| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
24 Jan 2008 : Column 2210W—continued
For (b), local authority secure children’s homes, and (c) secure training centres, data to provide the figures in the form requested are not available. Obtaining the information would involve extensive manual work on individual case files which would constitute disproportionate cost.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
International Development
Afghanistan: Security
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the safety of departmental staff working in Afghanistan following the bombing of the Serena Hotel. [181228]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: On security grounds we cannot release details of security assessments. Staff safety and security remain the top priority and every security incident is considered carefully. Current security provisions are under constant review, to ensure that we provide maximum safety to our staff. We have already made a number of enhancements as a result of recent incidents.
Africa: Fossil Fuels
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) evaluated on the effect on poverty levels of his Department’s expenditure relating to the oil and gas extractive industries in Africa. [181096]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no direct investments in the oil and gas industry in Africa. DFID does provide assistance to governments to improve their capacity to make best use of oil and gas revenues, though most of this investment is not in Africa. Recent expenditure in Africa includes Sudan, where DFID looked at the impact of oil and gas development on the war and its impact on peace and the social and economic situation.
DFID supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) which aims to increase the potential of extractive industries as an engine for economic growth and sustainable development. It seeks to improve transparency over payments made to governments by extractives companies and revenues received by governments in resource rich developing countries and also works on building mechanisms to hold governments accountable for these revenues. We have measured impacts to date in terms of the number of countries signed up to implement EITI, of which nine are African countries. DFID has also provided approximately £2.4 million in bilateral support to the Nigerian Government. Evidence of EITI’s success is currently anecdotal. For instance, over 90 per cent. of Nigeria’s revenue comes from oil and gas. Since its inception in 2001 the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has carried out technical studies which so far have led to the recovery of £500 million in otherwise forgone revenues. The new independent EITI Secretariat will conduct impact reviews and qualitative evaluation work as part of their annual review. These will be presented at the next EITI Conference which will take place in the autumn.
To date DFID has spent approximately £6.9 million to support EITI work. The majority of this support has been in the form of contributions to the EITI Multi Donor Trust fund (MDTF) (about £3.32 million) which supports resource rich developing country governments to implement EITI.
Nine African countries that have been assessed by the EITI Board to be successfully implementing EITI
are Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria. These countries have now been assessed as candidate countries.
Seven African countries that are implementing EITI and will be assessed in 2008 by the EITI Board are Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone.
Britain-Russia Development Partnership
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) when his Department last reviewed the Britain-Russia Development Partnership; and if he will make a statement; [180832]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary on the delivery of aid to Russia since November 2006; what the outcome was of these discussions; and if he will make a statement. [180833]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Following a review of our development partnership with Russia in 2004, DFID closed its bilateral programme in March 2007.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have not held specific discussions on Russia aid delivery since November 2006. We continue to channel UK support through multilateral organisations working in Russia, for example the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.
As a large middle income country and G8 member, Russia has a growing potential to contribute to global and regional poverty reduction. This is an issue we have already begun to explore with Russia.
Climate Change: Agriculture
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research his Department is undertaking to examine the effectiveness of agricultural adaption to climate change in low income countries. [181062]
Mr. Thomas: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), to which DFID contributes £20 million per year, has been researching how effectively farmers in low income countries cope with the effects of climatic variability for nearly four decades. CGIAR centres have strong capabilities in crop breeding, natural resources management and policy development, which have been used to help farmers deal with vulnerability.
CGIAR centres are increasing their research on areas affected by climate change.
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what items of his Department’s (a) revenue and (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer price index, (ii) the retail price index and (iii) other measures of inflation. [180038]
Mr. Thomas:
We do not centrally record items of revenue and expenditure which are uprated using indexes and other measures of inflation; we are not
therefore able to provide a comprehensive list. We have, however, identified the following items:
Departmental ICT
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff in his Department were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [181360]
Mr. Malik: The numbers of Personal Digital Assistants issued in each year to staff in the Department for International Development were as follows:
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| (1) no data | |||||||
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department work on programmes on (a) education, (b) health, (c) nutrition and (d) child protection; and if he will make a statement. [180647]
Mr. Malik: Thematic programmes in the Department for International Development (DFID) are managed in a number of different ways, and by advisory and administrative staff based in geographical departments—both in the UK and across our network of over 50 offices overseas. Those staff do not necessarily work exclusively on any one programme, and they are in turn supported by staff in our central policy and research teams. DFID’s staff also contribute indirectly to the thematic programmes managed by the large multi-lateral donor organisations and non-governmental organisations.
