| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 July 2008 : Column 1129W—continued
Pakistan: Terrorism
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2008, Official Report, column 1006W, on Pakistan: terrorism, (1) what steps the Government took in the cases of the four British nationals who alleged mistreatment; and what the result of this action was in each of the four cases; [214990]
(2) how the Government learned of the detention in Pakistan of the four dual British/Pakistani nationals. [214991]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 30 June 2008]: In the cases of the four British nationals who alleged mistreatment while in Pakistani custody, only three have asked us to pursue these allegations. In all three cases, we have raised the allegations officially with the Pakistani authorities. We have yet to receive any official response from the Pakistani authorities.
We were informed of the detention of the four dual British/Pakistani nationals either by family members or by foreign officials. In all cases, we officially asked the Pakistani authorities for confirmation of their nationality
and of their detention. As Pakistani nationals detained in Pakistan, the authorities were under no obligation to inform us of their detention.
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the Albanian statement at the recent Islamic Conference in Kampala on bringing about a negotiated settlement in Darfur. [214465]
Meg Munn: The Kampala Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the 35th Session of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on 24 June called upon
“Member States to contribute to making the UN-African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur and other related initiatives more effective in the stabilisation efforts in Darfur, within the framework of an agreement between Sudan and the UN and the AU”.
The UK continues to support the UN/AU-led political process. A negotiated solution is the only way to achieve sustainable peace and security in Darfur. We talk regularly to international partners, including OIC countries, about how to move the political process forward.
International Development
Afghanistan: Asylum
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent estimate is of the number of Afghan refugees who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries; and what estimate he has made of the number who have sought refuge in each such country since 2001. [213378]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that there are currently 2,986,509 Afghan refugees worldwide, the majority of whom are based in Pakistan, Iran and India.
UNHRC has provided the following breakdown of figures for each country showing the refugee population at the end of 2006 to the end of March 2008.
| Country | 2006 | 2008 |
UNHCR is responsible for monitoring the number of Afghan refugees. For more information, please see www.unhcr.org
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment has been made of the humanitarian needs of refugees from Afghanistan along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; and what support his Department has provided to meet such needs since 2001. [213379]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The Department for International Development (DFID) liaises closely with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) and the Government of Afghanistan who continue to monitor the humanitarian needs of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The UNHCR does not currently have access to the Afghanistan Pakistan border due to insecurity; however we know that around 1.9 million refugees currently are registered in Pakistan and that the majority of refugees from Afghanistan are not based in the border area.
DFID continues to monitor UNHCR / Government of Afghanistan figures and the situation closely. DFID does not currently provide direct funding to support IDP and refugee issues, but programmes are currently well funded by other donors and agencies. DFID Afghanistan, with UNHCR and other donors, is planning to undertake an assessment of the overall humanitarian situation in the following months to inform future support programmes.
Afghanistan: Internally Displaced Persons
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent estimate of the number of internally displaced people in Afghanistan is; and if he will make a statement. [213375]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that there are currently 176,000 internally displaced people in Afghanistan. Of this number, approximately 31,500 are estimated to be displaced due to conflict. Other displacement has been caused by unresolved ethnic or tribal conflict, landlessness, property disputes, drought or loss of livestock.
Africa: Food
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his latest assessment is of the likely availability of basic food stuffs in (a) Ethiopia, (b) Eritrea and (c) Nigeria in the next three months; and if he will make a statement. [215399]
Gillian Merron: Recent Government figures in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Nigeria have indicated an increase in food production in these three countries, which should lead to greater availability of basic foodstuffs, in particular cereal based products.
Ethiopia has reported a 49 per cent. increase in food production over the last year. However, in spite of this apparently high domestic availability, prices have risen substantially and Government food stocks are reported to be low. In response, it has reduced taxes on food grains and flour, provided subsidised wheat and oil to poor urban dwellers, and stated its intention to import 150,000mt of wheat for use as subsidised food. The minor belg harvest (end of June), which accounts for 10 per cent. of the country's total harvest, has been reported to be very poor this year and there is evidence of increasing malnutrition in some areas of the country.
Both Eritrea and Nigeria have reported food production increases (22 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively), but food prices are expected to remain high, with market supplies limited. Conditions in Nigeria have slightly improved with the onset of the 2008 main rainy season increasing the likelihood of a good harvest starting in September.
