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14 Oct 2008 : Column 1183W—continued
The introduction of ARIES (Activities Reporting Information E-System) has a major impact on DFID's financial accounting activities. ARIES will strengthen reporting controls to ensure that aid spend is properly monitored.
DFID's internal guidance for staff about the evidence required to ensure that funds have been used for the purposes agreed has been strengthened. Also, a new health check list is available for staff administering existing budget support programmes. This includes points to consider for demonstrating that funds have been spent as intended.
An updated review plan supported by regular audits by DFID's Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office, focussing on key areas of aid delivery, has been agreed.
Piracy: Gulf of Aden
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of piracy in the Gulf of Aden on the delivery of humanitarian aid in the region over the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [225601]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
2008 has witnessed an increase of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden with 44 incidents reported between January and July alone. Attacks are becoming more regular and pirates are venturing further off shore which is interfering with major shipping channels. Humanitarian aid to Somalia was directly affected earlier
this year as the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) were unable to find contractors willing to deliver humanitarian relief to Mogadishu. The International Community has since recognised the need to provide naval escorts for WFP ships and no WFP contracted ship has been targeted. Since 18 August, Canadian Navy escorts have assisted in the delivery of 36,360 metric tons of food aid to Mogadishu.
Sudan: Elections
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government plan to provide to voter education in preparation for the elections and referendum in Sudan. [225883]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Voter education will be critical to the success of elections in Sudan. Over £11 million has been put aside to support the elections and referendum, and we expect a significant portion of this to support voter education.
As the National Elections Commission that will oversee voter education in Sudan is yet to be established, the bulk of proposed UK Government support have not yet been programmed. However, since December 2007, the UK Government have supported an initial programme of broad civic education through the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation with extensive networks of local partners. We will also provide funding to the UN to launch a programme of preparatory support to the elections process. The UK Government intend to contribute an initial £1.5 million to this programme, which will fund a range of activities related to voter education: supporting information campaigns, training of key actors such as civil society organisations and electoral assistance staff, development of materials and the provision of small grants for local initiatives.
Sudan: Security
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of the security situation in north Darfur on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to refugees in the region. [225874]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: North Darfur has experienced an upturn in violence between Government and rebel forces since September which has hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UN World Food Programme report that 134,000 people throughout Darfur did not receive food aid in August due to insecurity. When data becomes available, this number is expected to rise to 450,000 for September, partly as a result of two NGOs temporarily suspending operations in rural areas of North Darfur. Tens of thousands of people are reported to have been displaced by recent military campaigns. Although the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has assessed some new displacements, access is still restricted.
The UN humanitarian co-ordinator, Ameerah Haq, urged both parties to cease hostilities immediately and requested humanitarian access to the affected areas in North Darfur.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many British humanitarian workers in Darfur have been subject to attacks in the last 12 months; and what proposals are under consideration to improve security for humanitarian workers in the region. [226073]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that during 2008, 17 humanitarian workers have been threatened, 24 injured, 14 physically or sexually assaulted, 170 abducted and 11 killed. OCHA does not disaggregate these incidents according to nationality.
Several actions are under way to improve the security of humanitarian workers. In response to the deteriorating security and as a precautionary measure before the announcement of the International Criminal Court’s indictment of President Bashir, the UN increased its security posture to phase IV in July. This triggered tighter security procedures and restricts activities to essential humanitarian work. Linked to this, an evacuation plan has been drawn up for all relocatable humanitarian workers in Darfur. The World Food Programme has also negotiated a commitment from the Government for military escorts every 48 hours on major supply routes into Darfur, and we are pressing the Government to honour this.
Tanzania: Water Supply
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which consultants were involved in the Biwater project to take water services in Tanzania into private ownership; how many of them have received (a) funding and (b) contracts from his Department; and what the value of the funding or contracts was in each case. [224813]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The privatisation of water services for the city of Dar es Salaam was undertaken by the Government of Tanzania with support from the World Bank and was not therefore directly supported or funded by DFID.