The information requested is not therefore available at the level of detail required. However, as an indicator of the numbers involved, DFID currently employs 84 specialist health and education advisers, and a further 96 administrative and support staff whose job titles
indicate that the management of health, education and related programmes forms a significant component of their work.
Gaza: Politics and Government
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. [181565]
Mr. Malik: In 2007-08 DFID has given £15.6 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to provide essential services such as food, housing and education to Palestinian refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the region. Refugees make up 70 per cent. of Gaza’s population. We have provided £15 million to the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) since 2006. The TIM funds emergency fuel and electricity production, water and sanitation services for Gaza, as well as health services and allowances for Palestinian Government workers in Gaza and the West Bank. We have also given £1 million to fund ICRC’s emergency appeal for the West Bank and Gaza.
The recent deterioration in the humanitarian situation is not due to a lack of international assistance. It is the result of Israel’s decision to close all crossings into the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, the Secretary of State for International Development and the Foreign Secretary issued a statement expressing deep concern about the situation and calling on all parties to facilitate opening of the crossings.
We are encouraged by Israel’s decision today to allow limited deliveries of industrial fuel into Gaza but we will continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely.
HIV Infection: Children
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he plans to take to ensure that the (a) needs and (b) rights of children affected by AIDS will remain a priority; when the updated strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS is published. [181091]
Mr. Malik: The needs and rights of children affected by AIDS will continue to be a UK priority when ‘Taking Action’, the UK strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world, is published later this year. It will also be a focus of high-level discussion at the forthcoming Global Partners forum on children affected by AIDS.
We are grateful to a number of organisations, including the Working Group on Orphans and Vulnerable Children of the UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development, for their supportive engagement in the work that is under way to update the strategy.
Kosovo: Overseas Aid
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of his Department’s spending in Kosovo is assigned to conflict prevention, particularly small arms eradication; and if he will make a statement. [180831]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Although no DFID spending in Kosovo has been assigned to conflict prevention the UK has allocated funding through the joint DFID, FCO and MOD Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP).
In 2007-08 £3 million was allocated from the GCPP for conflict prevention in Kosovo, mainly for the return of refugees, demobilisation of former Kosovan combatants, improvements in Kosovo’s Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, and resolving property rights in Kosovo.
In 2007 the UK Government, working with the Provisional Institutions of Self Government and the United Nations Development Programme, provided £73,000 for the collection and destruction of seized small arms. DFID, the FCO and the MOD are actively considering future funding of programmes in this area for 2008.
Malnutrition: Finance
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department’s budget was allocated to tackling malnutrition as part of his Department’s aim to meet Millennium Development Goal One in each of the last five years; what the projected budget is for the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [180648]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID does not separately record investment specifically on malnutrition but focuses its expenditure on reducing the causes of chronic malnutrition by investing in essential public services such as the provision of health, water, nutrition and education, as well as programmes that give the poor income and food.
Overseas Aid
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of overseas development aid and assistance was spent on population and reproductive health in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05, (e) 2005-06 and (f) 2006-07. [177319]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 21 January 2008]: DFID is the second largest donor to the health sector. Details on the amount of DFID’s bilateral expenditure spent in the health sector and directly on population and reproductive health activities over the last six years are shown in the table.
It is difficult to estimate exactly how much of DFID’s support to the health sector goes to population and reproductive health. DFID uses a range of funding mechanisms, including bilateral health system financing via government budgets, health sector support and multilateral support, and directly targeted projects. Many of these funding streams cannot easily be attributed to specific components of overall health improvement.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |