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30 Jun 2008 : Column 598W—continued
International Development
Afghanistan: Asylum
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the access of humanitarian agencies to refugees of the security situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [213380]
Mr. Malik: Security in most provinces across Afghanistan is broadly stable and allows the Government, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, the United Nations, donors, and Non-Governmental Organisations to continue their work. In the South and South-East the security situation presents some difficulties for humanitarian agencies to operate.
Presently humanitarian agencies have limited access to insecure areas in the South and South East of Afghanistan. As a consequence, the capacity to conduct needs assessments, deliver assistance and monitor implementation is reduced. In situations where programme monitoring is required or there is an identified humanitarian
need but the UN does not have access, UNHCR and other agencies work closely with other humanitarian actors (such as NGOs) and the Government of Afghanistan, who have more access. In dire emergencies where NGOs or GoA cannot assist due to high levels of insecurity—the UN will engage military actors such as ISAF.
Afghanistan: Schools
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for which (a) provinces and (b) districts of Afghanistan his Department does not have information on the number of schools. [214940]
Mr. Malik: According to data obtained from the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, there are schools located in every province of Afghanistan but a breakdown of exact figures for the number of schools in every district is not available. Although data collection is still poor, the Ministry of Education estimates that there are currently 9,500 schools located across all districts in Afghanistan.
For more information, please see the Ministry of Education website at:
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2008, Official Report, column 290W, on Afghanistan: schools, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools there were in each previous year for which records are held. [215032]
Mr. Malik: According to the Ministry of Education’s most recent School Survey Programme Report, there were: 5,024 primary schools (1,817 male, 728 female and 2,479 mixed); 2,506 lower secondary (840 male, 374 female and 1,302 mixed); and 1,532 higher secondary (753 male, 235 female and 544 mixed) in August 2007.
The following information is from the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan, responsible for recording data on education. Data collection is still poor in Afghanistan and as a result, the following table shows numbers inclusive of both primary and secondary schools.
| Educational statistics from 2001 to 2006 on school numbers | |||
| Male | Female | Total | |
For more information, please see the Ministry of Education website at:
Central Asia: HIV Infection
Lady Hermon:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the incidence of HIV/AIDS amongst children in the
former Soviet republics of Central Asia; and what assistance has been provided by his Department to tackle the problem. [213474]
Mr. Malik: According to national data and UNAIDS estimates, HIV and AIDS incidence and prevalence in Central Asia is low, with less than 0.1 per cent. of the general population infected. Currently, UNAIDS does not produce data on how many children in Central Asia are infected.
There have been localised outbreaks of HIV infection in children in the Kyrgyz Republic and in Kazakhstan caused by unsafe practices in hospitals such as re-using needles and catheters. These outbreaks expose weaknesses in health service delivery.
Following the most recent outbreak of HIV in children in the Kyrgyz Republic (72 children infected), the Department for International Development (DFID) and other donors worked closely with the Ministry of Health to implement an action plan. This included treatment and care for infected children, anti-retroviral therapy, counselling for relatives, and raising awareness among wider communities.
This plan was partly funded from a £7 million DFID grant to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health which, together with support from other donors, aims to increase the quality of health care services throughout the country.
Children: Mining
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of children working in mining in (a) Africa, (b) Asia and (c) South America. [213597]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not make its own estimates of the number of children working in the mining industry. For this we rely on the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which estimates the number of children working in the mining sector to be over 1 million worldwide. DFID supports the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to help countries implement core labour standards that include the elimination of child labour. We are also working with the ILO and civil society organisations to promote efforts to remove children from all hazardous labour. DFID has a £20 million partnership framework for three years (2006-09) with the ILO.
DFID supports and currently chairs the Communities and Small scale Mining (CASM) initiative. This is a network that includes mining communities as well as international experts. It is based in the World Bank HQ in Washington DC and is active in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South and Central America. As one of the four central themes of its work, Communities and Small-scale Mining (CASM) includes a focus on children working in dangerous and hazardous conditions in small-scale mining. CASM fully recognizes the extent and nature of child labour and is committed to its elimination from the mining industry.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) new builds and (b) major refurbishments were completed
by his Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement. [213700]
Mr. Malik: DFID only has two buildings in the UK, and not carried out any new builds or major refurbishment of these in the last three years. We have therefore not conducted any BREEAM assessments.
