| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 Jan 2009 : Column 1099W—continued
No allocations have yet been set for 2011-12 onwards, as this falls into the next comprehensive spending review period. Our assistance to Zimbabwe in future years may be significantly revised in the event of positive political developments there.
In September 2002, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Declaration on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), welcoming NEPAD as an African Union led, owned and managed initiative. It recognised that primary responsibility for implementation rested with the African Governments and peoples and affirmed that international support for implementation was essential.
The UK Government are playing their part in providing international support to NEPAD programmes. We have committed funds to support the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which aims to improve food security, nutrition and incomes.
We support the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). This support, along with funds from other donor countries, is managed by the UN Development Programme and used to support the APRM Secretariat. We also provide support to NEPAD's Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility, which helps African countries, Regional Economic Communities and related institutions mobilise resources for the preparation of regional infrastructure projects and programmes.
In July 2003, the Africa Union (AU) adopted a declaration by which NEPAD was to be fully integrated into the structures and processes of the AU. This should help to streamline the African regional institutional architecture. The UK Government are working with others to assist the AU, including through funding a programme to improve systems and communications at the AU Commission. A stronger AU could play a major role in delivering the African led development envisaged by NEPAD.
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission: Equality
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people of each (a) sex and (b) ethnicity were appointed to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the last five years. [246914]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: A gender breakdown of appointments to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission over the last five years is given as follows:
| Male appointees | Female appointees | Total ethnic minority appointees | Total appointees | |
| (1 )None. | ||||
Departmental Buildings
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recommendations have been made by the Carbon Trust to his Department following energy audits conducted on its buildings; and what progress has been made on implementing these recommendations. [246916]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Reports were commissioned via the Carbon Trust on our two UK offices. The main recommendations made, and the actions taken, are as follows:
Improved control over our Building Management Systems—this has been achieved in both offices by upgrading the software on the computer systems which operate the plant, and which in turn allow us to monitor and adjust more effectively the performance of heating and cooling equipment.
Reduce incoming voltage—this has been achieved in our London office through investment in dedicated equipment in February 2008 which has reduced our electricity consumption in the building by 15 per cent.. Similar equipment is due to be installed in our East Kilbride office in February 2009.
Improved control over lighting—all lighting in both offices is now of modern energy efficient design, and we have improved the control over movement sensors and lighting controls to eliminate
unnecessary usage. We have upgraded the lighting in the plant level of our London Headquarters which in itself is now saving approximately 1 per cent. of the electricity use in the building.
Turning off electrical appliances when not in use—we carry out awareness campaigns among staff, and unused PCs are turned off at weekends by security staff.
Improved space utilisation—we have reduced the amount of space occupied by staff since the reports were produced, and are currently planning for a further reduction.
As a result of these and other changes made, our energy consumption decreased by 5 per cent. in 2007-08 over the previous year, and we are currently on track to achieve a larger reduction this financial year. We are also continuing to work with Carbon Trust to assess the feasibility of other specific energy efficiency measures including a wind turbine, biomass boiler and microgeneration.
Departmental Committees
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's Annual Report 2008, chapter 10, point 10.4, how many times each committee met during 2006-07; and what expenses were incurred in holding those meetings. [246920]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Four of the five sub-committees outlined in the 2008 Departmental annual report were active during the period 2006-07. The Investment Committee was under development in late 2007 and had its inaugural meeting on 29 February 2008. Details of the number of meetings held and the expenses incurred are outlined in the following table:
| Committee | Number of meetings in 2006-07 | Expenses incurred (£) |
The higher level of expense incurred by the Audit Committee is due to work undertaken by the non-executive directors above and beyond their pro bono contributions.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times the departmental-wide working group established to provide comments and contribute to organisational directions for the Corporate Plan has met; who chairs the group; and what the names and positions are of each member of the group. [246923]
Mr. Michael Foster:
Instead of a corporate plan, the Department for International Development (DFID) launched a change programme ‘Making it Happen’ in April 2008. The programme was shaped by meetings of DFID's Leadership Group, including the directors responsible for DFID's 13 divisions. There are board level champions or director-level Senior Responsible Offices for each element of ‘Making it Happen’. Progress is discussed on a monthly basis by DFID's Management
Board, and by the Leadership Group, both chaired by the Permanent Secretary. All members of the senior civil service whether based in the UK or overseas have been encouraged to discuss various Making it Happen themes with their staff making clear what this means for them in practice and providing feedback to the central Change Unit.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of contractors and suppliers to his Department have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008. [245308]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: To ensure compliance with the new data handling procedures in Government, the Department for International Development has introduced the mandatory data handling clauses into all relevant contracts issued from the 1 July 2008. An exercise to review existing contracts is also underway.
