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9 Jun 2009 : Column 854W—continued
| South West Regional Development Agency | |||||||||
| Total scheme funding (£000) | |||||||||
| Community Regeneration Scheme | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Yorkshire Forward | |||||||||
| Total scheme funding (£000) | |||||||||
| Community Regeneration Scheme | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
International Development
Departmental Computers
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2009, Official Report, column 1378, on departmental manpower, what expenditure his Department incurred (a) in total and (b) on the procurement of laptop computers under the Laptop Refresh project; how many laptops were procured under the project; by what means redundant laptops were disposed of under the project; for what reasons new laptops were required; how old on average were the laptops disposed of under the project; what the (i) brand and (ii) specification was of laptops purchased under the project; what the terms of reference for the project were; and if he will publish the project documentation supplied by the project manager. [277755]
Mr. Michael Foster: The total cost of the 2,400 laptops purchased under the Department for International Development (DFID) laptop refresh project was £1.8 million. Redundant laptops are given to Computeraid who distribute equipment to various projects across developing countries. All donated laptops have the data erased prior to donation and DFID receives confirmation that the equipment will eventually be disposed of in line with the waste of electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) guidelines. Approximately 90 per cent. of the redundant laptops were past the four year end of life recommendation.
The new laptops were required as we were experiencing a high rate of failures with the previous models. We also had a requirement to standardise on a single model of laptop across the organisation.
The laptops that were purchased under this project were Dell D630s and the specification was an 80gb hard drive, dual core processor 2.2 Ghz and 2GB of memory.
The Terms of Reference for the Project Manager, the Project Initiation Document (PID) and the Project Approach Document will be placed in the Library.
Developing Countries: Infant Mortality
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of maternal mortality in the developing world. [277737]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In June 2008 the UK Government announced a commitment to spend £6 billion on improving health systems and services over seven years to 2015. The UK Government are working to accelerate progress on the reproductive and maternal health MDGs. The Prime Minister is co-chairing the High-Level Task Force on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, which will raise additional funds for health systems and make a significant contribution to improving maternal health.
The Department for International Development (DFID) is working to achieve consensus with international partners on priority action to improve maternal and newborn health. This will provide a framework for action at global, national and sub-national levels. It also recognises the need to align the current international momentum in politics, advocacy and finance behind a commonly agreed set of policies and priority interventions to accelerate progress on maternal health at country level. Further information on DFID's work on maternal mortality is available on the DFID website at:
Iraq: Economic Growth
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to assist the economic development of Iraq. [275064]
Mr. Michael Foster: The UK Government have worked to increase Iraq's capacity to attract inward investment, which will further stimulate growth, prompt further reforms and facilitate skills transfer. Since April 2008 the UK Government have:
Facilitated over 30 visits by potential international investors, leading to proposals for investment in Iraq worth over $10 billion.
Helped establish the Basra Investment Commission, which is now leading on investment promotion for southern Iraq. We have also provided technical assistance to the National Investment Commission, with which the UK has arranged four large investment conferences: including in London in April 2008 and April 2009, Kuwait in June 2008 and Istanbul in December 2008.
Going forward, the UK Government have:
Agreed funding to help ensure that 1,000 small enterprises in southern Iraq can access the credit they need to expand their businesses.
Initiated a pilot youth vocational training and employment programme for 500 youths with the Ministry of Labour in Basra. This innovative programme should provide an employment model more widely in Iraq.
The Department for International Development's (DFID) existing programme with the World Bank is improving public financial management in the centre of government. The UK and the World Bank have also established a major new programme to help the Government of Iraq tackle the constraints to private sector development.
Capacity building support by the UK Government has enabled the Basra Provincial Council to:
Increase its budget from $23.5 million in 2006 to over $300 million in 2008; improve budget execution from 10 per cent. in 2006 to 50 per cent. in 2008; and manage over 800 development projects worth $650 million since 2006.
Produced the first report of its type in Iraq, on Provincial Reconstruction and Development Activities for 2007—demonstrating their focus on transparency and accountability.
Nepal
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what analysis his Department has carried out on the potential effect on levels of (a) remittances, (b) resettlement and (c) development aid for Nepal if all former Gurkha soldiers and their dependants were granted equality with UK equivalents. [278661]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not carried out analysis of the impact on remittances and resettlement if all former Gurkha soldiers and their dependants were granted equality with their UK equivalents.
The British Government have committed over £172 million in development assistance for Nepal over the next three financial years 2009-10 to 2011-12. This will be spent on supporting the peace process, improving governance, services, growth and jobs and in the fight against climate change.
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) reconstruction and (b) development projects are being funded in Gaza (i) by his Department, (ii) through the European Union and (iii) through the United Nations; how much funding his Department is providing for projects in Gaza in 2009-10; and how much he plans to provide for such projects in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12. [278386]
Mr. Michael Foster: Since the start of the current conflict the UK Government have pledged nearly £47 million to help the people of Gaza, of which we have committed over £20 million. A summary of projects supported by this funding is available on the DFID website at:
Many of the projects funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) cover both the West Bank and Gaza and so it is not possible to give figures for Gaza alone. In recent years DFID bilateral funding to the Occupied Palestinian Territories has increased from an average of £15.7 million for financial years 2000-01 to 2006-07 to over £60 million in financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09. Detailed figures of DFID expenditure are included in the DFID annual report and the Statistics on International Development document. These are available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website.
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which businesses in Gaza have been awarded grants through the Facility for New Market Development; and what assessment he has made of the merits of expanding the scheme. [278637]
Mr. Michael Foster: Since its launch last year, the Facility for New Market Development (FNMD) has awarded grants to 19 individual businesses in Gaza, from a wide range of sectors. A further three grants have been awarded to clusters of businesses. A full list of the businesses that have received grants will be placed in the Library.
FNMD is a demand-led programme, and its expansion is therefore dependent on requests from businesses. Demand from Gaza is expected to rise significantly as soon as restrictions on movement and access are lifted, and the facility stands ready to respond.
River Nile: Film
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2009, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Nile Basin documentary film produced by Wild Dog Ltd. with funding from his Department. [277756]
Mr. Thomas: A copy of the Nile Basin Documentary Film will be placed in the Library of the House.
St. Helena: Shipping
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of maintaining the RMS St. Helena service to St. Helena was in each year since 2000; and what the projected cost is for each year to 2020. [260195]
Mr. Michael Foster: We have been advised that it would not be economic to maintain operations of the RMS St. Helena beyond around 2015 or 2016. The following table shows operating costs between 2001-02 and 2007-08.
| £ | |||
| Total operating cost (including DFID operating subsidy) | Maintenance/repair cost | DFID operating subsidy | |
| (1) Includes dry dock. | |||
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