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29 Jan 2008 : Column 319W—continued
Departmental ICT
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the (a) start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) current expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) current estimated cost is of each information technology project being undertaken by his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement. [180572]
Mr. Malik:
The contract for the ARIES Finance, Procurement and Reporting System was signed in November 2005. The original planned completion date was October 2008. The projected supplier base cost at tender was £11 million. A number of additional cost options are available under the contract. The current expected completion date is July 2009 with an estimated
supplier base cost of £16 million. This estimate reflects agreed changes to the scope of the project, a software upgrade, additional consultancy support for change management, development of end-user training materials and assistance with training and rollout.
The contract for the Quest electronic document and records management project was signed in March 2004. The main rollout was originally estimated to be completed in December 2005. Detailed planning carried out in early 2005 led to a revised target date of March 2006, which was met. Additional planned enhancements are on track to be completed in March 2008. The projected supplier base cost at tender was £8.98 million. The current projected total supplier cost is £11.68 million, including additional cost options available under the original contract.
The web transformation project began in December 2007. The current expected completion date is December 2008, but planning is not yet complete. The projected cost is £2 million.
The HR transformation project started in March 2005 and is on track to be complete in March 2008 as planned. The original budget was £6.5 million and the current forecast is £6 million.
The laptop refresh project started in October 2007 and is on track to complete the procurement stage by the end of February 2008 as planned. The estimated completion date for the rollout is December 2008. The original budget was £1.8 million and the current forecast is £1.7 million.
The virtual private network replacement project started in March 2007 and was originally planned to end in April 2008. The current estimated completion date is December 2008. The original budget was £1.23 million and the current forecast is £1.6 million.
DFID has also let a number of small IT related contracts. However, our central records do not distinguish IT contracts, so provision of details for these projects would incur disproportionate costs.
Developing Countries: AIDS
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his G8 counterparts on the provision of funding for AIDS programmes in developing countries; how much of the funding agreed at Gleneagles in 2005 for this purpose has been provided; and if he will make a statement. [180914]
Mr. Malik [holding answer 22 January 2008]: DFID Ministers and senior officials have been holding discussions with G8 colleagues in preparation for the Hokkaido Toyako summit this year. Discussions on health have been wide-ranging, including on HIV and AIDS.
No specific funding commitment was made on AIDS in the communiqué from the Gleneagles G8 summit in 2005; instead the G8 leaders agreed to develop a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care, with the aim of as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010. At the Heiligendamm G8 summit of 2007, in the context of scaling up efforts to contribute towards the goal of universal access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS
prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010 for all, and to developing and strengthening health systems, G8 Heads agreed to provide at least a projected US $60 billion over the coming years, and invited other donors to contribute. The G8 also made substantial commitments in the areas of preventing mother to child transmission, paediatric treatments for AIDS and in the areas of maternal and child health care and voluntary family planning.
Our analysis of data compiled by UNAIDS indicates that G8 countries committed around US $7.5 billion on AIDS over the last two years, 2005 and 2006. This represents 76 per cent. of global commitments to AIDS during the period.
Developing Countries: Companies
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what measures have been put in place to monitor the impacts on global poverty of the projects undertaken by companies as part of the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goals call to action (a) immediately and (b) over time; [180944]
(2) which companies have been invited to attend the meeting convened by the Government on the Millennium Development Goals call to action in April 2008; and what other discussions are intended to take place with companies on this issue; [180943]
(3) what discussions the Government have had with the companies involved in the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goals call to action; [180942]
(4) what criteria the Government are using to assess the overall impact of the core business practices of the companies selected to join the Prime Minister's call to action on global poverty; [180941]
(5) what criteria were used to select the companies invited to join the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goal call to action. [180940]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Call to Action seeks to engage the energies of the private sector, alongside governments and a range of other stakeholders such as NGOs, faith groups and cities in responding to the challenge of accelerating progress towards the MDGs. The Government have had a range of discussions both with the 21 companies that initially signed the Call to Action and with other potential supporters.
Companies who support the Call to Action will discuss their ideas for practical initiatives that could contribute to achieving the MDGs, at a meeting in London in May. Private sector investment is a key factor in accelerating economic growth, and hence achieving the MDGs, so such sharing of ideas is an important part of the Call to Action. It is hoped that the meeting will encourage wider interest and commitment from the private sector on the Call to Action.
The meeting is expected to take place in May. We are working with the UN to investigate what appropriate mechanism could be put in place to ensure private sector projects adhere to best practice in their efforts to contribute to the achievement of the MDGs.
Food Aid: Children
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 21 May 2007, Official Report, column 1028W, to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green, on food aid: children, what the results were of the policy review of his Department’s approach to child malnutrition that was part of his Department’s health strategy launched in June 2007; and if he will publish the results of this policy review. [180829]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID is currently examining the Department’s approach to improving child malnutrition which was highlighted as one of a number of important issues in the 2007 health strategy. A recent report issued by the Institute of Development Studies and Save the Children UK has highlighted DFID’s strong track record in tackling the underlying causes of malnutrition but considers that we can do more. We are examining options where the Department can add value in improving the international research and evidence base and how we can expand policy links with country offices, such as India, where a major DFID programme to reduce levels of malnutrition is under way. We will publish the outcome on the DFID website in due course.
