§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on steps that have been taken in the European Union to strengthen the administration of reproductive health programmes; what staffing provisions are in place to deal with reproductive health programmes; and what the budgeted amount for this financial year is for such programmes. [48997]
§ Clare ShortOne of my Department's objectives for EC reform has been to improve the mix of skills in the Commission in order to strengthen the EC's contribution to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The Commission's central staffing for health issues has significantly increased over the past year. Within DG Development there are now four (and soon to be five) full-time health professionals, and a seconded UK health expert has a specific remit to lead on reproductive health. Within EuropeAid there are approximately 20 staff working exclusively on health.
EC expenditure on reproductive health is provided both from a specific budget line (B7–6312) and——the majority——through country programmes in the form of projects and budget support. Budget line B7–6312 is intended to support innovative approaches and the development of new knowledge. Work is underway to link EC expenditure to specific categories but at present the Commission do not have full details of their overall 998W spending on reproductive health. The allocations for budget line B7–6312 in the 2002 budget are:
- commitments1——8,584,000 euros
- payments——9,141,900 euros.
1Commitments made in one year are usually implemented, ie paid, over a series of subsequent years.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about(a) the budgeted amounts in the European Union for reproductive health spending in each of the past five years, (b) the actual spending and (c) steps being taken to ensure that budget allocation and expenditure match each other in the future. [48993]
§ Clare ShortEC expenditure on reproductive health is provided both from a specific budget line (B7–6312) and——the majority——through country programmes in the form of projects and budget support. Budget line B7–6312 is intended to support innovative approaches and the development of new knowledge. Work is under way to link EC expenditure to specific categories but at present the Commission do not have full details of their overall spending on reproductive health.
Commitments and payments information for budget line B7–6312 is readily available only for the past four years.
Reproductive health budget1 euro million 1999 2000 2001 20022 Commitment allocations3 24.5 19.9 22.0 8.6 Commitment outturn 9.3 23.0 21.3 —— Payment allocations 15.6 23.9 24.4 9.7 Payment outturn 10.7 20.7 8.2 1.9 1HIV/AIDS included prior to 2001. 2Outturn data as at end February 2002. 3Commitments made in one year are usually implemented, ie paid, over a series of subsequent years. The EC are taking steps to increase their efficiency through a programme of reforms begun in 2000. The reforms include restructuring the Directorates General responsible for external actions and development, simplifying internal procedures and strengthening the capacity of country offices.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on what assessment she has made of whether the European Union is adequately organised and staffed to spend budget line B7–6312 on reproductive health. [48992]
§ Clare ShortMy Department has not made any formal assessment of the Commission's organisation and staffing in relation to budget line B7–6312 (Aid for population and reproductive health care). However, we understand that three health professionals (one in DG Development and two in EuropeAid) have specific responsibility for management of this relatively small budget line1, and that during the evaluation of proposals they are supported by additional external technical experts.
999W1Commitments allocation of euro 8.5 million for 2002.
§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the performance of the European Union has been in spending this year's budget line B7–6312 of 8.6 million euros on reproductive health. [48991]
§ Clare ShortThe EC financial year runs from 1 January. As of 28 February, no new commitments from the euro 8.6 million budgeted had yet been approved but euro 1.9 million of a possible euro 9.7 million payments had been spent.