§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many chartered engineers there are in her Department; and what grades they hold. [43583]
§ Clare ShortThere are a total of 34 chartered engineers working for DFID as permanent and pensionable staff, of which two are at the SCS level, 16 are at the A1 level and 16 are at the A2 level.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what use her Department makes of engineers to alleviate world poverty; and if she will make a statement. [43581]
§ Clare ShortInfrastructure services play a key role in both directly addressing poverty (access to safe water, the provision of clean energy, transport, etc.) and, more indirectly, in contributing to longer term sustainable poverty elimination. Effective services supported by adequate physical infrastructure are essential if we are to promote the rates of economic growth in our partner countries necessary to meet the millennium development goals.
DFID's engineering staff are employed both in our infrastructure and urban development department in London (where they are responsible for developing innovative approaches to meeting infrastructure service needs and managing a wide ranging knowledge and research programme) and in our country and regional offices (where they are working with our partner Governments to help them take forward programmes which draw on the innovation and knowledge programmes developed in the centre).
I see our professional engineering staff, and the programmes they help to develop and implement, as a very important part of DFID's contribution to our poverty 201W elimination agenda. I will shortly be publishing a strategy paper highlighting the importance of infrastructure services to the achievement of the millennium development goals and setting out the approach proposed by DFID to maximising the poverty elimination potential of work in the infrastructure sector.