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2 Jun 2010 : Column 46W—continued
Schools: Transport
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what change there will be to his Department's funding towards school transport as a result of the announcement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 May; and if he will make a statement. [475]
Mr Gibb: The vast majority of funding for home to school transport is provided through revenue support grant (RSG) to local authorities which was protected as part of the Chancellor's and Chief Secretary's announcement about 10-11 savings on Monday 24 May. There are a small number of transport related grants within DFE area based grants totalling £39.76 million. As part of the DFE contribution to savings from local government the overall level of DFE area based grants are being reduced from £1.3 billion to £986 million. RSG has been protected at the level set by Parliament and £1.7 billion of central Government revenue and capital grants have been de-ring fenced, giving local authorities maximum flexibility to deliver efficiencies and focus their budgets on services their residents value most. This will ensure frontline services can be protected.
Deputy Prime Minister
House of Lords
Helen Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the creation of 100 additional peers; and what discussions he has had with the House of Lords authorities on the cost to the public purse of administration of the House of Lords consequent on the introduction of 100 additional peers. [54]
Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply.
The expenses which Members of the House of Lords are able to claim are published and are available at:
The cost of appointing new Members to the House of Lords will vary depending on what expenses they are entitled to, and may choose to claim, and on the provision of facilities and services provided by the House administration.
Cabinet Office
Public Sector: Low Pay
Mr Meacher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many public sector workers are paid less than £7.20 an hour. [203]
Mr Maude: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting how many public sector workers are paid less than £7.20 an hour. (203)
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is carried out in April each year and is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. ASHE methodology cannot be used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is less than a specific amount, but can be used to provide estimates of percentage of employees in that category.
Levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. In April 2009, the latest period for which figures are available, the percentage of all UK public sector employees whose paid gross hourly earnings excluding overtime is less than £7.20 is 9.3 percent.
International Development
Afghanistan
8. Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the outcomes of educational initiatives in Afghanistan supported by his Department. [448]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The latest assessment shows that the number of children attending school grew to 5.2 million in 2009, up from one million in 2001. Over one-third of these children are girls.
Maternal Health
13. Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of his Department's contribution to progress towards the millennium development goal in respect of maternal health. [453]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) conduct annual assessments of progress towards key Millennium Development Goal targets based on international data. These assessments concentrate on countries where UK development assistance is focused and where we expect to make the most impact.
The latest assessment in 2009 found some progress on the maternal health Millennium Development Goal in Asia but that progress was lagging in sub-Saharan Africa. This assessment can be found in the DFID Autumn Performance Report (2009) which is available in the House Library.
Malawi
14. David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on international development aid to Malawi since his appointment; and if he will make a statement. [454]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Department for International Development (DFID) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers have had several conversations on aid to Malawi since my appointment.
DFID is one of Malawi's largest donors with an £80 million programme, supporting the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy, and focused on three areas: good Governance, Growth and Resilience, and Human Development.
The Public Accounts Committee has said that UKaid has actively contributed to Malawi's development, including reducing hunger and building a better health service.
Nigeria
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has had recent discussions with the President of Nigeria on the provision by his Department of assistance to his country; and if he will make a statement. [455]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: I have not yet had the opportunity to meet President Jonathan. The British high commissioner and the head of DFID's office in Nigeria have met the President several times over the last two months to discuss his priorities and UK support. Nigeria is a hugely important country to the development of Africa. I will be reviewing our programme in Nigeria alongside other policy and country reviews which I have commissioned.
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