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21 Feb 2008 : Column 1002W—continued
Figures given prior to 2001-02 are lottery only as Sport England advises that it is not possible to provide the requested information for Exchequer funding back to 1997. This is because they changed their budget management software at the start of 2001-02 and they do not have information before that date readily available.
Sports: Drugs
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward measures to assist the governing bodies of UK sports in excluding participants who have been found guilty of the illicit use of performance-enhancing drugs from selection to represent their country in international or representative competitions; and if he will make a statement. [187811]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Code is the international framework of anti-doping rules, setting out the minimum sanctions applicable to those found guilty of breaching them. A key aim of the code is the harmonisation of anti-doping rules across countries and sports.
However, the Code does not restrict sport’s national or international federations from applying further sanctions to athletes found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, should they choose to do so.
Stonehenge: Conservation
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals English Heritage has made for future provision for the protection of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site; and if he will make a statement. [185632]
Margaret Hodge: The Stonehenge World Heritage Site is currently protected through existing designations and planning systems. Changes proposed by my Department in the Heritage White Paper in March 2007 will improve protection through inclusion of World Heritage Sites in the new unified register and through improvements to the planning system. English Heritage is currently facilitating a revision of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan being undertaken by all key stakeholders. This will review policies for the practical protection and management of the World Heritage Site and is due to be completed and sent to UNESCO by January 2009. My Department has also asked English Heritage to lead the project for environmental improvements (including new visitor facilities) at Stonehenge in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of his report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the future of Stonehenge; and if he will make a statement. [185633]
Margaret Hodge: I am placing a copy of the 2008 Reactive Monitoring Report for the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site in the Libraries of both Houses. The Report was sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 30 January 2008.
Tourism: Balance of Payments
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the balance of payments was for the tourism industry in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [187642]
Margaret Hodge: The tourism balance of payments deficit was as follows:
| Amount (£ billion) | |
The latest Office of National Statistics figures, released on 15 February, show that the deficit was down by £120 million in the three months to December 2007, compared to the same period in 2006.
Tourism: North East
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the average spend per head per day of domestic tourists visiting the North East in each of the last five years. [184902]
Margaret Hodge: The table shows the average expenditure per trip and per night for domestic overnight trips to the North East region for the latest five years.
| North East: average expenditure( 1) of domestic overnight tourists ( 2) | |||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1) Expenditure includes items such as package holidays, accommodation, travel to and from the destination and during the trip, services and advice, buying clothes, eating and drinking out, shopping, entertainment and other items relating to the trip. (2) The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position. (3) Figures are rounded. Source: UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards) | |||||
Also, average expenditure during tourism day visits made to, or within, the North East was £25.40 in 2002-03 (source: Leisure Day Visits Survey). It is not possible to provide a time series for this information as the surveys are run intermittently and on a non-consistent basis; therefore, this is our best estimate for this period.
International Development
ACTIS
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) investment positions and (b) subsequent disposals have been made by Actis since 2004; and what the (i) original investment and (ii) sale proceeds were in each case. [186737]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Actis manages funds not only for Government (through CDC) but also for other private equity investors. Details of Actis' investments and sale proceeds are commercially confidential. However, key targets within its 2004-08 business plan are on target to be met or exceeded. This has enabled substantial re-investment to be undertaken by CDC. Additional information on CDC's investments is included in its annual report and accounts.
Africa: HIV Infection
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received of commitments made by African governments to support HIV prevention efforts; and if he will make a statement. [186040]
Gillian Merron: Many African countries have made specific commitments on HIV prevention that are articulated in their National AIDS plans. For example, the new South African National Strategic Plan (2007-11) for HIV and AIDS identifies HIV prevention as one of its four priorities. The plan includes the following targets: 80 per cent. on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) by 2011; 50 per cent. reduction of new HIV infections by 2011; 70 per cent. of the adult population to be tested; and a target to reduce mother to child transmission to 5 per cent.
