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18 Jun 2008 : Column 1034W—continued
Cocoa
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of independent certification of cocoa industry supply chains; and if he will make a statement. [210834]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no plans to undertake an assessment of the certification of cocoa industry supply chains. We are aware that the industry, in collaboration with the Governments of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, is developing a certification process. We understand that both countries are currently on track to complete the survey of at least 50 per cent. of the cocoa producing areas by July 2008 which is the next target in the development of the certification process.
Cocoa: Children
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to raise consumer awareness of the conditions in which children are working in the cocoa industry. [210432]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development is working to raise awareness of the power that consumers can wield through their shopping choices, for example, in our work with national and regional media, in publications such as “The Rough Guide to a Better World”, and by supporting development awareness programmes. We will continue to develop further communications activities which serve to highlight the benefits of buying products that are fairly, ethically and sustainably sourced.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps he has taken to tackle child (a) trafficking and (b) labour standards in the cocoa industry in West Africa. [210433]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not support projects which specifically target trafficking or child labour in the cocoa industry in West Africa. DFID supports a wide range of activities that tackle the underlying poverty which makes children vulnerable to trafficking and exploitative labour in cocoa production and other industries. In Ghana, one of the largest cocoa producing countries in the region, this includes support to ensure all children are able to go to school, helping the mainstreaming of children’s concerns in key Government programmes and policies, and supporting the development of the national social protection strategy.
We support the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) whose technical assistance programmes help governments to tackle trafficking and implement labour standards. In addition we work with civil society and business organisations to promote fair, ethical and sustainable trade.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential of the Harkin-Engel Protocol to contribute to tackling child trafficking in the cocoa industry; and if he will make a statement. [210434]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government have not undertaken any specific assessment of the potential of the Harkin-Engel Protocol.
It is an agreement between the industry, civil society and the Governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The Department for International Development (DFID) strongly endorses the objective of the Protocol—to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in cocoa production. We welcome the voluntary engagement of all the stakeholders, an essential part of any long-term, sustainable approach to tackle trafficking and child labour.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what means he ensures that his Department’s funding to the cocoa industry in developing countries does not go to companies who use trafficked children in their supply chain. [210720]
Mr. Thomas: Although communities in cocoa growing areas may benefit from UK development assistance, the Department for International Development (DFID) is not providing funding to the cocoa industry. In the past DFID Ghana has provided support to cocoa farmers’ associations to develop fairtrade chocolate under the ‘Divine’ brand. The conditions of fairtrade certification require good working conditions in the farming communities which would include the elimination of trafficked or harmful child labour.
Individual companies in the cocoa industry can apply for funding under schemes such as the new Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. But successful applicants have to demonstrate that the project offers new and innovative ideas which will benefit poor rural communities. The social and economic impacts of projects will be monitored and assessed.
Congo: World Food Programme
John Battle:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the UK’s contribution
to the World Food Programme for programmes in (a) the Congo and (b) Mozambique is for 2008-09. [211182]
Gillian Merron: The information is as follows:
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
In the DRC, the Department for International Development (DFID) makes the bulk of its humanitarian contributions through the UN’s global Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), and through a national pooled fund. In 2008-09, DFID is the largest contributor to CERF, contributing £40 million (20 per cent. of the total), and expects to contribute £30 million to the pooled fund. For both funds, the decision as to how the money is spent is at the discretion of the UN. At this early stage in the year, it is therefore difficult to predict how much the World Food Programme (WFP) is likely to receive from these two sources. In 2007, the WFP received £7.25 million total from CERF and the pooled fund.
During 2008-09, the WFP is likely to benefit from allocations from the UN’s global CERF, to which DFID is the largest contributor. At this early stage in the year, it is difficult to predict how much WFP is likely to receive from this source. DFID currently does not have plans to contribute directly to the World Food Programme in Mozambique in 2008-09.
In 2007-08, DFID’s contribution to the WFP was £250,000. Through CERF, the WFP received £2 million.
