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7 Dec 2009 : Column 135W—continued
Afghanistan: Reconstruction
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support he is giving to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund to improve the energy infrastructure in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [304461]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since 2003, the Department for International Development (DFID) has contributed £38.5 million to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to support the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), which funds projects developed by local communities themselves. Approximately 17 per cent. of NSP funding has been used for small-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to improve public access to reliable electricity in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [304462]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) is co-financing the rehabilitation of the Gereshk hydropower plant and associated transmission and distribution system in Helmand province. On completion, the project is expected to increase the supply and reliability of electricity to around 200,000 people.
Since 2003, DFID has also contributed £38.5 million to the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) which funds projects developed by local communities themselves. Approximately 17 per cent. of NSP funding has been used for small-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the refurbishment of the Gereshk hydropower plant in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [304463]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The refurbishment of the Gereshk hydropower plant is proceeding according to schedule. The detailed design period is now complete. Through the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand, a competitive tender for the upgrade of the 2.5 km access road to the plant has been won by a local Afghan contractor. We are also designing two police checkpoints to be positioned along the access road to improve site security.
The next step is to conclude co-financing arrangements with our investment partners, the Asian Development Bank and the Embassy of Denmark. This agreement will be followed in early 2010 by procurement for civil, mechanical and electrical contracts.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in the provision of electricity networks and supply throughout Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [304464]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Information relating to progress made in the provision of electricity networks and supply throughout Afghanistan is published on the website of the Afghan Energy Information Center (AIEC) at:
Africa: Overseas Aid
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role his Department is playing in the implementation of the Nile Basin Initiative. [303799]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) plays an active role in support of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) along with the World Bank and other development partners. We have contributed £13.7 million. We separately provide finance to help civil society organisations engage with the initiative through the Nile Basin Discourse.
Departmental Official Cars
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing official cars for the use of (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the last 12 months. [301188]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement about the cost of ministerial cars made by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Gillingham (Paul Clark) on 16 July 2009, Official Report, columns 79-80WS.
For the cost of cars to officials, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Gillingham (Paul Clark) on 2 December 2009, Official Report, column 762W.
Departmental Security
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months. [303943]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: All consultants who require access to a Department for International Development (DFID) office, whether they are providing consultancy or other services, are issued with a temporary security pass after security clearance procedures have been completed. Those contractors providing services without a need to work in a DFID office are not issued a security pass. Disaggregating the number of security passes issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months would incur disproportionate costs.
Children, Schools and Families
Alternative Curriculum
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps are being taken to ensure that local authorities have information about third sector providers of alternative curriculum provision for excluded children or those at risk of exclusion; and if he will make a statement. [301945]
Mr. Coaker: Since the Department published the "Back on Track" White Paper in May 2008, we have carried out a determined programme of work to improve the quality of alternative provision and access to it.
In October 2008, we published guidance on commissioning alternative provision, covering how local authorities and schools can identify providers able to meet the needs of pupils who require alternative provision. At the same time, we launched an online directory of alternative providers across England which gives local authorities and schools ready access to information on
almost 400 providers. The directory had approximately 29,700 hits between 1 January 2009 and 23 November 2009.
The Department has also run trade fairs for alternative providers across England, giving them the opportunity to inform potential commissioners of their services. We have also established pilots to explore a range of innovative ways of delivering alternative provision, supported by up to £26.5 million over 2008-11. Of these 12 pilots, nine involve third sector providers.
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Asbestos
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme have had an asbestos survey as part of their redevelopment; in how many such schools was asbestos found; and from how many such schools asbestos was removed. [304199]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the number of schools in the Building Schools for the Future programme that have had an asbestos survey; whether asbestos was found; and whether it was removed is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for managing the process and hold this information.
Children: Databases
Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate has been made of the amount of savings in practitioner time as a result of the introduction of ContactPoint. [304728]
Dawn Primarolo: A principal benefit of ContactPoint will be freed up unproductive time, previously spent by frontline staff in trying to identify and then contact other practitioners who are involved with a child. We estimate conservatively that ContactPoint will save five million practitioner hours, equivalent to £88 million a year, once all projected users are engaged. This means that practitioners can spend more time working with children and families and less time on administration activities.
Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much is expected to be spent on the ContactPoint directory in each of the five years from June 2010. [304729]
Dawn Primarolo: The expected expenditure on ContactPoint in each of the next five years from June 2010 is as follows:
| £ million | |||
| Set up | Operating | Total | |
Citizenship and History: Secondary Education
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils at maintained mainstream schools at the end of Key Stage 4 took examinations in (a) citizenship but not history, (b) history but not citizenship, (c) citizenship and history and (d) neither history nor citizenship in each of the last five years. [301040]
Mr. Coaker: The information required is given in the following table.
The figures relate to entries in full GCSE history and the GCSE short course in citizenship. A full GCSE in citizenship course only started in September 2009 and information on entries to this course are not yet available.
| Pupils entered into GCSE short course in citizenship only | Pupils entered into GCSE full course in history only | Pupils entered into both | Pupils entered for neither | |||||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Note: Figures for 2009 are provisional. Source: Achievement and Attainment Tables data. | ||||||||
Figures relate to pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained mainstream schools (includes academies and CTCs).
Departmental Advertising
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department's predecessor spent on advertising in 2006-07; how much his Department has so spent in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [302319]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The media total for advertising in 2006-07 was £6,573,885. In 2009-10 so far, the spend to date has been £4,260,609. This information was attained from the Central Office of Information where the information is centrally held.
Departmental Legal Costs
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the (a) cost and (b) purpose was of legal (i) representation and (ii) advice sought by his Department and its agencies in each year since May 1997. [300371]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The purpose of legal representation is to ensure that the Secretary of State is represented before a court or tribunal where a decision is under challenge. The purpose of legal advice is to enable the Department to operate effectively within the law and develop legislation to deliver its policies, minimising legal risk and achieving best legal outcomes.
There are no centrally held figures for the costs of legal representation in the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and its predecessors, the Department for Education and Employment, and the Department for Education and Skills.
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