| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
29 Nov 2007 : Column 730W—continued
Basra Development Commission: Standards
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress the Basra Development Commission has made against its objectives since its launch; and if he will make a statement. [168339]
Mr. Malik: Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh met in Baghdad in October 2007 and agreed that the UK would help establish a development commission in Basra to promote private sector growth. The Basra Development Commission will provide the strategic advice and vision to help kick-start Basra's economy.
Since October, the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Basra has been working with the provincial council to develop the Commission's role and identify potential commissioners from Iraq, the region and internationally, including from the UK. It is expected that, following inauguration later this month, appointed officials and commissioners will develop detailed objectives and that the Commission will be fully functioning by March 2008.
Departmental Data Protection
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many requests his Department received from the National Audit Office for access to databases containing personal information on members of the general public in each year since 1997. [168972]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provisions his Department has in place to ensure that databases containing personal information on members of the general public are not accessed (a) by unauthorised staff and (b) by authorised staff for unauthorised purposes; [168980]
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many breaches of data protection security there were in his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will provide details of each breach; [168836]
(2) on how many occasions the Information Commissioner was contacted by his Department to report breaches of data protection security in each of the last five years; [168810]
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that personal information relating to members of the public is (a) stored and (b) transported securely. [168473]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and Agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times electronic databases in his Department containing personal information on members of the public were accessed in each month of each of the last five years. [168990]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff at each grade in his Department have access to electronic databases which contain personal information on members of the public. [168991]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of
data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many breaches of personal data security there were in his Department in each year since 1997. [168992]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when each electronic database in his Department which contains personal data was created. [168993]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many electronic databases his Department has which contain the (a) names, (b) addresses, (c) bank details and (d) other personal information of members of the public. [168994]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he proposes to review how his Department transports data; and whether his Department uses TNT to transport data. [169220]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 requiring investigation there have been in the last five years in his Department; what the nature of such breaches was; and what the results of the investigations were in each case. [169256]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime
Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many confirmed data security breaches there have been in his Department in the last 36 months; and what action was taken after each occurrence. [170249]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Developing Countries: Overseas Aid
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish the development effectiveness summaries for key multilateral partners on his Department’s website. [169311]
Mr. Malik: We plan to publish multilateral development effectiveness summaries covering 15 institutions on the DFID website on 3 December.
Fairtrade Foundation: Finance
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department allocated to the Fairtrade Foundation in each of the last five years; how much will be given in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement. [168391]
Mr. Thomas: In each of the last five years we have given the following funding to the Fairtrade Foundation:
| £ | |
We are currently discussing future funding with the UK Fairtrade Foundation and its international partner, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). At the request of FLO, we have agreed to give interim funding to the Fairtrade Foundation for the next two years, until a strategic review on its expansion has been completed and a longer-term proposal can be put to donors. Our interim support will be around €1 million over two years. No decision has been made about the size of our longer-term funding, but we remain committed to expanding the fair trade sector.
Forced Labour: Cocoa
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his
Department has had with (a) the Government of Ivory Coast, (b) the Government of Ghana and (c) other Governments of cocoa-producing countries on the use of child labour in cocoa production. [168521]
Mr. Thomas: DFID officials regularly discuss child labour in the cocoa industry with the Government of Ghana, who has shown strong commitment to the issue. The Government have passed a Children’s Act which prohibits child labour, especially the engagement of children in hazardous and exploitative work. It has also been working with the International Labour Organisation on a Programme for the elimination of child labour since 2000 and is collaborating with the industry initiative, known as the Harkin-Engel Protocol, to eradicate child labour in cocoa production.
DFID has not held discussions with the Government of Ivory Coast on child labour in cocoa production. DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Ivory Coast.
DFID has had no discussions with the Governments in other cocoa-producing countries specifically on the use of child labour in cocoa production.
Non-Governmental Organisations: Finance
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department gave to (a) domestic and (b) international non-governmental organisations and charities pursuing fair trade goals in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [168393]
Mr. Thomas: Over the last five years we have provided over £2 million in funding to a number of different fair trade projects with different domestic non-governmental organisations. The annual breakdown is as follows.
| Amount (£) | |
We have provided funding through a variety of mechanisms, including programme grants to the Fairtrade Foundation and other fair-trade organisations such as the Co-operative College and the Development Awareness Fund. Though all recipients of the above grants are UK-based, a number of them work with international organisations. For example, the Fairtrade Foundation works closely with Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International. As a result, some funding reaches non-UK based NGOs, though the specific amounts may not be detailed in project proposals.
Tibet: Asylum
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much he allocated to support work with refugees from Tibet in each of the last five years. [169052]
Mr. Malik: We have not provided any support to refugees from Tibet in the last five years.
| Index | Home Page |