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15 Sep 2008 : Column 2160W—continued
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217871]
Mr. Malik: Detailed records of PCs, screens, printers, copiers, etc., left on when not in use are not kept. However awareness-raising switch-off campaigns around the office have been carried out including using posters provided by the Carbon Trust, to reduce the proportion of equipment left on overnight, and security staff now regularly monitor and switch off unnecessary items. Exercises to reduce the overall number of devices such as printers used in the office have also been carried out.
It is estimated that the awareness campaigns and reduction in numbers of items have reduced the overall number of devices left on unnecessarily over the last five years from around 800 (20 per cent. of the total) to less than 200 (under 5 per cent. of the total). The approximate additional cost in terms of electricity would have been between £8,000 five years ago, to £2,000-3,000 last year.
Departmental Home Working
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department are authorised to work from home. [212521]
Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 July 2008, Official Report, column 990W.
Departmental Marketing
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of (a) internet and website design and hosting, (b) print media design and (c) broadcast media for each of his Department’s public information campaigns since 1997. [214695]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since 1997, the total expenditure by the Department for International Development (DFID) on the following has been:
| (a) Internet hosting | |
| £ | |
Web hosting figures are unavailable prior to 2004.
The Department’s website design is managed by internal DFID staff.
(b) The “Aid works” campaign is the only public information campaign since 1997 that has involved print media. The cost of printed inserts was £6,122.
(c) The Department did not undertake paid-for broadcast media activity as part of any public information campaigns between 1997 and 2006.
In December 2007, broadcast (radio) media activity supporting a “caring consumer” message to UK public cost £2,500.
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by (a) permanent and (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band. [212501]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Home Civil Servant staff at the Department for International Development (DFID) receive payment on either an annual salary or an hourly rate basis, depending on the terms of their contract.
Details of the average pay per hour worked by all staff on Home Civil Service pensionable terms (including fixed term contract staff) for June 2008, broken down by pay band, are provided in the following table:
| Grade | Average hourly rate (£) |
| Note: The above data represents basic salary rates and does not include overtime payments or other allowances. | |
DFID also appoints temporary staff through recruitment agencies to undertake both administrative and specialist roles, including IT and communications specialists. Administrative appointments are managed centrally, but individual departments within DFID have delegated authority to engage specialist staff. Records are not held centrally for this group and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Under the terms of the contract with the agency suppliers, DFID is unable to make public information that may be of value to a competitor. This specifically precludes us releasing details of the hourly rates paid for each grade of staff.
Developing Countries: Health
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what methods his Department uses to fund disease prevention in developing countries besides the use of health budget support. [215634]
Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses a range of aid instruments to fund disease prevention in developing countries. Through our bilateral programme we use programme and project instruments (as well as budget support)—for example to provide bednets to afford greater protection from malaria and condoms to help prevent HIV. DFID also provide substantial sums for health through the multilateral system, including the United Nations, the international financial institutions, the European Commission, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and UNITAID.
The mix of instruments chosen is determined at the country level, according to the local context and includes health systems strengthening through the International Health Partnership (IHP) launched in September 2007. Further information is available on the DFID website:
DFID is a substantial donor in education, water and sanitation, nutrition and food security and social protection—which all impact on health outcomes.
Gaza: Food
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of rising food prices on the humanitarian situation in Gaza; and if he will make a statement. [204826]
Mr. Malik: At least 76 per cent. of the population of Gaza are now partly dependent upon food aid. The main issue affecting the supply of humanitarian aid, including food, is the partial closure of Gaza’s crossings. This has significantly increased the time and costs involved in importing humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Although food aid is getting into Gaza, the size and frequency of these deliveries are insufficient to meet the broader needs of the population, who are dependent on such food items as are commercially available to make up the shortfall.
Rising food prices have exacerbated an already difficult situation. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, food prices in Gaza increased by 24 per cent. from March 2007 to March 2008 (compared to a general inflation level of 17 per cent. in the same period).
The World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have recently conducted a survey of food security in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and will release the results soon. The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made a separate assessment of the impact of rising food prices.