Regionally, African Union (AU) member states have made key commitments to scale up evidence based HIV prevention services. For example, African Union Health Ministers unanimously agreed the Maputo Plan of Action in September 2006, which included commitments to achieve better family planning, improved contraceptive commodity security and action to reduce unsafe abortion.
Bangladesh: Overseas Aid
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department is providing for humanitarian programmes in Bangladesh. [187933]
Mr. Thomas: The total UK aid to Bangladesh proposed to be spent in 2007-08 is just over £116 million. This includes just over £10 million of funding for emergency assistance to meet the humanitarian needs of people affected by the floods and by Cyclone Sidr in 2007.
Chad: Overseas Aid
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
and the UN about the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for aid into Abeche in Chad to enable aid agencies to respond to the humanitarian need. [186965]
Gillian Merron: We have been in continuous contact with the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with the World Food Programme United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (WFP UNHAS) and with other partners in Abeche and N'Djamena about the situation in eastern Chad. We recognise that this air bridge is of critical importance in maintaining ongoing support to existing refugee, IDP and host population caseload.
Over the last week, WFP UNHAS has established a regular service linking Yaounde (Cameroon) to Abeche, and is now looking at the possibility of re-establishing the N'Djamena-Abeche air link.
Departmental Expenditure
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding from his Department has been channelled through UK-based, non-governmental organisations in each of the last five years through (a) Programme Partnership Agreements, (b) country budgets, (c) humanitarian central budgets, (d) other budget lines and (e) in total; and how much funding in each category is to be made available in 2007-08. [187921]
Mr. Thomas: Total DFID expenditure channelled through UK Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in each of the last five years and planned expenditure for 2007-08 through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Partnership Programme Agreements are set out in the following table. The table also includes planned funding in respect of the Development Awareness Fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement for 2007-08.
DFID also provides ad hoc funding to agencies and CSOs working in country or at a regional level responding to specific emergencies. DFID's Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE) estimates that in 2007-08 £8 million was spent on humanitarian relief across a range of natural disasters, from an earthquake in Peru to cyclones and floods in Bangladesh, India, Mexico, North Korea and Pakistan, to winter shelter for extreme winter conditions in Kyrgyzstan. Of this, £5 million was provided through NGOs.
There is no central allocation of funding through CSOs for humanitarian assistance projects or other parts of the DFID programme.
Multilaterals also allocate funding to CSOs—among these are the European Commission, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Because multilaterals do not report the proportion of their expenditure allocated to CSOs, DFID is unable to attribute multilateral expenditure to CSOs.
| DFID expenditure through UK CSO's for 2002-03 to 2006-07 and planned expenditure for 2007-08 | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| Total | Civil Society Challenge Fund | Partnership Programme Agreement | Humanitarian Assistance | Country and other DFID programme | |
| (1) Actual (2) Planned (3) Includes Development Awareness fund and the Strategic Grant Agreement only | |||||
Final expenditure figures for 2007-08 will not be available until after the end of the fiscal year.
Departmental Film
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to his Department was of funding the promotional film on ethical consumerism in connection with Valentine's Day. [187763]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The cost of producing the video was £8,500. The purpose of the video was to inform people's shopping decisions in advance of Valentine's Day, and to raise awareness of how ethical shopping can reduce poverty in developing countries. It ran on the DFID website, YouTube and one other commercial site for two days before Valentine's Day.
Development Aid
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support inclusive and equitable development strategies that increase investment in pro-poor sectors. [187924]
Gillian Merron: The UK Government support developing country governments to ensure that increased investment and growth is included appropriately in their overall poverty reduction strategies (PRSs). This is a key component of the new public service agreement (PSA) 29 on poverty reduction. Our involvement and support will be both through our bilateral programme and through our influence on other development agencies.
There are a range of sectors which can bring high benefits for the poor-for example, agriculture. DFID's policy paper ‘Growth and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture’ sets out the various ways in which DFID is supporting inclusive and equitable development strategies. This is available at:
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