HC Deb 08 November 2000 vol 356 c226W
Angela Smith

To ask the Prime Minister what additional projects are planned for the Performance and Innovation Unit; and if he will make a statement. [137757]

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the remit given to the Performance and Innovation Unit to make a study of the future of renewable energy; what resources are to be committed to the study; and by when he has asked the PIU to report. [135431]

The Prime Minister

I have asked the Performance and Innovation Unit to undertake the following further projects:

  1. (i) how to achieve better availability of drugs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries, and help achieve the targets for these diseases agreed at the G8 Okinawa summit. The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury will be the Sponsor Ministers for this project, which will report by summer 2001.
  2. (ii) to carry out an analysis of the extent, nature and main causes of under-investment in work force development, and to bring forward proposals for solutions. The Minister for Transport will be the Sponsor Minister for this project, which will report by autumn 2001.
  3. (iii) to examine the contribution that renewable energy technologies could make to economic growth and environmental protection within the context of using natural resources more efficiently to support sustainable development. The Minister for Health will be the Sponsor Minister for this project, which will report by autumn 2001.