§ Mr. ColmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how many(a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each of the last 10 years; [160955]
(2) how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years. [160956]
§ Hilary BennDFID does not record its projects or spending solely under the categories indicated in the questions and the information could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.
DFID regards building a healthy private sector in developing countries as essential for poverty reduction. Successful private firms are the principal engines of growth in productivity, employment and income needed to eliminate poverty. DFID's work to encourage private sector development includes but goes well beyond projects directly with the private sector. In summary, DFID works with the public sector to improve the environment for investment and business; with the private sector to expand its access to finance and markets, and to improve its impact on the poor; and with public private partnerships to improve the delivery of public services and technology for the poor.
For information on PFI projects, the Signed Projects List can be found on the Treasury website. This is at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.cfm.