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26 Feb 2009 : Column 1001W—continued
Africa: Agriculture
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has provided to Farm Inputs Promotions Africa in each year since 2000. [256847]
Mr. Michael Foster: Farm Input Promotions Africa (FIPS) was commissioned under the Department for International Development's (DFID) Crop Protection Programme between 2003-06 to lead a research project in collaboration with the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute. This project was extended to January 2006.
DFID has contributed a total of £298,000 to FIPS since 2000.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of funds for African smallholders. [259188]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to providing funds for African smallholders and does so in a number of different ways. These include contributions to programmes that improve food security. Examples include:
£133 million over four years (2005-09) to the Productive Safety Nets Programme that makes cash and food payments to seven million of Ethiopia’s poorest farmers during the hungry season.
£20 million for the Government of Malawi’s programme to increase maize production through seed and fertiliser subsidies for 1.5 million smallholders, which last year increased the harvest by over 800,000 tonnes.
DFID has also helped establish, and contributed £10 million, to the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) that approved its first projects in 2008. AECF was recommended by the Commission for Africa to encourage the private sector to improve provision of financial services to African farmers and rural communities. One example of a project that AECF has co-financed is a $1 million investment in cold storage for 1,400 smallholder poultry farmers in Kenya.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Elections
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what practical assistance his Department is providing to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to facilitate the holding of the local and provincial elections originally scheduled for 2006. [258848]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK Government remain committed to helping the DRC Government to hold local elections as soon as feasible and preferably in advance of the national elections in 2011. As the largest bilateral donor supporting the election processes, we are now working to ensure effective future elections by strengthening the Independent Elections Commission, through a grant of £14.5 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This will help fund administrative structures; including the establishment of local liaison offices throughout the country and revision of the electoral roll—developing it in a way that can be regularly updated for any future elections.
The local elections have been delayed due to lack of funding from the DRC Government. The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently working with other donors to ensure the shortfall is met partly by the international community without taking ownership away from the DRC Government.
Departmental Buildings
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) display energy certificates and (b) advisory reports for public buildings issued in respect of each property occupied by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. [256051]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has only one property in England and Wales. A copy of the display energy certificate and the associated advisory report in respect of this property will be placed in the Library. There are no agencies for which we are responsible.
Departmental Databases
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [256139]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) owns and manages a number of internal databases that support financial, human resources, document management and other information systems.
System controls, validations and administration processes ensure that the data is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. These activities are considered part of the normal system running and are not separately logged or costed.
DFID also owns the following websites that are operated by external organisations on behalf of DFID.
1. The Research 4 Development (R4D) portal.
2. The NARSIS website of DFID-funded projects with natural resources components.
3. The Infrastructure Connect website of DFID-funded research engineering and infrastructure projects.
We are unable to separate data maintenance costs for these systems without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental ICT
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which ICT projects initiated by his Department were abandoned before completion in each year since 1997; what costs were incurred on each project; who the contractors were; what the date of (a) commencement and (b) abandonment was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [256656]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development cancelled an internal information technology project run by our Pakistan office. The project had spent £7,000 at the point of cancellation; the contractor was Elixir; the project commenced in November 2007 and was cancelled in September 2008.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent staff, including staff appointed in country, have been employed by his Department in Uganda in each financial year since 1997-98. [256777]
Mr. Michael Foster: Following the National Audit Office's October 2008 report on the Department for International Development's (DFID) work in insecure environments and improvements to the way DFID ensures the safety and security of its staff, the Department does not publicise staff numbers, or changes in staff numbers, for each country office.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expert advisers have been commissioned by his Department since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the adviser so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case. [246959]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold a central list of all expert advisory appointments made since 1997. The Department makes a number of appointments and compiling such a list would incur disproportionate cost.
Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what publications his Department has produced for hon. Members to send to their constituents in the last two years; at what cost; and for what purpose. [256551]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) publications are aimed at a very wide audience, and not specifically at hon. Members. In the last two years we have published two leaflets expressly for use by hon. Members to send to their constituents, however, there are plans to use these publications to communicate DFID’s work to other audiences.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent in producing its developments magazine in the last 12 months. [256597]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has spent £210,547.20 (including VAT) in the last 12 months producing developments magazine.
Departmental Sick Leave
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department or its predecessors were on sick leave for (a) over 30 days, (b) over 50 days and (c) over 100 days in each of the last five years. [256329]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees. Over the past few years, we have continued to tackle absence due to sickness through improved monitoring and support to managers and staff. This includes:
a newly introduced case management team (April 2008) providing support and advice to managers to help them to tackle absence issues earlier;
an employee health and well-being team providing a confidential and independent support and advisory service; and
an occupational health service providing support to facilitate an early return to work for staff on longer term sick leave.
The number of staff who were on sick leave for over (a) over 30 days, (b) over 50 days and (c) over 100 days in each of the last five years, is shown in the following table.
| Number | |||
| Staff with over 30 days sick leave | Staff with over 50 days sick leave | Staff with over 100 days sick leave | |
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the average number of days sick leave per staff member in his Department was in each of the last five years. [256385]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees. Over the past few years, we have continued to tackle absence due to sickness through improved monitoring and support to managers and staff. This includes:
a newly introduced case management team (April 2008) providing support and advice to managers to help them to tackle absence issues earlier;
an employee health and well-being team providing a confidential and independent support and advisory service; and
an occupational health service providing support to facilitate an early return to work for staff on longer term sick leave.
For the years 2004 to 2008 the average working days per employee lost to sick leave for DFID are as follows:
| Average working days per employee lost to sick leave | |
Please note that the 2008 average is taken from our most recent sick absence report to Cabinet Office, covering the 12-month period 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008. In line with other Government Departments, our sick absence return for the full 2008 calendar year is not due until mid-March 2009.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department were recorded as having been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December in each of the last five years. [256627]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees. Over the past few years, we have continued to tackle absence due to sickness through improved monitoring and support to managers and staff. This includes:
a newly introduced case management team (April 2008) providing support and advice to managers to help them to tackle absence issues earlier;
an employee health and well-being team providing a confidential and independent support and advisory service; and
an occupational health service providing support to facilitate an early return to work for staff on longer term sick leave.
The number of staff recorded with sick absence of over 12 months on 31 December in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
| Number of staff with recorded sick absence of over 12 months | |
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