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29 Apr 2009 : Column 1322W—continued
G20: Internet
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department provided to the G20 Voice programme; and for what purposes such funding was used. [269024]
Mr. Thomas: The total amount of funding provided by the Department for International Development for the G20 Voice programme was £49,700. This covered travel and subsistence costs for bloggers from the developing world; technical support and costs associated with the briefing day. Initial indications show that the programme reached a global audience of 14 million.
International Assistance
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department monitors the effects on (a) levels of employment, (b) life expectancy, (c) the incidence of human rights abuses and (d) quality of life of the steps it takes towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. [269988]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to evidence-based policy making. DFID considers all relevant factors, including those listed, in developing strategies to ensure achievement of the millennium development goals.
Globally, levels of employment, life expectancy, human rights abuses and quality of life are assessed by the United Nations and other international organisations. DFID monitors progress towards the millennium development goals through the UN’s database and uses these statistics to inform policy, resource allocations and strategic direction.
DFID also assesses the contribution of the UK’s development assistance towards the millennium development goals through individual programme monitoring and also by commissioning a comprehensive series of independent evaluation studies which were reported on in 2008 in the Independent Evaluation in DFID annual report and scrutinised since December 2007 by the Independent Advisory Committee for Development Impact. All evaluation reports are published on the DFID website:
Malawi: Health Services
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Malawi health worker support system funded by his Department on the take-home pay of (a) nurses and (b) doctors in Malawi. [271044]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) provides for salary top ups of 52 per cent. for 11 cadres of health workers including nurses and doctors. This top up has been maintained since 2004 with nurses and doctors also benefiting from a separate 20 per cent. civil service-wide pay increase, as well as modest yearly increases.
According to data from the current financial year our assessment is that the gross pay of nurses now ranges from approximately £63 a month for newly recruited nurse technicians to £262 a month for Senior Nursing Officers. This compares favourably with, for example, teachers, who receive between £50 and £142 per month. Doctors salaries range from approximately £260 to £365 per month. Our assessment shows that there has been an increase of between 50 and 100 per cent. in the take home pay for doctors and nurses between 2004 and 2009. We believe that this has been a very important incentive for improved retention and morale, and has helped to reduce outward migration.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the progress against objectives of the health worker support system in Malawi funded with the assistance of his Department. [271045]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) has been supporting the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) since implementation began in 2005. Progress against the objectives of the EHRP is assessed on a bi-annual basis in national health sector reviews. Progress to date has been very encouraging, with objectives likely to be met. For example, the number of doctors graduating has increased from 17 per year in 2004 to 60 per year currently; the number of nurses leaving Malawi to work overseas has fallen from around 100 annually in 2002-04 to around 30 annually in 2007-08; and there are 40 per cent. more doctors and nurses practising in the public health system than four years ago.
A formal evaluation of the EHRP will be conducted in the second half of 2009, with results due in early 2010. DFID is commissioning this evaluation on behalf of the Ministry of Health and all other partners. It will provide valuable lessons for Malawi and also for other low-income countries with public sector human resource crises.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has made an assessment of changes in the (a) accommodation, (b) training and (c) other support costs for workers in the Malawian health system since the health workers support system was implemented with the assistance of his Department. [271046]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is assessing the impact of the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) on an on-going basis most recently at the national health sector review of April 2009.
(a) On accommodation, the EHRP is funding a major staff house-building programme. Model houses have been completed and approved, 250 additional staff houses are under construction and further 250 are being rehabilitated. On completion this will create a major incentive for staff to work in rural areas.
(b) The EHRP has made very positive progress on training targets, and is meeting its objective to
‘expand training capacity by 50%, and more in key cadres, with a focus on all nurses having basic mid-wife skills’.
There has been an increase of 50 per cent. or more in enrolment in training institutions; more and better tutors; and better infrastructure. The College of Medicine has expanded, and improved quality, to become a model medical school for southern Africa.
(c) Other support costs for health workers have often come from district budgets under Malawi’s decentralised structures. For example, in Mchinji District funds have been used for solar power for staff accommodation and health centres, staff transport costs and district-level training and supervision. Such support creates incentives for staff to continue working in isolated rural posts.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the effectiveness of his Department’s funding for the health worker support system in Malawi on (a) the retention of Malawian health workers, (b) the return of Malawian health workers to that country and (c) the migration of health workers from other developing countries to Malawi. [271047]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is assessing the impact of the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) on an on-going basis most recently at the national health sector review of April 2009.
(a) More Malawian health workers are being retained within the public health system. For example, the number of nurses leaving Malawi each year has reduced from around 100 per year in 2004 to around 30 per year now. Immediate retention of nurses following training has significantly improved following the introduction of a five-year bonding scheme for nurses, with nearly all graduates now moving to the public health system. This has resulted in an improved nurse-patient ratio from one nurse per 4,000 patients in 2004 to one per 3,000 patients today. The doctor/patient ratio has improved from one per 62,000 to one per 53,000 today, and the Malawi Government is now considering how best to introduce a bonding scheme for doctors.