Governance and Transparency Fund
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which 10 countries have received the most funding from the Governance and Transparency Fund since its inception; and how much each received. [217226]
Mr. Thomas: A list of proposals offered support under our £130 million Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) was published on the Department for International Development (DFID) website on 6 May 2008 at:
The GTF Fund managers are still finalising project budgets with the 38 successful applicants. It is therefore not yet possible to provide information on GTF funding by country. Information on allocations will be published on the DFID website once all budgets have been agreed.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes have been run through the Governance and Transparency Fund; how much money has been spent on each programme (a) in total and (b) on administrative costs; and which countries each programme relates to. [220451]
Gillian Merron: In April 2008, 38 proposals to the Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) were provisionally offered support by the United Kingdom Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). Details of these can be found on the DFID website at:
These proposals are currently being checked and finalised. No money has yet been spent through these projects.
India: Floods
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with (a) the government of India and (b) non-governmental organisations on (i) improving sanitation in relief camps and (ii) provision of emergency supplies in the Sepaul, Madhepura, Saharsa and Araria districts of India affected by flooding. [223482]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) office in India is holding regular discussions with the Government of India, the State Government of Bihar and international agencies involved in the relief effort.
Sanitation in the relief camps is a priority issue. UNICEF is implementing a $2.6 million humanitarian programme to address immediate needs with a special focus on the worst affected areas, including Sepaul, Madhepura, Saharsa and Araria districts. DFID has pledged £1.15 million to this programme which will provide nutrition, water and sanitation for 125,000 displaced people.
The Government of India recently announced that they were providing £125 million and 125,000 tonnes of food for those affected in Bihar, and food distribution is now under way. The Government of Bihar, international NGOs, and charitable giving in India are providing additional support. DFID will soon participate in a multi-donor assessment of recovery needs for the medium term. We are closely monitoring the level of immediate need.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department has made to humanitarian relief following the recent flooding in Bihar state, India; and if he will make a statement. [223579]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has contributed £1.15 million to UNICEF to assist those affected by the Kosi river floods in India. These funds will be used to meet immediate relief needs in health, water and sanitation, nutrition and child protection.
DFID is in close contact with the relevant departments of the Government of India, the State Government of Bihar, UN agencies, other donors and the non-governmental organisation (NGO) community in order to monitor the situation as it evolves. We stand ready to respond further as necessary.
International Health Partnership
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what programmes his Department is working in partnership with the International Health Partnership. [215415]
Gillian Merron:
The International Health Partnership (IHP) was launched a year ago, on 5 September 2007, to accelerate progress towards the health Millennium Development Goals. It is not a new institution, a new
Secretariat or a new fund. It is about donors working together to support developing country Governments as they try to improve the health of their people.
The IHP currently operates in a small set of countries—Burundi; Cambodia; Ethiopia; Kenya; Madagascar; Mali; Mozambique; Nepal; Nigeria; and Zambia—to build stronger and lasting health systems and to strengthen coordination of aid. At a global level, the Department for International Development (DFID) supports the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank in taking forward the IHP. At a country level, where DFID has a programme, we are working with partners to implement the IHP.
Iraq: Reconstruction
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has allocated to Sadr City, Baghdad to improve (a) electricity, (b) sanitation and (c) medical facilities; what types of aid have been provided in each case; and if he will make a statement. [213365]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing support to the people of Sadr City through contributions to UNICEF and to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
UNICEF has provided medical supplies both to the Directorate of Health and to medical facilities in Sadr City. They have provided safe water, hygiene materials and emergency health supplies to over 12,000 families and 3,000 individuals in Sadr City. Water tankering operations serve these families daily, as well as the three major hospitals and other health facilities in the city. UNICEF has also pre-positioned various supplies in medical facilities in the city—including basic health kits for up to 100,000 people—and distributed water purification tablets door-to-door.
In Sadr City, ICRC provides food parcels, rice, and hygiene kits to vulnerable families and medical supplies to the Imam Ali general hospital. ICRC transport nearly 10,000 litres of drinking water to the city every day, and in Sadr City have repaired the Urfali water treatment plant—which provides clean water for 10,000 people—and the Al-Rashad psychiatric hospital, the largest health centre in Iraq.
ICRC's humanitarian assistance to Sadr City is funded from their core Iraq budget, to which DFID has provided £7 million in 2008. Similarly, UNICEF's work in Sadr City is funded from the UN Consolidated Appeal for Iraq, to which DFID has provided £5 million in 2008.
In a wider sense, DFID is encouraging the Government of Iraq to take a lead in providing for the welfare of their own people. In line with this, the Government of Iraq have established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the regeneration of Sadr City—with a budget of $100 million—which is responsible for both regeneration and delivery of essential services to Sadr City, including electricity.
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