Overseas, we completed the following works:
| New b uilds completed over the last three financial years | |
| Financial year | New build completed |
|
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Islamabad, Pakistan Kabul, Afghanistan | |
| Refurbishments completed over the last three financial years | |
| Financial year | Refurbishments completed |
We have applied the BRE methodology to previous refurbishment projects in the UK, and are currently considering how it might be applied to building projects in the developing countries in which we operate.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) new builds and (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of £0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08. [213745]
Mr. Malik: The information requested is as follows.
| New builds completed over the last three financial years | |
| Financial year | New build completed |
|
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Islamabad, Pakistan Kabul, Afghanistan | |
| Refurbishments completed over the last three financial years | |
| Financial year | Refurbishments completed |
Departmental Public Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on (a) new furnishings, (b) art and (c) new vehicles by his Department in each of the last three years. [213530]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold a central record of expenditure on new furnishings, art or new vehicles. Compiling this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Developing Countries: Economic Growth
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what arrangements his Department has put in place to involve the private sector in supporting economic growth in developing countries. [213207]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) promotes policies and programmes which enable the private sector to support economic growth in developing countries. DFID’s approach is to help make markets work better in a way that facilitates the private sector as the engine of growth. The private sector supports growth by making productive investments, creating jobs and generating profits on which tax is levied to finance essential public services.
DFID works with governments, the private sector and other stakeholders to develop conducive investment climates that facilitate private sector led market development; and supports various mechanisms that involve working with the private sector more directly.
For example, DFID led the development of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa and a variety of challenge funds which are being used to facilitate private sector engagement and innovation in economic reform in developing countries. DFID’s work in many partner countries also focuses on specific activities that support private sector development such as financial sector development, reform of business regulation, tax systems and addressing constraints to fair competition.
In response to the Call for Action on the MDGs launched by the Prime Minister with the UN Secretary-General last July, the Government are working with UNDP and the private sector to secure commitments by business to develop initiatives which will contribute to growth in developing countries and help meet the MDGs. The Government have also since 2002 launched Transparency initiatives in key sectors for growth such as extractives and construction to help minimise corruption in the sectors and maximise their contribution to growth.
Indonesia: Environment Protection
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide support to the Indonesian government to protect peatlands and rehabilitate degraded peatlands. [213796]
Mr. Malik: I visited Indonesia on the 23 and 24 June this year. Department for International Development (DFID) funding to the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance helped the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry gather information on Indonesia's peatlands and the importance of peatland rehabilitation in tackling greenhouse gas emissions.
DFID is in discussions with the Government of Indonesia on future support to improve land governance and spatial planning, as a precondition for tackling emissions from land-use change.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether, as part of his work on the environmental transformation fund, he has assessed the possible contribution of Indonesia's rainforests and peatlands in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. [213797]
Mr. Malik: I visited Indonesia from the 23 to 24 of June. Department for International Development (DFID) funding of £250,000 to the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance helped the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry assess the contribution of Indonesia's rainforests and peatlands to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
The Government of Indonesia is setting out a national investment framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The framework will allow the effective use of multilateral funds, such as the environmental transformation fund.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of his Department’s performance in meeting the pledges entered into by the UK at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005; and if he will make a statement. [213644]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) is maintaining its Gleneagles pledges. DFID is increasing aid in line with commitments, and we are on track to reach 0.7 per cent. by 2013. We have also written off billions in debt since 2005. The UK continues to exceed its commitment on debt relief, giving 100 per cent. debt cancellation on bilateral debts to the UK for heavily indebted poor countries. In addition, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative agreed at Gleneagles in 2005 has delivered an additional $42 billion of debt cancellation to 23 countries including 19 in Africa. We have pledged £8.5 billion for education over 10 years, and we have doubled our aid for water. At the G8 summit last year, there was a further commitment of US $60 billion for health in which we will play our part.
The UK has also led efforts to establish monitoring mechanisms since Gleneagles, and supports and participates in the G8’s annual Progress Report, the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) and the Africa Progress Panel (APP).
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