§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Primary Schools Education Management Development Project in Botswana. 149170]
§ Clare ShortDFID has contributed technical assistance worth £1.2 million to support the Government of Botswana in strengthening the management of primary education. DFID and the Botswana Government have reviewed progress regularly to ensure value for money. The last major review of the project was conducted in May 2001 and another is planned for later this year. The project has been effective in training school principals and school management teams, and we regard it as a successful collaboration between our two Governments.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Shapla: Nursing, Medical Education and Public/Private Partnership projects in Bangladesh. [49173]
§ Clare ShortThese are three components of DFID's support to the Government of Bangladesh's health sector reforms. The contractors responsible for delivering the outputs of the components were jointly selected by DFID and Government of Bangladesh on the basis of technical competency and overall cost.
They are subject to ongoing monitoring by our Bangladesh office and have, in addition been subject to two independent, external reviews in May 2000 and May 2001. The standard of work undertaken has been judged 749W to be consistently high and DFID is satisfied that this support is achieving good value for money and is producing demonstrable results.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Humanitarian Assistance Services Projects. [49182]
§ Clare ShortThe Humanitarian Assistance Services contract was awarded under a process of international competitive bidding to the Crown Agents in 1999. The contract is currently in the process of being re-tendered.
We are satisfied that the contract has provided a competitively priced service which has enabled DFID to respond to numerous crises around the globe, most recently in, for example, Afghanistan, Gujarat and Mozambique.
During 1999–2000 the National Audit Office conducted a value for money audit of DFID's response to the Kosovo crisis, this included the role played by the Crown Agents under the Humanitarian Services Contract. The report acknowledged the leading role played by DFID during the crisis.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Restructuring Forests of the former Homeland Administrations Project in the Republic of South Africa. [49191]
§ Clare ShortDFID is providing technical assistance worth £2.95 million to South Africa's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to support its policy of restructuring the forests of the Former Homeland Administrations in the way that addresses social objectives. DFID and the South African Government have reviewed progress regularly to ensure value for money. The project was last formally reviewed in May 2001. This programme has made an important contribution to the effective management of these forests, which are very important to some of the poorest areas of South Africa.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Family Protection Project Managers Project in Jordan. [49197]
§ Clare ShortOfficials from my Department visited Jordan in February to monitor the Family Protection Project. Their report identified significant progress as having been made over the past year, and appropriate action has been agreed with the project managers for ensuring that this continues to be the case during the remainder of the project.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Social Marketing of Condoms Project in Mozambique. [49207]
§ Clare ShortThe Mozambique Social Marketing Condoms Project is regularly monitored by the implementing partner, Population Services International in collaboration with the funding partners, DFID, The Netherlands and USAID. We believe that cost effectiveness is very important, and one of the key indicators monitored is the cost per condom sold. Higher750W sales reduce the cost per condom, and although final cost figures for 2001 are not yet available, last year saw the highest sales since the project began. An evaluation of the project is planned for the third quarter of this year, when cost effectiveness and value for money will be among key issues examined.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Guyana Land Administration Support Programme in Guyana. [49186]
§ Clare ShortMy Department undertook a review of DFID support to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission in November 2001. The project continues to meet its objectives cost effectively.