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the 2008-09 financial year. [210989]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I will place a copy of my Department’s 2008-09 chart of accounts and resource accounts and usage descriptions in the Library.
The chart of accounts for 2008-09 reflects the Department’s structure for the year and will not necessarily reflect the 2007-08 structure, or that for future years. The codes used in the chart are also used for preparing resource accounts. Each code has a brief description that describes its use.
Developing Countries
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of performance against public service agreements for 2005 to 2008 in the 16 monitored countries. [211800]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Details on the Department for International Development’s (DFID) assessment of its performance against the Public Service Agreement for 2005 to 2008 in the 16 key African countries are available in Annex 4, page 261, of the 2008 DFID Annual Report ‘Development: Making it Happen’. This publication is available in the Library of the House and online at:
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources he has allocated to monitoring performance against the public service agreements for 2005 to 2008. [211801]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) public service agreement (PSA) for 2005-08 was at the core of the Department’s corporate performance framework. The 2005-08 PSA was monitored by a central team of professional statistical advisers in the finance and corporate performance division who compiled data on a quarterly basis from country offices and divisions. This was then provided to the management board in the quarterly management report, autumn performance report and annual report, all of which are available on the DFID website:
Developing Countries: Children
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on child protection systems in developing countries in each of the last five years. [211884]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development supports child protection systems in developing countries through UNICEF, OCHA and Save the Children.
Between 2004-05 and 2006-07, DFID provided £19 million in unearmarked core funding each year to UNICEF. In 2007-08 DFID provided £21 million in unearmarked core funding. This is used by UNICEF according to the priorities in their medium term strategic plan which includes the key area of child protection. UNICEF spend 10.5 per cent. of overall funding per year on child protection.
In addition to this DFID a major donor to the Protection Capacity programme (PROCAP), a UN project that aims to create a pool of highly qualified child protection officers, including to lead and coordinate humanitarian protection work in emergencies, including child protection activities. We have spent £1 million on this project since 2005, through the United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
DFID also agreed in 2006 to provide £1.3 million over five years to Save the Children UK to recruit and train 47 child protection specialists able to deploy to various emergencies. As a result of this project, over 360,000 vulnerable children will benefit, in addition to further multiplier effects as their experience impacts in the wider humanitarian system.
Developing Countries: HIV Infection
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what dates the cross-Whitehall working group on tackling AIDS in the developing world has met since 2005; what future meetings are planned; and what work the group is undertaking on the implementation of (a) the new AIDS Strategy and (b) the promise of Universal Access to health care; and if he will make a statement. [211072]
Gillian Merron: Since 2005, the cross-Whitehall Coherence Group on Tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world has met three times; in February and September 2006 and in February 2007. Since then several separate meetings, involving Department for International Development (DFID) officials and officials from individual Departments have been held. It is anticipated that the group will meet again before the summer recess to discuss plans for implementation and monitoring of “Achieving Universal Access”, the Government’s updated strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world, published in June 2008. A copy of the updated strategy and supporting evidence paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. These are also available on the Department for International Development (DFID) website at:
Developing Countries: Overseas Aid
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which 10 developing countries receive the most official development aid from international donors; and how much each country received from the UK in each of the last three years. [211710]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Details on the level of total net bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) over the last three years for which data is available to the top 10 recipients of ODA in 2006 are shown in the following table:
| Table 1: Total bilateral and UK bilateral ODA to the top 10 recipients of official development assistance in 2006, 2004-06 | ||||||
| £ million | ||||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | ||||
| Total net bilateral ODA | of which: UK | Total net bilateral ODA | of which: UK | Total net bilateral ODA | of which: UK | |
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid allocations he has made for 2008-09 according to the reporting conventions established by the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006. [211711]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Details on the Department for International Development's (DFID) aid allocations for 2008-09 are available in Annex 2, Table 4, page 245 of the 2008 annual report; “Development: Making it Happen”. This publication is available in the Library of the House and online at:
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