landfill operation, and community education in environmental issues and waste management.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the UK gave to (a) Jamaica, (b) Nigeria and (c) Pakistan in each of the last five years. [160044]
Mr. Malik: Information on UK aid to Jamaica, Nigeria and Pakistan is available in the DFID publication 'Statistics on International Development 2007'. This publication is available online at:
Relevant figures are reproduced in the following tables:
Table 1: UK Total Bilateral Gross Public Expenditure on Development, 2002-03 to 2006-07 | |||
£000 | |||
Nigeria | Jamaica | Pakistan | |
(1) Expenditure to Nigeria in 2005-06 and 2006-07 includes large sums of debt relief of £1,135 million and £1,649 million respectively. |
Table 2: Imputed UK Share of Multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA), 2001-05 | |||
£000 | |||
Nigeria | Jamaica | Pakistan | |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Darfur. [158764]
Mr. Thomas: The humanitarian situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate. The steady rise in violence this year has seen a further 260,000 people displaced, adding to the more than 2 million people already living in camps across the region. Many of the main camps are now well over capacity and there are real concerns regarding communicable diseases and access to adequate water.
Instances of malnutrition have been on the increase and while aid agencies have made courageous efforts to address emerging needs, the quality of humanitarian assistance is decreasing as regular and consistent access to those in need is undermined by the widespread insecurity.
Bureaucratic impediments on agencies operating in Darfur have been reduced due to the implementation of a UN-Government of Sudan Joint Communiqué, though this has to be seen against the escalation of attacks by armed groups against humanitarian agencies and the consequent scaling down of their operations.
The UK is prominent in urging all sides to immediately cease hostilities, attend the proposed peace talks in Libya and respect the neutrality of humanitarian workers.
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid he has allocated to the Windward Islands in relation to the summer hurricanes; what financial assistance he plans to make available in respect of the loss of the August 2007 to January 2008 banana crop and related unemployment; and if he will make a statement. [159862]
Mr. Malik: DFID provided £166,000 to Oxfam-GB to assist 1,630 farmers and vulnerable families in Dominica and Saint Lucia. 700 Fairtrade banana farmers will receive cash for farm rehabilitation.
DFID has contributed another £367,000 through European Commission (EC) contributions to relief efforts in the Caribbean as a whole.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the HM Government Baseline Personnel Security Standards for vetting staff with Criminal Records Bureau checks. [158191]
Edward Miliband: I have today placed in the Library a copy of HMG Baseline Personnel Security StandardA Good Practice Guide to the Pre-Employment Screening of Government Staff and Contractors.
This document describes good practice in recruitment checks that should be adopted for all new recruits to the civil service, armed forces, temporary staff and Government contractors generally. The Standard itself requires verification of identity, employment history, nationality and immigration status and any unspent criminal record. In respect of unspent criminal record, all recruits are required to make a self-declaration.
Mr. Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many people will be working in the office building at 35 Great Smith street; [159175]
(2) if he will make a statement on the planned use of the office building at 35 Great Smith street. [159176]
Gillian Merron: Approximately 140 people are permanently based in 35 Great Smith street. The current occupants are the Ceremonial Secretariat, the Office of the Third Sector, the Independent Offices and the Committee on Standards in Public Life as well as staff from the facilities management and IT contractors. In addition, a crisis management facility is also located in the building. The Cabinet Office has no present plans to change the use of this building.
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the contracts his Department signed on a consultancy basis with a net value of more than £20,000 in 2006. [159318]
Edward Miliband [holding answer 18 October 2007]: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many invitations to tender the Cabinet Office has issued since June 2001; and for what purpose in each case. [158683]
Edward Miliband: The information requested for the Cabinet office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available. [158602]
Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office publishes guidance for Departments on Handling Correspondence from Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, MEPs, and Members of Devolved Assemblies. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House and it is also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
The Cabinet Office also publishes on an annual basis, a report on Departments' and agencies performance on handling Members, and Peers, correspondence. This includes the target set by each Department to reply to hon. Members, the number of letters received and the percentage of replies within target. The last report for 2006 was published by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 101-04WS.
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) whether he plans to make structural changes within his Department; [149273]
(2) if he will place in the Library an organogram showing the staff structure of 10 Downing street and the Cabinet Office; [149274]
(3) what the membership is of the Cabinet Office board. [151262]
Edward Miliband: A copy of the Department's organogram has been placed in the Library of the House. It includes details of board members and the current structure of the Cabinet Office. Information regarding staff in 10 Downing street is published in Dods Civil Service Companion and on the No. 10 website.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost to the public purse has been of legal fees and advice for (a) the previous Prime Minister, (b) Downing Street staff and (c) special advisers in relation to the recent police investigation into honours. [158686]
Edward Miliband: The Government have always made clear that the cost to Government of legal advice for their employees in connection with the police inquiry into honours will be published in due course.
In relation to the previous Prime Minister, I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the statements made by the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman on this subject which can be accessed at:
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were (a) permanent employees, (b) temporary staff and (c) contractors. [158320]
Edward Miliband: The information is as follows:
Employees (FTE) | ||||
Permanent | Temporary | Contractors (FTE) | Total (FTE) | |
(1) Data not available. |
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by (a) the Prime Minister's Downing street offices and (b) offices of the Prime Minister which are classified as part of (i) the Cabinet Office separate from Downing street and (ii) HM Treasury. [158682]
Edward Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 819-20W.
The Cabinet Office consists of many units, including the Prime Ministers office.
There are no offices of the Prime Minister, which are classified as part of the Cabinet Office, separate from the Prime Ministers office.
The Cabinet Office does not hold figures relating to HM Treasury.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Cabinet Office has produced on assistance to Ministers in the preparation of speeches at party conferences by civil servants who are not special advisers. [158685]
Edward Miliband: In advance of the annual party conference season, the Cabinet Secretary issued guidance to Departments on civil servants' involvement in such conferences. A copy of the letter circulated to Departments on 27 July 2007 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
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