(b) EHRP assessments reveal little data on the return of health workers to Malawi, although the Ministry of Health estimates that five to 10 medical doctors have returned to Malawi from abroad since 2004. In reality the return of health workers is not likely to be critical in addressing the human resource crisis with national efforts focused on training and retention. The College of Medicine estimate that of their 254 medical graduates from 1991 to 2005, 60 per cent. are practising full-time in the public health system.
(c) Assessments show that the migration of health workers from other developing countries to Malawi is minimal. This, however, may change if pay and conditions improve enough to attract health workers to Malawi from neighbouring countries.
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many trained full-time equivalent (a) doctors and (b) nurses were employed in public health system in Malawi (i) in the 12 months before his Department provided support for that
country's health worker support system and (ii) in the most recent period for which figures are available. [271048]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information is as follows.
(i) In the 12 months prior to the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP), in 2004, there were (a) approximately 140 doctors registered in Malawi, and (b) 3,250 nurses.
(ii) The most recent assessment was the December 2007 Human Resource for Health Census which recorded (a) 190 registered doctors and (b) 4,450 nurses, in Malawi.
This assessment demonstrates a near 40 per cent. increase in doctors and nurses, nearly all of whom are full-time and practising. These numbers will continue to grow. The Malawi College of Medicine is now graduating 60 doctors a year, as opposed to 17 in 2004, and will graduate 100 doctors per year in the near future. In addition, 300 nurses now graduate every six months in Malawi, nearly all of whom are recruited and retained within the public health system.
Overseas Aid: Fossil Fuels
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on overseas projects for the extraction and transport of fossil fuels through the (a) World Bank Group, (b) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, (c) European Investment Bank and (d) other Government-funded financial institutions in the last five years. [265216]
Mr. Thomas: The UK is a shareholder of the Wold Bank and Regional Development Banks; contributing to shared capital. It also makes core contributions to these institutions to support work in the poorest countries. These contributions are pooled. Shareholders cannot specify that their capital or contributions can or cannot be used for specific purposes.
A list of UK contributions to World Bank trust funds is set out in the answer to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell), 26 February 2009, Official Report, column 1006W.
Information on funding channelled through World Bank Group, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank trust funds for the extraction and transport of fossil fuels or fossil fuel projects is not held centrally.
The UK has made contributions to trust funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development that have contributed to fossil fuel projects. In most cases these trust funds receive financial support from multiple investors and it is not possible to determine what the UK contribution is to a specific project. The exceptions to this are the Energy Efficiency Fund and Sustainable Energy Imitative funds where the UK contribution to four fossil fuel projects financed by these funds in the last five years is €864,336. The UK has committed a further €2,671,290 through these funds to other projects, which include renewable energy and industrial energy efficiency.
Justice
Appeals
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many and what proportion of the criminal cases referred to appeal judges by the Criminal Cases Review Commission the original conviction was overturned in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [271103]
Maria Eagle: The Information is set out in the following table.
| Convictions referred | Convictions quashed | Percentage quashed( 1) | |
| (1) This figure represents the percentage of those convictions referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission that were subsequently quashed by a Court of Appeal. | |||
Debt Collection
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what measures in lieu of enforcement restriction orders there are to provide relief for people in debt. [271064]
Bridget Prentice: There are a range of options already available to support people with debt problems. These include bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), time orders (for those with consumer credit debts) and, from 6 April, the new debt relief order.
In addition, where a claim has been issued, defendants can admit the debt and make a formal proposal for payment by instalments. If the claimant refuses, the court will make an assessment for payment based on the debtor’s income and expenditure, which it can then impose on the creditor.
Addressing financial problems at an early stage is essential in achieving a sustainable solution and a new practice direction covering pre-action creditor behaviour has been introduced to the Civil Procedure rules from April 2009. This now requires creditors to provide consumers with both information about how to contact them to assist direct negotiation and also details of free advice providers. Failure to do so could result in the court imposing sanctions including disallowing costs.
Alongside these measures, the credit card and debt collection sectors have recently agreed that those facing payment problems will be offered a minimum 30-day breathing space to make progress in getting their affairs in order once they have engaged with a debt advice agency.
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last five months. [271856]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is contained in the following table:
| Month | Percentage aid within 10 day target |
The Ministry of Justice is fully committed to achieving compliance with the Prime Minister's target of paying suppliers within 10 days where possible, and is a signatory to the prompt payment code.
The Ministry recognises that its performance against the target must improve, and is implementing a prompt payment improvement programme to address the issue. The results for April indicate that this programme is beginning to have an effect, and further improvements will be evident as the programme progresses.
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