Departmental Disabled Staff
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has made workplace adjustments to accommodate employees with a disability. [246912]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) has looked at the needs of persons with a range of disabilities—e.g. mobility problems, impaired hearing, hidden disabilities, etc. and has made a number of workplace adjustments across the Department to accommodate staff with a disability and comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.
Departmental ICT
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provision has been made to train his Department's staff on the implementation and use of the new Quest system; and what the cost of such training per staff member will be. [246884]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Quest Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) System project was completed in 2007. All staff were provided with a minimum of one and a half days of training, and more specialist training was provided as needed.
The cost per staff member cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Official Cars
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies his Department has to monitor his staff's vehicle usage. [246870]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department For International Development (DFID) has a travel policy which discourages the use of private motor vehicles for official travel where public transport is available.
Employees who travel by private vehicle for official travel must ensure that their car insurance provides cover for business travel and they have approval to use the vehicle for official trips.
DFID also actively encourages car sharing for employees commuting as part of our environmental initiatives.
Any vehicle mileage claims are checked in line with standard Government accounting procedures.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on agency temporary staffing for its UK offices in the last three years. [246915]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 28 October 2008, Official Report, column 935W.
Guatemala: Women
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department is providing in 2008-09 for organisations in Guatemala that seek to increase the number of investigations and prosecutions of violent offences against women in that country. [246415]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In 2008-09, DFID is putting £60,000 into the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The CICIG aims to increase the number of investigations and prosecutions of violent offences, including those against women. The objectives of the project are to support, strengthen and assist state institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes, and to contribute to the dismantling of illegal security forces and clandestine security organisations and the criminal prosecution of individuals involved in their activities.
In addition, the British embassy in Guatemala City is providing Oxfam GB with £10,000 this financial year for two projects which aim to educate women (mainly indigenous women) on their human rights and specifically on their rights of access to justice within the Guatemalan legal system. The embassy is also funding a project with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). While this is not specifically targeting women, it does aim to strengthen the administration of justice and the rule of law. It involves training for judges, lawyers and prosecutors on international human rights law with the objectives of increasing judicial independence, decreasing impunity and abolishing the death penalty. The embassy is providing the ICJ with £10,000 in 2008-09.
Offenders
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many former prisoners are employed by his Department; and what his Department's policy is on employing former prisoners. [246342]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development is unable to confirm if any employees are former prisoners. All new recruits are required to declare unspent criminal convictions which are checked as part of the Cabinet Office mandated Baseline Personnel Security Standard process, before they are offered a contract of employment. Where appropriate national security vetting checks are also undertaken and these include a review of spent convictions. Declarations of criminal convictions, which may or may not involve prison sentences, are not collated centrally but retained on classified individual personnel security files.
The Department does not discriminate against former prisoners. Appointments are made on merit and on the basis of fair and open competition, in accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code, equal opportunities legislation, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and an assessment in the round of any security factors presented.
Poverty
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what major measurable indicators his Department is contributing to addressing international poverty, as referred to in the Public Service Agreement. [246887]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: A summary of performance against the agreed indicators for the 2008-11 Public Service Agreement 29 on international poverty reduction was published in DFID's Autumn Performance Report in December. The report is available in the Library and on the DFID website:
Public Service Agreements
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department will have met all of its Public Service Agreement targets by the end of the 2005 to 2008 plan. [246886]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID) progress on its public service agreements are available in the Autumn Performance Report published in December 2008. The report is available in the Library and on the DFID website:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |