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29 Oct 2007 : Column 729W—continued
Baroness Vadera
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) whether Baroness Vadera has attended meetings at HM Treasury on the international economic system. [159449]
(2) whether Baroness Vadera has attended meetings at HM Treasury on Northern Rock; [159818]
(3) what meetings Baroness Vadera has had with representatives of UBS on the sale of Northern Rock to Lloyds TSB. [159823]
Mr. Malik: Ministers and senior officials meet a range of individuals and organisations to discuss policy and delivery issues. As was the case with the previous Administration, the Government does not provide details of all such meetings.
Burma: Human Rights
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) access to primary education, (b) access to electricity, food and other necessities of life and (c) employment opportunities for people in Burma in the long-term; and if he will make a statement. [161513]
Mr. Malik: DFID’s aid to Burma increased from £2 million in 2002 to £8 million this year. A further £1 million was agreed this month in order to meet urgent humanitarian needs following the violent crack-down of recent protests. Earlier today my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, announced that DFID’s aid to Burma would double to £18 million by 2010-11.
DFID’s programme in Burma is focused on health, education, rural livelihoods and support for transition towards democratic change. To improve access to basic education we are currently providing £3.3 million through UNICEF and £2.7 million through Save the Children, each over three years. We are providing £4 million over four years through the United Nations Development Programme to improve food security and enable people in rural areas to increase their family incomes, and we are funding community development programmes through non-governmental organisations. We are also providing £1.8 million over three years to help meet the needs of Burmese refugees on the Thai border. Part of the additional £1 million agreed for urgent humanitarian needs in October will be used to improve access to food by poor and vulnerable people in Burma.
Burma: Politics and Government
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to increase aid for non-governmental organisations working to promote change in Burma. [161655]
Mr. Malik:
DFID is providing financial support to a number of Burmese community-based organisations which are working to build the foundations for a more democratic and accountable society in Burma. We are now setting up a new fund of £3 million to help
Burmese organisations to promote people's participation in local level decision making, for example in forest management, agriculture, education and health services.
In addition, DFID is prepared to consider applications for funding by groups inside and outside Burma which are working on sustainable development and democratisation in Burma. Funding decisions would be based on the availability of resources, the likely impact of proposed projects, their having a clear purpose of poverty reduction, and normal criteria regarding transparency and accountability.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian assistance his Department is providing to civilians affected by renewed conflict in the eastern provinces of Democratic Republic of Congo. [160612]
Mr. Thomas: DFID is providing £35 million in humanitarian aid for DRC in total for 2007. Most of this money (£30 million) is provided to the DRC Humanitarian Pooled Fund which brings together several major donors and allows the Humanitarian Co-ordinator to allocate funds to UN agencies and NGOs. The Pooled Fund—now totalling some $100 million—allocates resources for priority humanitarian food, health, water and sanitation and protection activities. A recent emergency allocation of $5 million from the Pooled Fund was provided to UNICEF, WFP and others for additional food, health and shelter items for the displaced population. The UK is the largest humanitarian donor in DRC and the largest contributor to the Pooled Fund. The Humanitarian Co-ordinator has also called upon the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide an additional emergency allocation of $5 million for the current crisis in the east. DFID is one of the main contributors to the CERF.
DFID also provides direct support (£5 million in 2007) to other humanitarian organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Merlin, the International Rescue Committee, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development and Medicins Sans Frontieres, all of whom are currently working in North Kivu. In addition, we have lobbied for all agencies to focus all available resources on those areas most in need in DRC at this time.
Departments: Assets
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; and what the expected revenue from each such sale is. [160355]
Mr. Thomas:
DFID’s fixed assets (£88 million at 31 March 2007) are mainly its offices and information systems. The need to retain particular assets is kept under review, and there is a regular and routine process of disposing of assets such as vehicles and IT equipment at the end of their useful lives. Estimates provision for 2007-08 and budgets set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review plans do not include
any non-routine receipts from fixed asset disposals. Fuller details of asset management practices will be set out in an Asset Management Strategy to be published later this year.
Departments: Disabled People
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which buildings occupied by his Department (a) are and (b) are not fully accessible to disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [161172]
Mr. Malik: DFID has two UK buildings and both are accessible to disabled people. Audits have been carried out in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and all reasonable adjustments made.
