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17 Jan 2008 : Column 1484W—continued
Palestinians: Small Businesses
Richard Burden:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely impact on the development of
Palestinian small and medium-sized businesses of the proposed creation of industrial zones near the Green Line between Israel and Palestine promoting economic co-operation between Israel and Palestine. [178444]
Mr. Malik: The UK Government believe that the proposed industrial zones can help economic recovery given the right conditions. However, the capacity of the six Israel-West Bank crossings will need to be sufficient for processing both the eventual industrial estate traffic and existing trade, including by small and medium businesses. The World Bank is currently assessing the capacity of those crossings and we hope this will clarify whether any of the crossings will be a bottleneck for trade.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken since November 2007 to implement the provisions of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access in respect of the Palestinian Territories; and what assessment he has made of the impact such steps had on the ability of Palestinian businesses to trade (a) within the West Bank and Gaza, (b) between the West Bank and Gaza and (c) internationally. [179074]
Mr. Malik: No steps have been taken since November 2007 to implement the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. Movement and access remains the main constraint on the ability of Palestinian businesses to trade within, between and outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was the conclusion of both the UK-funded World Bank’s Investment Climate Assessment in March 2007 and the UK Government’s report on the “Economic Aspects of Peace in the Middle East” of September 2007.
The UK Government continue to call on Israel to fulfil their obligations on Movement and Access. The Palestinian Authority also has obligations to improve security. We hope that progress will be made as part of the peace process started at Annapolis.
Solomon Islands: Overseas Aid
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what (a) UK and (b) EU aid is planned to be provided to the Solomon Islands in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement; [178549]
(2) what aid programmes the UK sponsors in the Solomon Islands; and how much funding was provided for each programme in each year it has been running; [178550]
(3) how much aid the UK gave to the Solomon Islands in each of the last 10 years; and what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s (a) work and (b) expenditure in the Solomon Islands. [178551]
Mr. Thomas: DFID is currently developing detailed plans for allocating its budget over the three-year period 2008-09 to 2010-11 following the outcome of the comprehensive spending review announced in October. Individual country and regional allocations will not be finalised until March 2008.
Under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF10) the EU have committed to spend €13.2 million on development activities in the Solomon Islands. Indicative annual totals are €0.8 million in 2008, €11.2 million in 2009 and €1.2 million in 2010. In addition, the Solomon Islands may receive small amounts of funding from thematic lines within the Development Cooperation Instrument of the EU Budget; commitments against these lines are made by theme and not for specific countries.
The UK does not currently have any bilateral aid programmes in the Solomon Islands but does provide a small amount of support in the form of pensions for ex-colonial employees. The UK does provide bilateral aid to the Pacific region and multilateral assistance to a range of organisations, some of which may be used for development activities in the Solomon Islands.
Details of the UK’s bilateral assistance and imputed multilateral assistance to Solomon Islands over the last 10 years are laid out in the following tables.
| Table 1: UK total bilateral gross public expenditure on development 1997-98 to 2006-07 | |
| Solomon Islands (£000) | |
| Table 2: Imputed UK share of multilateral official development assistance (ODA) 1996-2005 | |
| Solomon Islands (£000) | |
As part of the DFID performance management system for its bilateral portfolio, DFID evaluates its projects effectiveness on an annual basis, and once projects are complete. DFID contacts all its overseas pension recipients on an annual basis to ensure they still qualify for their pensions.
Duchy of Lancaster
Adding It Up
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost of the Adding It Up implementation group was in each of the last five years; and how many (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) other staff worked in the group in each of those years. [178947]
Andy Burnham: I have been asked to reply.
The ‘Adding It Up’ implementation group held its final meeting in July 2002. The group has therefore resulted in no direct costs over the past five years. The Government continue to improve the use of evidence and quality of analysis underpinning policy making with the ‘Adding It Up’ agenda mainstreamed within Departments.
National Youth Volunteering Programme
Tom Brake:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total budget of the National Youth
Volunteering Programme is for 2007-08; how much is allocated to London; and if he will make a statement. [175367]
Phil Hope: In November 2007 the independent charity v announced that over this comprehensive spending review period, they are investing £75 million in the National Youth Volunteering Programme. The allocation for London is approximately £8.5 million. A further £6 million will cover national and multi-regional projects that could include London.
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