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6 Oct 2008 : Column 92W—continued
EU Law
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many officials in his Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or administration of EU legislation and consequent policies. [222276]
Mr. Watson: Staff in the European and Global Issues Secretariat work to co-ordinate the collective agreement of the Government's international economic and European policy. This includes negotiation, implementation and administration of EU legislation and consequent policies. At 31 March 2008 the Secretariat had 31 staff working in this context.
Local Government Finance
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne of 12 June 2008, Official Report, column 498W, on local government finance, what assumptions about (a) local authority housebuilding rates and (b) the rate of net migration have been made in individual local authority projections for (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. [222642]
Mr. Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 6 October 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question about what assumptions about (a) local authority house-building rates and (b) the rate of net migration have been made
in individual local authority projections for (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne of 12 June 2008, Official Report, column 498W, on local government finance. [222642]
The subnational population projections are based on observed demographic trends. They provide the population levels and structure that would result if the recent trends in fertility, mortality and migration levels continue. No specific account is taken of house-building except as it may have already contributed to past population growth which feeds into the population projections.
The projections used in current local government finance settlements are the 2004-based revised sub-national population projections. On this basis, the net-migration estimates for 2008 and 2009 (but not 2010) are available on the ONS website:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/2004_BasedProj_Revised/18_Migration summaries_LAs.xls.
In June this year ONS published 2006-based projections, and the net-migration estimates for 2010 are available from this set of projections. However, these estimates were not available at the time of the local government finance settlements.
Ministerial Policy Advisers: By-elections
Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what circumstances (a) special advisers and (b) civil servants may be seconded to work on by-election campaigns for a political party; and if he will make a statement. [220067]
Edward Miliband: The rules relating to the involvement of special advisers and other civil servants in political activities are set out in the Civil Service Management Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. The rules do not provide for special advisers or other civil servants to be seconded to a political party to work on a by-election campaign.
Prime Minister
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what expenditure is made from the public purse for work related to the Prime Minister's personal appearance. [222214]
Prime Minister: Pensions
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the pension arrangements in place for the Prime Minister's Chief of Strategy and Principal Adviser. [222599]
Mr. Watson: The pension arrangements for special advisers are set out in the ‘Model Contract for Special Advisers’.
International Development
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1165W, on Afghanistan: overseas aid, how much private sector investment he estimates will be committed to the Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility in the next 12 months. [223680]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: In the next 12 months the Department for International Development (DFID) expects private sector investors to commit approximately US $250,000 to the Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility for its first year of operation.
There are very few multinational companies operating in Afghanistan and the private sector remains small and underdeveloped. This investment will be a significant contribution in a challenging business environment where corporate social responsibility is an unfamiliar concept.
Africa: Education
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1184W, on UNICEF Go To School campaign, (1) what programmes his Department is funding to encourage increases in school attendances in African nations other than Sudan in 2008-09; [223682]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, columns 1167-8W, on Africa: females, what steps his Department is taking to support access to education of girls and women in Africa in 2008-09. [223685]
Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development's (DFID) work in the education sector in Africa is guided by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which call for the achievement of universal primary education and for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. We plan to spend some £214 million bilaterally on education in Africa this year (2008-09). In addition, DFID provides core funding to a range of multilateral organisations who work to develop education in Africa. A large proportion of our bilateral support is routed through national budgets, notably in Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya and Rwanda. This is in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness which calls for 50 per cent. of bilateral assistance to be channelled through country systems by means of long-term general budget or sector support. There is a particular emphasis throughout our education sector programmes on increasing school attendance, and a key part of this is getting more girls into school.
During the visit of President Sarkozy earlier this year, we agreed to work jointly with France to help get 16 million more children into school in Africa by 2010. We have also committed £150 million to the Education for All Fast Track Initiative for 2006-8 to help countries speed up the implementation of their education plans. The Fast Track Initiative is supporting education work in 18 Africa countries.
There is still a long way to go to achieve these MDGs in Africa, but there has been some worthwhile progress. Free primary education has brought millions of children into school: in Zambia and Tanzania, over 97 per cent. of children are now enrolled, with equal number of girls. In Lesotho, Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi gender parity rates have reached 98 per cent. or more. In Ethiopia, our support helped one million more children to enter school in 2006. In Malawi, providing better toilet facilities in schools and support to teenage mothers has improved school attendance by girls.
Our current work in the education sector across Africa is set out in the following table.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1184W, on UNICEF Go To School campaign, by how much school attendance in Southern Sudan has increased since the programme’s inception; and what the programme’s targets for further increases in school attendances in 2008-09 are. [223683]
Gillian Merron: By the end of 2007, the Government of South Sudan and UNICEF’s ‘Go To School’ campaign produced an increase in school enrolment to 1.3 million children up from 850,000 when the campaign began two and a half years ago. The Government of South Sudan and UNICEF aim to increase this figure to 1.6 million enrolled by the end of 2008, 1.9 million by the end of 2009, and 2.5 million by 2012.
In March 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) donated £1.2 million to purchase school materials in support of this important initiative.
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