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26 Mar 2008 : Column 149W—continued
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [194313]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made any payments to Ipsos MORI during the past 24 months. DFID has recently contracted Ipsos-MORI through the Central Office of Information to research issues around the attitude of the UK public to international poverty.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being
taken to ensure that aid given by his Department is spent on the purposes for which it was intended. [196893]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) always checks three points for each aid programme:
That the funds were paid to the intended recipient;
That the funds have been used for the purposes agreed; and
That the use of the funds has been audited.
DFID checks on the use of funds by requiring recipients to provide audited financial statements and by conducting annual monitoring reviews.
DFID’s programme management is supported by regular audits by DFID’s internal audit department and the National Audit Office, both providing further evidence of the correct use of aid funds.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2008, Official Report, columns 22-4WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, what assessment he has made of the rigour and transparency of selection methods for the (a) Commonwealth and (b) Chevening Scholarship schemes. [195766]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The selection process for Commonwealth scholars is both rigorous and transparent. The changes we are making to the Chevening scholarship scheme, set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008, Official Report, columns 22-24WS, will improve the consistency of the selection of Chevening scholars.
Departmental Contracts
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) objective and (b) value was of each contract placed with (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) PA Consulting by his Department and its agencies in each year since 2004-05. [179022]
Meg Munn: The information requested by my hon. Friend is as follows:
The figures in the table represent FCO and FCO Services commitments (i.e. excluding VAT) to these companies during this period and not the actual expenditure against these commitments some of which may be made in subsequent periods. These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO's financial and management information system. The amounts actually paid against these commitments may differ where VAT is applied. The contracts/services detailed reflect the key services/contracts which these commitments have covered.
These figures also only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas, which due to currency/exchange rate issues we are not readily able to include here.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the full strategic framework document Better World, Better Britain following his letter to right hon. and hon. Members of 29 February 2008 enclosing a leaflet setting out in brief the new strategy. [196307]
Meg Munn [holding answer 25 March 2008]: The key points of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) new strategic framework were set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008, Official Report, columns 52-53WS. Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to all hon. Members and peers, enclosing a leaflet titled: “Better World, Better Britain”, with further information about the strategic framework. Further details will be available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) from 28 March 2008 and in the forthcoming FCO departmental report.
Departmental Scholarships
Ms Keeble:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008, Official
Report, column 23WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, if he will publish the review. [195650]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I will arrange for a copy of our 2006 review of the Chevening scholarship scheme to be placed in the Library of the House.
Detainees
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1356W, on detainees, what subsequent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of domestic legislation and international legal instruments and (b) future discussions of the Secretary General's proposals by the Committee of Ministers following the Oral Statement on terrorist suspects (renditions) of 21 February 2008, Official Report, columns 547-59. [197029]
Dr. Howells: Officials continue to work through the details and implications of the new information received from the US on renditions through Diego Garcia. Once this work is completed we will look again at the proposals of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to take account of any discussions of rendition in the Council of Europe's, Committee of Ministers and will keep UK procedures under review to ensure that they meet the standards we have set and comply with UK domestic law and our international obligations.
Kenya: Politics and Government
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the power sharing agreement in Kenya. [196343]
Meg Munn [holding answer 25 March 2008]: We welcome the power-sharing agreement signed by President Kibaki and the Leader of the Opposition, Raila Odinga, on 28 February 2008. We join the international community in thanking Kofi Annan and his team for their outstanding efforts in brokering this deal.
But the hard work must continue. Real leadership, patience and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks and is implemented in full. We welcome signs that this is happening, including the constitutional reforms passed on 18 March 2008 involving creating the office of Prime Minister.
Middle East: Broadcasting
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the effects of transmissions by al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyya on public perception of the UK in the Middle East. [195622]
Dr. Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs two Arabic spokespeople: one in London and one in Dubai, both appear regularly on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya to put forward the UK’s position. They monitor and report regularly on how UK issues are covered in the Arab media.
Pakistan: Politics and Government
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the recent report funded by the British High Commission into public attitudes within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan; and if he will make a statement. [197114]
Dr. Howells: The recently published report “Understanding FATA” examines attitudes towards governance, security, religion and the wider society within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It was produced by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme, a Pakistani non-governmental organisation, and funded by the cross-departmental conflict prevention pool. It is based on independent polling and research and forms an important contribution to our developing understanding of the FATA—particularly through acknowledging and examining the opinions of the tribal people themselves. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each financial year since 2000. [180816]
Meg Munn: The amounts paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year were:
| £ | |
| (1) To December 2007. | |
These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO’s financial and management information system. The above include value added tax (VAT), some of which was recoverable VAT. The figures represent Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services payments made during this period. Payments may be made in periods following those in which contractual amounts were previously committed.
The aforementioned figures given only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas which, due to currency/exchange rate issues, were not readily available to include here.
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