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5 Dec 2007 : Column 1255W—continued
Departmental Pay
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in his Department earned over £100,000 in each year since 1997. [167197]
Mr. Malik: The numbers of DFID staff who received salaries of over £100,000, including performance pay, in each year since 1997 (for which data are available) are shown in the following table:
| Number of staff | |
Departmental Secondment
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many secondments of staff were made (a) to and (b) from his Department in each year since 1997; which organisations staff were seconded (i) to and (ii) from; how many staff were seconded in each year; for how long each secondment lasted; and what the cost was of each secondment in each year. [167275]
Mr. Malik: DFID is unable to respond to all parts of this question as our central records do not go back to 1997 and the cost of each secondment is not maintained. We have held central secondment records since 2003, details of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
Developing Countries: Overseas Aid
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the Environmental Transformation Fund has been earmarked for adaptation in developing countries. [169297]
Mr. Thomas: Apart from the £50 million earmarked for the Congo Basin, which was announced in the Budget, we have yet to take a decision on how the Environmental Transformation Fund will be allocated. Decisions about any resource allocations (including an allocation to adaptation) will be agreed by relevant Ministers and an HMG governance board in consultation with key stakeholders over the coming months.
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [169496]
Mr. Thomas: I met the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Dr. Jacques Diouf, on 24 October in London and addressed the FAO General Conference in Rome on 19 November. These were part of the frequent discussions which DFID has with the FAO at all levels. The main focus of discussions has been on reform of the FAO following a recently concluded independent external evaluation, which recommended that significant changes were needed. We have made clear the importance we attach to implementing the independent evaluation's recommendations.
Officials have also had technical discussions with FAO including on climate change, forestry, fisheries, livestock, avian influenza, food standards, agricultural trade and communications.
Occupied Territories: Poverty
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent estimate is of the percentage of Palestinians (a) in the West Bank and (b) in the Gaza Strip (i) living below the poverty line and (ii) unemployed; and what assessment he has made of the impact of his policies on their situation. [170017]
Mr. Malik: According to the UN Development programme, 56 per cent. of households in the West Bank, and 70 per cent. in Gaza were living below the income poverty line in early 2007. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, unemployment in the second quarter of 2007 was 23 per cent. in the West Bank, and 32 per cent. in Gaza. More recent data reflecting the deteriorating situation in Gaza since June 2007 are not available. While poverty and unemployment levels have both increased, the situation would be far worse without international assistance. During 2006, aid from DFID and other donors helped to slow the decline in gross domestic product from a predicted fall of 27 per cent. to 10 per cent.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provides humanitarian updates at www.ochaopt.org. DFID plans to conduct a humanitarian assessment in Gaza in coordination with the UN.
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [169107]
Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has ensured nearly three years of largely peaceful relations between North and South Sudan after over two decades of civil war. Many provisions of the CPA have been implemented, allowing several important power and wealth sharing measures to be put in place.
The withdrawal of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) from the Government of National Unity on 11 October was partly due to the SPLM’s concern that some aspects of the CPA needed to be addressed, including full re-deployment of troops, resolution of the Abyei boundary and greater transparency in distribution of oil wealth. We are urging both sides to enter dialogue on these issues and allow full implementation of the CPA.
Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations the Government have made to NATO on logistical support for the UN-African Union force in Darfur, Sudan. [169112]
Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), in consultation with the African Union, is generating the UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) through negotiations with individual countries rather than multilateral institutions. We have not made representations to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on logistical support for UNAMID.
In 2005 the African Union requested NATO’s assistance for the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMIS) in Darfur. Since July 2005, NATO has coordinated strategic airlift for AMIS. NATO will continue this support until
the transition from AMIS to UNAMID on 31 December 2007. Working with NATO, we continue to fund specific AMIS troop rotation airlifts.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likelihood that the UN-African Union force will be able to deploy in full strength in Darfur, Sudan by January 2008. [169114]
Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
Under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1769, the UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) is due to assume authority from the current African Union Mission in Sudan, no later than 31 December 2007
“... with a view to achieving full operational capability and force strength as soon as possible thereafter”.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, told the UN Security Council on 27 November that there are continuing shortfalls in ground transport and helicopter contributions for UNAMID. We are working closely with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to fill the shortfalls. Deployment will also depend on co-operation by the Government of Sudan. We continue to press the DPKO, the African Union and the Government of Sudan, for a prompt and effective deployment of the UNAMID force.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what air and ground transport capacity the Government (a) have provided and (b) plan to provide to the UN-African Union force in Darfur, Sudan. [169115]
Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.