DFID supported the Government of Tanzania's Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) in the divestiture of publicly-owned companies in Tanzania. As part of this support, DFID awarded contracts on behalf of PSRC to the following companies to undertake various pieces of work in the area of water and sanitations:
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid from the public purse in respect of the Biwater project to take Tanzanian water services into private ownership. [224814]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The privatisation of water services for the city of Dar es Salaam was undertaken by the Government of Tanzania with support from the World Bank. The World Bank (along with the European Investment Bank and African Development Bank) provided $160 million for the project. The Department for International Development (DFID) provided £252,000 in technical assistance to the water and sanitation sector as part of an overall programme of support for the divestiture of publicly owned companies in Tanzania. DFID did not fund the transfer of water services into the private sector.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the outcome against objectives of the Biwater project to take water services in Tanzania into private ownership. [224816]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government of Tanzania terminated Biwater's contract for failure to deliver. It is clear from this that private sector organisations selected to provide water and sanitation services must have the capacity and skills to deliver these services in a way that meets the expectations of governments and more importantly the people who receive or would like to receive the service. This stresses the need for rigorous assessment by partner governments and donors of potential private sector organisations bidding to deliver water and sanitation services. The Department for International Development (DFID) has ensured that these lessons are taken on and applied by those working on these issues.
Culture, Media and Sport
Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to review provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 relating to temporary event notices; and if he will make a statement. [225729]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We currently have no plans to review the temporary event notice (TEN) regime. Over 100,000 TENs were given in 2006-s07 and we are not aware of any evidence to suggest widespread problems or issues that cannot be dealt with through the restrictions in the regime or other legislation relating to issues such as crime and noise nuisance. We are, however, looking at how we can improve application processes, including those relating to TENs—for example, by allowing licensing authorities to exercise flexibility over the ten day notice period and ensuring that the notice period for the police occurs on working days.
Architecture: Education
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the Engaging Places online resource to be operational. [225468]
Barbara Follett: I expect the Engaging Places online resource:
to be operational in January 2009.
Art Works: Exports
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2008, Official Report, columns 21-23W, on art works: exports, what the estimated value of each object referred to in the answer was prior to its sale. [226312]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 13 October 2008]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the published annual reports of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, copies of which are available in the House Library. The case histories for each item considered by the Reviewing Committee detail the fair matching price as agreed by the Committee at each respective hearing.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2008, Official Report, columns 21-23W, on art works: exports, how much each of the objects referred to in the answer was sold for. [226313]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 13 October 2008]: It is not possible to supply the requested information. It is not the role of DCMS or the Reviewing Committee to attempt to monitor sales of cultural objects throughout the world. Nor is it necessarily the case that export abroad of a cultural object always involves a sale.
Buildings At Risk Register
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many buildings were (a) added to and (b) removed from the Buildings At Risk Register in each year since 2000. [224962]
Andy Burnham: The information requested, as provided by English Heritage, is set out in the table.
| Number of buildings removed from Buildings at Risk Register | Number of buildings added to Buildings at Risk Register | |
Cultural Heritage
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate (a) his Department and (b) English Heritage has made of the cost to heritage attractions of new (i) regulations and (ii) legislation in each of the last three years. [225159]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 8 October 2008]: New Government regulation and legislation usually goes through the impact assessment process. Impact assessments are listed in command papers regularly published by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) each year, which are available in the House Library or from BERR's website:
Impact assessments consider the costs and benefits of proposed new regulation especially for those directly affected. It is usual that key stakeholders across the relevant sectors, which include non-departmental public bodies, are consulted on the identified costs and expected impact in advance of the regulation or legislation being made.
Cultural Heritage: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when he expects his Department to complete the evidence base for its sectors in relation to the objective of increasing private giving to cultural and sporting organisations as set out in the Department’s Corporate Plan; [224774]
(2) when he expects his Department to complete the evidence base for its sectors in relation to the objective of increasing private giving to cultural and sporting organisations as set out in his Department’s Corporate Plan. [225696]
Andy Burnham: Our preliminary assessment of the evidence base in relation to philanthropy was completed in July. It is clear that there are gaps in the data and evidence that we will seek to fill as we continue to develop our policy and promote higher levels of private giving across our sectors.
Cultural Relations
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many enlarged partial agreements his Department made in the financial year 2007-08; and what the (a) subject and (b) cost to his Department of each such agreement was. [224838]
Andy Burnham: The Department represents UK interests in two enlarged partial agreements of the Council of Europe. These are:
The European Audiovisual Observatory. Our contribution for financial year 2007-08 was £146,721.20.
The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS). Our contribution for financial year 2007-08 was £55,533 .
Both figures include the costs of currency conversion into Euros.
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