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30 Apr 2009 : Column 1422W—continued
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which non-governmental organisations have received funds from the public purse to conduct aid work in Iraq in the last five years; and how much each received. [270474]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided funding directly to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Iraq over the last five years through two principal mechanisms: the Political Participation Fund and the Civil Society Fund.
The £5 million Iraq Civil Society Fund (CSF) supported projects that strengthened the capacity of Iraqi civil society organisations through partnerships with international NGOs. Funding was given to Christian Aid, Save the Children (UK), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Help Age International, Women for Women International, Salvation Army, International Centre for Trade Union Rights, UNISON and the Women's National Commission. These NGOs, in turn, partnered a range of Iraqi organisations.
The £7.5 million Political Participation Fund (PPF) provided grants to grass-roots Iraqi civil society organisations to enable potentially marginalised groups to participate in the political process. Under the PPF, the international NGOs we supported were AMAR, Arab Gulf Studies Centre, Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), and the Irish Human Rights Network.
We have also contributed £55 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for their humanitarian appeals during 2003-2009. We also provided recent funding directly to the BBC World Service Trust, to strengthen independent television and radio broadcasting in southern Iraq; and to the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC), to support development of the Iraqi justice sector.
Since 2003 DFID has also provided approximately £130 million of funding to UN agencies to support the most vulnerable people displaced inside Iraq and in the region. The UN agencies themselves pass the majority of these funds onto the international NGOs who act as the UN's implementing partners.
Finally, DFID has agreed Partnership Programme Arrangements to provide core funding to a number of major international NGOs. Of those, Oxfam, Islamic Relief and CAFOD all have programmes in Iraq.
The following table shows our direct disbursements to NGOs in Iraq during the last five financial years:
| £ million | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Overseas Aid: Family Planning
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure his Department's policies meet internationally agreed development goals in relation to provision of services relating to family planning, reproductive health and meeting the needs of young people; and if he will allocate 10 per cent. of overseas development assistance to population assistance. [270272]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) accepts that there is a large, well documented, unmet need for family planning and is working to address this. We provide significant resources to improve access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and supplies (e.g. contraceptives). DFID supports the core work of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) with £8.5 million per annum and is providing £100 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) over the five-year period to 2013 to increase access to reproductive health commodities. Our bilateral programme supports contraceptive supply directly in several developing countries.
The UK Government are also committed to spending £6 billion on strengthening health systems and services over the seven years to 2015. Strong health education programmes, including targeted youth services, sexual and reproductive health and maternal health programmes are key elements of a well functioning health system.
DFID does not plan to adopt the target of allocating 10 per cent. of overseas development assistance to population assistance. DFID's country-led development approach is to support recipient governments to spend development assistance on the priorities they set themselves for helping their people out of poverty. DFID is committed to working to the Paris Principles concerning donor harmonisation and as part of this strongly supported the outcome of the recent the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to drive partner country ownership and leadership and for donors to support this.
Poverty: Conferences
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenditure his Department incurred on (a) catering, (b) speaker’s fees, (c) venue fees, (d) staffing and (e) in total in relation to his Department’s Conference on Eliminating World Poverty held in London; and if he will make a statement. [268013]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 18 March 2009, Official Report; column 1253W to the hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott).
Yemen: Overseas Aid
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on development projects in Yemen in each of the last five years. [271382]
Mr. Michael Foster: Details of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) bilateral aid to Yemen over the last five financial years is outlined in the following table:
| DFID bilateral expenditure in Yemen, 2003-04 to 2007-08 | |
| DFID bilateral expenditure (£000) | |
| (1) Awaiting final reconciliation of year end accounts | |
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which organisations are involved in the delivery of his Department’s project in Yemen. [271383]
Mr. Michael Foster: The following organisations are involved in the implementation of the Department for International Development’s programme in Yemen for 2008-09:
Social Fund for Development (SFD)
SFD is a Yemeni organisation which provides support directly to communities to improve education, health, roads, and water supplies. This includes micro-finance services and training for local development partners (government, NGOs, communities, and contractors).
DFID is working with the World Bank to increase access to quality basic education, particularly for girls.
KFW Development Bank acts on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). DFID is working with KFW through the girls access project (SEDGAP) to improve gender equity, quality and efficiency of general secondary education.
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
IFC are carrying out a range of activities to improve the enabling environment for businesses and investment.
World Food Programme(United Nations)
DFID is supporting the Emergency Food Aid relief programme in the Sa’ada Governorate.
Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
IDB aim to improve water and sanitation in Al-Howta City, Lahej Governorate.
GRM Consulting are improving the provision of justice systems and policing services.
The Dutch and DFID are working through a Delegated Cooperation Arrangement (DCA) on Maternal and Neonatal Health. The programme will reduce maternal and child mortality.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had with the Islamic Development Bank on reducing levels of poverty in Yemen. [271384]
Mr. Michael Foster: In late 2007 the Department for International Development (DFID) began discussions with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) about opportunities for joint collaboration to reduce poverty in Yemen. This resulted in DFID signing an agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in November 2008 to co-fund the Urban Water and Sanitation Project in Al Howta City, Lahej Governorate in Yemen. The Project will bring clean water and improved sanitation to 36,000 people in Al Howta City by 2011. Funding is being provided through an IDB Loan of $10 million and a DFID Grant of £1.2million (2008-09).
DFID signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IDB in January 2009 to develop further partnerships the first of which is the recently agreed Statistical Capacity Building programme (STATCAP) which will also include Yemen as a focus country.
I have regular meetings with the President of the IDB, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of UK assistance to Yemen. [271385]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses a range of different criteria to assess the effectiveness of UK assistance to Yemen.
All projects, whether implemented directly by DFID or through a partner organisation such as the World Bank or UN, have a monitoring and evaluation framework in place with an agreed set of indicators that are specifically designed for each project. Annual reviews are undertaken for each project. Where projects are jointly funded with other donors joint evaluations are undertaken.
DFID’s evaluation department is also currently undertaking an evaluation of DFID’s development assistance to Yemen. The evaluation will follow the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria and assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the DFID programme in Yemen. The 2008 OECD-DAC baseline survey shows that DFID has either met or is on track to meet all the 2010 targets contained in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The effectiveness of UK assistance to Yemen is also assessed against the three shared commitments (poverty reduction, human rights and public finance management) between the UK and the Government of Yemen and set out in the 10 year Development Partnership Arrangement (DPA). In March 2009 there was an annual review of both GoY commitments and DFID commitments.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Yemen. [271386]
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