Malnutrition: Children
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with colleagues in the European Commission on efforts to tackle malnutrition among children in developing countries. [181996]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: On several occasions I and other ministerial colleagues have discussed health related issues, of which malnutrition is an important part, with EC colleagues.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department works with developing country governments to fund countries' plans to scale up direct nutrition interventions, such as breast feeding support and promotion and vitamin A and zinc supplementation. [181997]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID supports countries through a range of aid instruments to implement their national health plans. This includes specific support for direct nutrition interventions such as breast feeding support and micronutrient supplementation. It also funds substantial direct nutrition interventions in a number of countries such as India where under-nutrition is a major cause of the burden of disease.
DFID is funding a large randomised controlled trial on the impact of vitamin A supplementation for women of reproductive age on all-cause, pregnancy-related, perinatal and infant mortality in rural Ghana. The results from the trial, expected in 2009, will be important to understand the potential role of vitamin A in safe motherhood initiatives, and to provide explanations for the way vitamin A may impact on mortality.
DFID also supports the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Research in Bangladesh, whose research has helped Bangladesh become the first country to scale up zinc supplementation.
Malnutrition: Standards
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether an indicator to measure malnutrition rates which form part of millennium development goal one are included in his Department's public service agreement. [181995]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The UK Government's public service agreement (PSA) to reduce international poverty is to accelerate progress towards all eight of the millennium development goals (MDG). Progress towards the MDGs is monitored annually through the collaborative efforts of agencies and organisations within the UN system which track the progress of 48 specific indicators. These include two indicators of malnutrition—the prevalence of underweight children under five years of age and the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption.
Nutrition
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department are nutritionists. [181998]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development has 49 health advisers. Nutritionists, however, do not form a separate professional group and it would incur disproportionate cost to identify those with formal qualifications or a professional background in that specialised area.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many complaints have been made to the UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's guidelines for multinational enterprises; how many NCP statements there have been that breaches of the guidelines have taken place; and if he will make a statement. [181733]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: 16 complaints have been brought to the UK National Contact Point since 2000. The NCP reorganisation in 2006 committed the NCP to state if breaches of the guidelines had occurred and whether a mediated solution was not possible. Seven complaints have been brought since the reorganisation. Six are under mediation or investigation and one was resolved outside the NCP process. The NCP will make it clear in its conclusion for any case whether or not the guidelines have been breached.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department, in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, to raise awareness, amongst British companies which operate in conflict-affected countries, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s guidelines for multinational enterprises and the risk awareness tool for multinational enterprises in weak governance zones; and if he will make a statement. [181734]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The UK National Contact Point (NCP) undertakes a number of activities to promote the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD’s Risk Awareness Tool. This includes use of the Government’s corporate social responsibility website, the provision of materials to DFID offices and FCO missions to raise awareness amongst British business overseas, and attending meetings and speaking at conferences. In addition, FCO, BERR and DFID Ministers have written to a wide range of companies to raise awareness of the guidelines and state HMG’s commitment to their effective implementation.
The NCP is organising for key embassies and DFID country offices to provide a link to the guidelines and risk awareness tool on their websites. The NCP has also agreed to provide £10,000 to the OECD to support a web portal to disseminate the risk awareness tool, and is sponsoring the upcoming Chatham House conference on corporate social responsibility.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department are working to promote the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s guidelines for multinational enterprises. [181747]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD guidelines is currently managed by officials from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). BERR dedicate one full-time official to working on the NCP and are in the process of recruiting a second. The Foreign Office and DFID both currently contribute 20 per cent. of one official’s time as core resource. From time to time additional staff resources are deployed as necessary.
UN Peacebuilding Commission
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in carrying out its functions. [181736]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Although the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) was initially slow to start, over the last year it has begun to provide useful support to peacebuilding in Burundi and Sierra Leone, the first two countries on its agenda. “Consolidating the Peace?”, an external NGO review in June 2007, found that the PBC had made a contribution to improved governance in Burundi by facilitating a government-civil society dialogue on peacebuilding, though it also outlined a number of challenges. I have placed a copy of this report in the Library of both Houses.
Over the next year, for the PBC to continue to be effective, the strategic frameworks for peacebuilding agreed with the Governments of Burundi and Sierra Leone will need to be translated into action on the ground, and a framework will need to be agreed and implemented in Guinea-Bissau, which was referred to the PBC in December 2007. With the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), DFID will continue to play an active role in the PBC.
Waitrose Foundation
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has received representations from the John Lewis Partnership on the Waitrose Foundation in the last 12 months. [181468]
Mr. Thomas: DFID officials have been in contact with members of the John Lewis Partnership in the course of arranging and attending various meetings inside and outside Government over the last 24 months. Specific discussions on the Waitrose Foundation have not been held in the last 12 months.
Health
Abortion: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the Annual Abortion Statistics 2007 will be published; if he will place copies in the Vote Office on publication; and if he will make a statement. [182668]
Dawn Primarolo: ‘Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2007’ is scheduled for publication in June 2008. Copies will be placed in the Vote Office and the Library.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency departments at hospitals in each primary care trust in Greater London have been re-graded since 1997. [179343]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 15 January 2008]: The information requested is not held centrally. Any changes to the provision of emergency care facilities including accident and emergency (A&E) departments, are matters for the local national health service (NHS).
Information on the number of A&E at hospitals in London is therefore only available from individual NHS trusts.
Alcoholic Drinks: Greater London
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related admissions there were to each London hospital (a) in total and (b) of patients aged under (i) 18 and (ii) 16 years in each year since 1997. [179347]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 15 January 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 871W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins), and on 8 January 2008, Official Report, column 461W, to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley).
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