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8 Feb 2010 : Column 719W—continued
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any written instructions have been provided to his Department's Accounting Officer in accordance with paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code since May 1997. [315566]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: No written instructions have been given to the Accounting Officer of the Department for International Development (DFID) in accordance with paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code since May 1997.
Departmental Communication
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of Lord Bates of 3 December 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA68, on Government Departments: Annual Reports, and with reference to the Government Response to the House of Lords Communications Committee's report into Government Communications, whether his Department publishes an annual report on departmental communications. [315604]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not publish an annual report on communications. DFID reviews its communications function on a regular basis, in line with its Communications Divisional Performance Framework (DPF) which is tracked against Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) 7, Managing Resources and Building for the Future, and Public Service Agreement (PSA) 29, International Poverty Reduction. These reviews are incorporated into DFID's Annual Report, a copy of which can be found in the House Library and on line at
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on font licensing in the last three years. [315573]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not paid for any font licensing for either online or print purposes in the last three years.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department have the status of (a) embedded communicators and (b) are members of the Government Communications Network and are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. [315571]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has 51.7 equivalent full-time posts which have the status of embedded communicator.
DFID does not hold data on staff members that belong to the Government Communications Network (GCN). The GCN is administered by the Cabinet Office and membership data cannot be shared without the permission of individual members.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for which Google Adword online advertising keywords his Department and its agencies have paid in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [315470]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not paid for any Google Adword online advertising in the last 12 months. DFID is not responsible for any agencies.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many job vacancies in his Department were filled through external recruitment agencies in the latest year for which figures are available. [315580]
Mr. Michael Foster: In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles, appointments are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. DFID does not make use of recruitment agencies when recruiting staff to permanent positions in the Home Civil Service.
Our job advertisements are placed in the national press or specialist magazines, in addition to appearing on DFID's own website, and at:
DFID periodically engages temporary staff through recruitment agencies to help meet immediate and short term resourcing needs. DFID has a contractual arrangement with agency suppliers to fill routine administrative positions on a temporary basis. However, there is also a need to fill specialist positions (for example, accountants and IT specialists) on a temporary basis, where operational divisions are able to approach specialist suppliers without the involvement of Human Resources Division.
DFID does not therefore maintain records of the number of agency appointments. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in the last year for which figures are available. [315581]
Mr. Michael Foster: In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, all external appointments to the Department for International Development (DFID) are made on the basis of fair and open competition.
Job adverts for vacancies in DFID are placed in the national press or specialist magazines, in addition to appearing on DFID's own website, and at:
DFID does not routinely use recruitment consultants to fill vacancies for permanent posts.
However, the central framework of executive search services, which is managed by the Cabinet Office, was used in February 2009 to engage Whitehead Mann at a cost of £51,700 to help identify suitable applicants for the post of Director General, Corporate Performance in DFID.
DFID periodically engages temporary staff through recruitment agencies to help meet immediate and short term resourcing needs. Many of these appointments are of specialist nature, e.g. finance, communications, and divisions can make these appointments direct with the supplier without the involvement of Human Resources Division. There are subsequently no central records of agency spend maintained within DFID and to provide this information would result in disproportionate costs.
Haiti: Earthquakes
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many members of UK search and rescue teams have been assigned to Haiti to assist with the earthquake relief effort. [315917]
Mr. Michael Foster: The UK search and rescue team (UK-ISAR) comprised 64 people, drawn from the UK Fire and Rescue Service. This team returned to the UK on 22 January, at the same time as other international search and rescue teams left Haiti. The United Kingdom should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
Hotels
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many separate bookings for hotels graded at five star or above were made through the Expotel booking service by his Department in the latest year for which figures are available; and at what cost such bookings were made. [315575]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made any bookings for hotel stays graded at five stars or above through the Expotel booking services in the last year for which figures are available.
Mauritania
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the Government have provided to Mauritania in the last 12 months; and for what projects assistance was provided. [315964]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a bilateral programme in Mauritania and did not provided any aid to the country in 2008-09.
Details of DFID's aid expenditure in developing countries are published in Statistics on International Development, which is available in the Library or online at:
Newspaper Licensing Agency
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments his Department made to the Newspaper Licensing Agency in each of the last 10 years. [315590]
Mr. Michael Foster: Payments made by the Department for International Development (DFID) to the Newspaper Licensing Agency in each of the last three financial years are given in the table. Figures for earlier financial years cannot be compiled without incurring disproportionate costs.