No information is available on official steps being taken in Eritrea to address the food access problems. However, even with Eritrea's recorded increase in food production for 2007 taken into account, the country's food needs are approximately double the local production, making importation and consequent exposure to high international prices inevitable.
The next three months will remain critical for many areas across these countries and across Africa as a whole. The Department for International Development (DFID) will continue to monitor the situation closely and stands ready to respond where needs are evident.
Africa: Foreign Investment
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes his Department implements that encourage foreign direct investment companies in Africa to use the Global Compact or OECD Guidelines. [215631]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government are a strong supporter of responsible business behaviour and therefore promotes the adherence to the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the objectives of the UN Global Compact. The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) promote the OECD Guidelines to UK based companies. For example, DFID has supported the OECD web portal to promote the Risk Assessment Tool for Multinational Enterprises in Weak Governance Zones, and the 2008 Corporate Responsibility conference at Chatham House, where the OECD Guidelines were discussed.
CDC
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what means CDC disburses funds; and whether it invests in private companies. [215630]
Mr. Malik: CDC is a development finance institution, operating as a fund of funds investor in private sector businesses in the developing world where scarcity of long-term risk capital is a significant constraint on business and economic growth.
CDC does not invest directly in businesses, but works through fund managers. CDC commits capital to fund managers operating in developing countries who understand the local business environment. The fund managers then invest CDC’s (and others’) capital in private companies in developing countries. In committing capital to funds, CDC needs to be mindful of the requirement set by UK Government that all of the investments made with its money must be in businesses in developing countries, and 70 per cent. must be in businesses in the poorer developing countries (those with a per capita annual income of less than US $1,750).
China: Earthquakes
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has given to China for the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Guangdong province; and if he will make a statement. [215402]
Mr. Malik: The UK Government have not provided any assistance to Guangdong province. Guangdong is China's richest province and has not needed international assistance following the flooding that has occurred.
Departmental Manpower
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many jobs his Department expects to relocate under the policy of civil service job dispersal. [213403]
Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) has two sites making up its UK headquarters: one in London and the other in East Kilbride, near Glasgow.
Under the Lyons Review, DFID had a specific commitment to relocate 85 posts from London to East Kilbride from 2004 onwards. We achieved this target by March 2006, when a total of 88 posts had been relocated. The breakdown by financial year is as follows:
| Number of posts | |
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department in each of the last 10 years. [215236]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The total amounts claimed in expenses by special advisers in the Department for International Development (DFID) for financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are as follows:
| Financial year | Amount (£) |
Details of expenses claimed in previous years could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
DFID's procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the staff handbook and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The Code can be viewed at:
Developing Countries
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department takes to liaise with the International Monetary Fund on the formulation of policy on developing countries. [215632]
Mr. Thomas:
The Department for International Development (DFID) works closely with Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) to agree UK views on how the IMF can best assist poor countries. Currently, we are working to ensure the IMF provides appropriate assistance to help countries cope with the effects of recent food and
oil price increases, and to make its lending facilities more accessible and relevant to the needs of poor countries. DFID country teams also engage with IMF staff on the details of IMF programmes in their respective countries.
HMT publish an annual report on the UK's engagement with the IMF, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Developing Countries: HIV Infection
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what performance-based funding models are used by his Department to determine the pattern of distribution of its AIDS-related funding. [215416]
Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) own resources are allocated through an Economic Resource Allocation Model, which directs funds to the poorest countries and is based on need. DFID does not use performance-based funding models to determine the pattern of distribution of its AIDS funding. However, when DFID is designing a project or programme of support, an assessment is made of institutional and/or country performance and effectiveness as part of the design process. Specific recipients of UK support such as the Global Fund, have a strong performance-based funding approach in place.
DFID is currently developing performance-based funding proposals with UNAIDS, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) designed to drive and reward better performance and results. This will have a bearing on our future core funding levels to these agencies.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consideration of the greater involvement of people living with AIDS principle will be made in the implentation of the Government’s AIDS strategy. [215638]
Gillian Merron: The UK Government are committed to the principle of Greater Involvement of People Living With HIV and AIDS, and we will seek to put this principle into action and work with People Living With HIV in implementing actions in support of “Achieving Universal Access—the UK strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world”.
The Department for International Development (DFID) supports global and national networks of People Living With HIV and affected communities, such as the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living With HIV (ICW) and the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA). This has helped to strengthen their leadership and meaningful involvement in the AIDS response.
Developing Countries: Security
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps the Government have taken to improve the effectiveness of security institutions, including police, in poor countries. [216043]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |