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Departmental Pay

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) bonuses and (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by his Department in each of the last three years. [300625]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) currently has one contract let centrally that includes a provision for bonuses. DFID's contract for security guarding and reception services with ISS Pegasus includes a provision for team based performance incentives for their 13 staff. £500 has been paid to each staff member in each of the last two years.

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) bonuses and (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years. [300626]

Mr. Michael Foster: No bonuses or incentives have been paid to such consultants or contractors over the last three years.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement. [300894]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Department for International Development (DFID) senior civil service (SCS) members are eligible for a non-consolidated performance award. Awards are intended to reward delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year or other short-term personal contributions to wider organisational objectives. In considering SCS members for an award, line managers are asked to take into account:

Awards are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against the pre-determined criteria above and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.

The annual size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot for SCS is based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).

The following table contains, for the last two financial years: (i) the number of SCS who received an award; (ii) the percentage of all SCS who received an award; (iii) the largest single payment; and (iv) the total value of awards made.


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Financial year( 1)

2008-09 2009-10

Number of SCS who received an award

71

68

Percentage of total SCS who received an award

73.9

70.1

Largest single award (£)

22,700

15,000

Total SCS awards (£)

641,510

634,150


Staff in grades below the SCS (HCS) are eligible for a non-consolidated performance award. Awards are intended to reward both the delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year and demonstration of DFID's values.

The following table contains, for the last two financial years: (i) the number of HCS who received an award; (ii) the percentage of all HCS who received an award; (iii) the largest single payment; and (iv) the total value of awards made.

Financial year( 1)

2008-09( 2) 2009-10

Number of HCS who received an award

0

1,312

Percentage of total HCS who received an award

0

85.0

Largest single award (£)

0

750

Total HCS awards (£)

0

742,515

(1 )Payments made are for the financial year indicated but relate to performance achieved in the previous reporting year.
(2) DFID's reward arrangements did not allow for the payment of any performance related awards in the 2008-09 financial year to staff below the senior civil service.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance-related payment was in cash terms for a senior civil servant in his Department in each of the last five years. [301598]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Department for International Development (DFID) senior civil service (SCS) members are eligible for a non-consolidated performance award. Awards are intended to reward delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year or other short-term personal contributions to wider organisational objectives. In considering SCS members for an award, line managers are asked to take into account:

Awards are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against the pre-determined criteria above and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.

The annual size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot is based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).

The table shows the average (median) award and the highest single award in each of the last five financial years.


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£
Financial year( 1) Average (median) award Highest single award

2005-06

3,750

5,500

2006-07

4,500

8,000

2007-08

5,750

12,500

2008-09

6,350

22,700

2009-10

7,357

15,000

(1) Payments made are for the financial year indicated but relate to performance achieved in the previous reporting year.

Developing Countries: Secondary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects on the economies of his Department's partner countries of their achievement of equal access for girls to secondary education. [301041]

Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) produced an analysis of the role of skills in economic growth in 2008. This drew attention to the gender differences in the complex relationship between levels of education and skills and economic growth. More evidence at a country level is needed in this area, but this initial work suggested that the rates of return for higher levels of female education were particularly significant to economic growth. The World Bank found that every 1 per cent. increase in the level of women's education generates an additional 3 per cent. in economic growth. Importantly, failure to achieve gender parity at post-primary levels could be a bottle neck in the growth of the economies of our partner countries.

DFID currently funds a five-year research programme co-ordinated by the University of Cambridge worth £2.5 million which is currently undertaking analysis of the different rates of return on various levels of education which includes looking at gender differences.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to meet the target of ensuring that girls have equal access to secondary education in all his Department's partner countries by 2015. [301042]

Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs) for universal primary education and gender parity by 2015. DFID is spending at least £8.5 billion between 2006 and 2015 in support of education in developing countries. Through this long-term commitment we are supporting poor countries to invest in quality basic education, including lower secondary, to ensure that all girls and boys attain the fundamental skills they need to participate in social and economic life.

For example, DFID is currently helping the Government of India to prepare its plans for expanding enrolments at secondary education from 53 per cent. to 70 per cent. over the next three years. The majority of these gains in enrolment will be girls. A raft of interventions are proposed for achieving this, including girls' scholarships and bursaries, free uniforms, textbooks and bicycles for girls as well as free hostels and residential schools for the poorest girls. Attention to equity, particularly in
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terms of eliminating gender disparities is now a key part of DFID policy dialogue on and support for the development of secondary education in India.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has made a recent assessment of the level of integration between the HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights aspects of programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and malaria to which his Department contributes. [301031]

Mr. Michael Foster: The Global Fund has recently been subject to a rigorous five year independent evaluation including a study on health impact. The Department for International Development has engaged with this evaluation exercise and has taken note of its assessment of the level of integration between the HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights aspects of programmes funded by the Global Fund.

The evaluation contained a review of the HIV/AIDS portfolio including access to HIV testing, counselling, prevention of mother-child transmission (PMTCT), and preventative measures (condom distribution and education materials). A key recommendation is to strengthen prevention programmes. The study can be accessed on:

Landmines

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of mine clearing contracts let by his Department have been granted to (a) The Halo Trust and (b) the Mines Advisory Group in the last two years; and in which locations. [300242]

Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) publishes details of all contracts let on the DFID website:

Remittances

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries in receipt of development aid from his Department have experienced a reduction in the (a) number and (b) monetary value of migrant remittances in the last three years; and what steps his Department takes to establish the effects of such remittances on (i) the economy of the recipient country and (ii) the pattern of his Department's distribution of development aid. [300386]

Mr. Thomas: Based on the most recent World Bank data for the period 2006-08, no countries receiving developmental aid from the Department for International Development (DFID) have experienced a reduction in the number or monetary value of migrant remittances in the last three years. We will continue to monitor this as new data become available.

DFID Country Offices monitor remittance flows as part of their routine macroeconomic surveillance. Decisions on where UK bilateral aid is spent are initially guided
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by three principles: levels of Gross National Income (GNI) per person; population size; and confidence on whether the aid resources will be used effectively. As remittances are part of the GNI calculation, they are captured in decisions about the allocation of DFID's aid.

Zimbabwe: Overseas Aid

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of his Department's proposed activities in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement. [300540]

Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) will provide £60 million in development aid to support Zimbabwe this financial year which will be used to;

All our assistance is provided through trusted partners, including the United Nations and non-governmental organisations. We do not pass funds directly to the Government of Zimbabwe or through government financial systems, (including through the Reserve Bank).

Business, Innovation and Skills

Business: EU Grants and Loans

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether (a) the Secretary of State, (b) he and other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials of his Department (i) corresponded with, (ii) telephoned and (c) met officials of EU institutions between April 2008 and April 2009 regarding proposals to regulate the European alternative investment fund management industry. [301587]

Ian Lucas: The proposal for a directive on alternative investment fund managers is the policy responsibility of the Treasury. The Government are fully engaged in negotiations with the European Union institutions on this and other key issues.

Christmas

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Christmas parties his Department plans to host in 2009; what has been budgeted for each such reception; what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables, (h) fruit and (i) alcohol to be served at each such function which is produced in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [300881]


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Mr. McFadden: This Department is not planning to host any Christmas parties in 2009.

Internal Christmas parties for officials within the Department will be funded by the staff themselves.


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