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Overseas Aid: Climate Change
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of the £1.5 billion Fast Start finance for climate change adaptation programmes announced by the Prime Minister at the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 will count towards overseas development assistance targets. [315410]
Mr. Thomas: The UK is committed to providing additional post-Fast Start financing after 2012-13 on top of the Government's commitment to achieve an official development assistance (ODA) level of 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI), and to limiting the share of ODA for climate change finance to no more than 10 per cent. Fast Start finance, which is for the period 2010-11 to 2012-13, will be counted as ODA.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which existing programmes received funding from budgets subsequently identified as sources of fast start finance for climate change adaptation in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009. [315412]
Mr. Thomas: The Fast Start finance period begins in 2010. Therefore no spending in 2007, 2008 or 2009 counts as Fast Start finance. We are currently working up plans for how we will spend the Fast Start funds over the next three financial years.
Overseas Aid: Haiti
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's objectives are in respect of its involvement in Haiti; and by what criteria progress on the achievement of these objectives will be measured. [315685]
Mr. Michael Foster:
The goal of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) humanitarian
response in Haiti is to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain the dignity of earthquake victims, and to implement stabilisation activities.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for how long he anticipates his Department being involved with development work in Haiti. [315686]
Mr. Michael Foster: In the aftermath of this terrible tragedy and for the foreseeable future, we will continue to work with the international community to support recovery in Haiti.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with UN representatives on the UN's long-term strategy in Haiti. [315687]
Mr. Michael Foster: Since the earthquake on 12 January the Secretary of State for International Development has been in regular contact with John Holmes, the head of the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs to discuss a wide range of issues that must be addressed urgently in Haiti.
The United Nations will have to reassess its long-term strategy for Haiti in light of the terrible events that have taken place. However, right now the priority for the United Nations and the Department for International Development is the immediate humanitarian needs of the population.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will allocate additional funds in support of the UN's programmes in Haiti. [315688]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has announced £20 million in emergency aid for Haiti. Some of this funding is already being used by the UN or by partners on the ground working within the UN system to deliver vital aid. For example, we have provided £1 million to the United Nations Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to strengthen co-ordination mechanisms, £2 million to the World Food Programme for transport and logistics and £300,000 to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for disease surveillance to help prevent epidemics. Remaining funds will be allocated on the basis of further rapid needs assessments.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US, (b) Canada and (c) France on the co-ordination of relief work in Haiti. [315689]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Secretary of State for International Development has held discussions on the relief effort in Haiti with Raj Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). On 17 January my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also participated in a conference call on Haiti with Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, and Miguel Moratinos, the Spanish Foreign Minister.
I attended a meeting of European Development Ministers in Brussels on 18 January. Alain Joyandet, the French Minister for Co-operation and Francophony, also attended the meeting.
On 22 February the Secretary of State for International Development will hold bilateral talks with the Canadian International Development Agency Minister for International Co-operation, Bev Oda, to discuss the situation in Haiti.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate its relief programmes on Haiti with those it is undertaking in other Caribbean countries. [315690]
Mr. Michael Foster: The response to the Haiti earthquake is our only immediate emergency response in the Caribbean at present. We ensure consistency with our other emergency responses (such as those following the 2008 storms) by following similar principles and using the same advisory staff where we can. We co-ordinate all our responses through the United Nations system.
Scientific Advisory Committee
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has plans to create a Scientific Advisory Committee. [315887]
Mr. Michael Foster: There are no current plans for the Department for International Development (DFID) to create a Scientific Advisory Committee. An external Research Advisory Group, which will provide strategic advice and support to DFID's Chief Scientific Adviser/Head of Research, is currently being established and we expect to have this in place soon.
Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what recent assessment he has made of progress in the provision of humanitarian relief for Tamil internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement; [316204]
(2) how much in aid the UK has contributed in respect of Tamil internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [316205]
Mr. Michael Foster: The latest UN figures of 15 January 2010 estimate that approximately 158,500 internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned from the camps in Vavuniya to their places of origin and 29,000 have been released to institutions and host families. Although the Department for International Development (DFID) welcomes this progress, we continue to hold concerns. Humanitarian access for agencies to assist those recently returned is restricted and the remaining 100,000 people in the camps do not enjoy full freedom of movement.
Since September 2008, DFID has contributed £12.5 million of humanitarian assistance to help those displaced in Sri Lanka. For further information, I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 15 December 2009, Official Report, columns 105-07WS and to our website;
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