We have paid for troop rotation airlifts for the African Union (AU) Mission in Sudan which will become part of the UN-AU force in Darfur (UNAMID). We support the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ efforts to provide helicopters and ground transportation for UNAMID.
UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the UK is to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. [169298]
Mr. Thomas: As the United Kingdom (UK) never signed the Convention, and since the time for signing the Convention is closed, the process now would be for accession rather than ratification.
The UK has no immediate plans to accede to the 1997 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. Only 16 countries have ratified the Convention, whereas 35 countries are required for the Convention to enter into force. The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently reviewing the international development benefits of accession, and as part of this is seeking views from foreign Governments, NGOs and academics.
DFID is supporting transboundary water processes in the Middle East, and in Africa through the Nile Basin Initiative. These demonstrate the value of practical approaches to transboundary cooperation on water that yield significant benefits. In neither case is accession to the Convention considered necessary for our support of these processes.
Justice
Departmental Illegal Immigrants
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many illegal immigrants were discovered working for his Department and its agencies in the last year for which figures are available. [170508]
Maria Eagle: One member of staff within HM Courts Service (HMCS) was dismissed with immediate effect on the grounds of being an illegal immigrant. The individual concerned provided the Department with false documentation including a false passport.
The Prison Service does not hold a central record of any such individuals. To provide this information, all establishments and sections would be required to check their records and to do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
Neither the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR), the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) nor other agencies within my Department have discovered any illegal immigrants working for them.
Departmental Publicity
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months. [167952]
Maria Eagle: Since 23 November 2006 my Department has spent the following on advertising;
Ministry of Justice HQ: £103,000
A magistrates recruitment campaign to promote recruitment to the lay magistracy.
Her Majesty's Courts Service: £20,837
‘Operation payback’ to target court fine defaulters.
Since 23 November 2006: My Department has also spent the following on recruitment advertising.
Ministry of Justice HQ: £528,650
Office for Criminal Justice Reform: £50,000
National Offender Management Service including HM Probation Service: £264,000
HM Prisons Service: £238,000
General recruitment is not centrally managed in HM Prisons Service. To obtain figures would be disproportionate to cost. Current recruitment advertising is taking place in the South Central region to recruit 500 prison officers. The advertising spend is as shown.
End of Custody Licence Scheme
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners transferred from a Northern Ireland prison to a prison in England and Wales have qualified for early release under the End of Custody Licence scheme. [170459]
Mr. Hanson: Of the 11 prisoners transferred from Northern Ireland to England and Wales since 2000 to serve their sentences under the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1997, none has been released under the End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme.
Eight of the 11 prisoners were released from custody before the ECL scheme was introduced and three remain in custody.
Prisoners transferred from Northern Ireland to serve their sentences in England and Wales may be released on ECL provided they meet the eligibility criteria.
Legal Services Commission: Internet
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) for what reasons the Legal Services Commission Online was suspended indefinitely on 17 November 2007; and if he will make a statement; [170509]
(2) when he expects Legal Services Commission Online to become operational again; [170511]
(3) how much has been spent on Legal Services Commission Online; and how much has been allocated to the service for each of the next three years. [170513]
Maria Eagle: The new LSC Online service is part of an e-business application, which will enable the Legal Services Commission and its providers to achieve efficiencies through increased electronic working. Although the system was tested prior to implementation, it was only when it was loaded with live data that extensive problems became apparent. As a consequence, on 19 November the LSC took the decision to close LSC Online until further notice.
The LSC is working hard with its technical partners Oracle and Steria to resolve these problems as soon as possible. In the meantime, alternative arrangements have been put in place to ensure that December's payments to suppliers are unaffected.
LSC Online is part of the Commission's new supplier management system, a fundamental overhaul of the way its IT systems operate. The cost of this overhaul is £2.2 million in 2006-07, and £2.7million in 2007-08, the end of the implementation process. The expected costs for ongoing maintenance and support of the whole supplier management system is £860,000 in each of the next three years.
Office of the Information Commissioner: Finance
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007 from the Secretary of State for Justice, Official Report, columns 303-4W, on the Office of the Information Commissioner: finance, how much his Department agreed for the Information Commissioner to retain under section 26 of the Data Protection Act 1998 in each of the last three years. [170428]
Mr. Wills: With the approval of HM Treasury, the Information Commissioner has retained all the notification fees collected from data controllers since 2005-06. The figures retained in this period have been as follows:
| £ million | |
| (1) Forecast |
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