Departments: Seafood Procurement
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which companies have contracts to supply his Department with fish; and when those contracts will end. [160959]
Mr. Malik: All UK food procurement is carried out through our contracted catering company. Fish is sourced through M+J Seafood. This contract is due to end on 30 November 2007.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consideration his Department has given to introducing a sustainable seafood procurement policy. [160960]
Mr. Malik: My Department is currently in the process of re-tendering our catering contract, and emphasis has been put on prospective caterers ensuring that they provide only foodstuffs which are from sustainable sources.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what quantity of cod from the North Sea or Eastern Baltic was procured by his Department in 2006. [160961]
Mr. Malik: In 2006, my Department procured approx 5 kg of cod from North Sea or Eastern Baltic origins.
Departments: Fixed Penalties
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was. [157875]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses four vehicles provided by GCDA. I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 18 October 2007, Official Report, columns 1185-86W, in respect of these vehicles.
DFID has one other vehicle used for official purposes. This vehicle has not incurred any fixed penalty tickets in the last year.
Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the name is of each special adviser in his Department. [153121]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The annual list of special adviser names will be published shortly.
Departments: Public Expenditure
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what dates his Department breached its (a) resource, (b) near-cash, (c) administration and (d) capital budgets since 2001; what the total value of each breach was; and what the reason was for each breach. [160318]
Mr. Thomas: There were no budget breaches by the Department for International Development during the period 2001-02 to 2006-07.
Please refer to the information contained in Public Expenditure Outturn White Papers (PEOWP) 2001-02 to 2006-07. References for these documents are:
PEOWP 2001-02 (Cm 5574)
PEOWP 2002-03 (Cm 5884)
PEOWP 2003-04 (Cm 6293)
PEOWP 2004-05 (Cm 6639)
PEOWP 2005-06 (Cm 6883)
PEOWP 2006-07 (Cm 7156)
PEOWP reports provisional outturn figures for the year against the final HM Treasury control totals on the basis of the budgeting regime that applied in-year. Spending is reported for departments as they were constituted at the end of the relevant year.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in which financial years since 2001 his Department’s outturn for its capital budget at the end of the year was less than planned at the beginning of the year; and what the (a) value and (b) reason for the underspend was in each case. [160337]
Mr. Thomas: The National Audit Office measures spending performance against plans by comparing outturns against final provision following supplementary estimates—rather than against plans at the start of the year—as plans can change during the year for a number of reasons, such as machinery of government and classification changes. The definitive figures for final provision and provisional outturn are published each year in the “Public Expenditure Outturns White Paper”. Changes to plans arising in-year are published in “Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses”, as are differences between provisional and final outturns.
Information about outturn against DFID’s capital budget is included in Public Expenditure Outturn White Papers (PEOWP). References for these documents are:
PEOWP 2001-02 (Cm 5574)
PEOWP 2002-03 (Cm 5884)
PEOWP 2003-04 (Cm 6293)
PEOWP 2004-05 (Cm 6639)
PEOWP 2005-06 (Cm 6883)
PEOWP 2006-07 (Cm 7156)
In all years, 2001-02 to 2006-07, the Department’s outturn against capital budget was less than final provision. The values are as follows:
| £000 | |||
| Final provision | Provisional outturn | Underspend | |
The variances are explained by a combination of higher than expected loan receipts from loans made through multilateral organisations/and lower than expected capital expenditure—for example because of delays in office accommodation projects overseas, or re-phasing of IT investments.
Departments: Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many citizens' juries have been arranged by his Department since June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the estimated cost is of each exercise; [159504]
(2) how many citizens' juries were arranged for (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies in each year since 1997; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the cost was of each. [160015]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development has not arranged any citizens' juries since 1997.
Departments: Research
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's research budget will be spent on research into (a) sustainable agriculture, (b) life-threatening diseases, (c) good governance, (d) climate change technology and (e) other matters up to 2010-11; and by what mechanisms funding in each category will be allocated to projects. [159557]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Central Research Department will spend approximately £710 million from now until 2010-11. Of this we estimate that approximately two thirds will be spent on research into sustainable agriculture, life-threatening diseases, good governance and climate change adaptation.
However, a new research strategy is currently being developed to identify priorities for the period 2008-2013. This will determine the priorities and budget allocations during that five year period.
Research projects are currently funded through a range of mechanisms including product development partnerships, core support to multilateral (for example, the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research) and through bilateral research programmes. The new research strategy will identify which mechanisms we will use during 2008-2013.
Departments: Retirement
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees in (a) his Department and (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department applied to continue to work beyond state retirement age in the latest year or part thereof for which figures are available; and how many of those applications were successful. [161296]
Mr. Malik: From 1 January to 30 September 2007, nine members of staff in DFID reached the state retirement age and opted to work on. No one was declined this option.
DFID does not have any staff in any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies.
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