EC/EU Development Policy (Hansard, 19 April 2004)

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the published objectives were of the expenditure on other external charters of community policy referred to in the financial tables of the Commission Report 2003 on the EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance in 2002; what his Department's involvement in future charters was; what results they achieved; and what assessment he has made of their value for money. [165101]

Mr. Gareth Thomas
The entry for "other external policy chapters" in the financial tables of the EC annual report includes budget lines for the promotion of community inward investment in the developing countries of Latin America (B7–872) and the Commission's contribution to international environmental activities (B7–811) for which DFID is financially responsible.
Detailed descriptions of the objectives of these individual chapters are given as part of the "Final adoption of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2002". This was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on the 31 January 2002 (volume 45 L29, pps 1343 and 1325 respectively). A copy of this is available in the parliamentary Library or via the Commission website at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/ archive/2002/102920020131en.html.
DFID's comment on future budget proposals from the Commission, through the annual budget negotiation process led by HM Treasury takes a number of factors into consideration including cost effectiveness. The new financial regulation requires that all future community funded activities be based on Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time hound (SMART) objectives, and accompanied by appropriate criteria for performance measurement and evaluation.
The UK Government have been a leading advocate for activity-based budgeting which was adopted by the Commission in 2003, this will increase the transparency and efficiency of budgetary decision-making in the future and help deliver a more effective EC budget.
The EC is best placed to carry out value for money assessments for individual budget lines through its own performance monitoring mechanisms.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the published objectives were of the other specific actions listed as items B7–66 in the financial tables of the 2003 European Commission Report on EC Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance in 2002; what his Department's involvement in these actions was; what results they achieved; and what assessment he has made of their value for money. [165127]

Mr. Gareth Thomas
Items listed under B7–66 "Other specific actions" in the financial tables of the Commission report include financing for the "European Training Foundation" (B7–664), "Co-operation with Industrialised non member countries" (B7–665), and "Cooperation with third countries on Migration" (B7–667).
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Responsibility for these budget lines lies with the Department for Education and Skills, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office respectively.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the commitment of EU development assistance to provide support to national co-ordination units in 2002. [163861]

Mr. Gareth Thomas
In 2002, €5 million was committed under the Tacis (Technical Assistance to the CIS) programme to provide support to National Coordinating Units. Each partner state in the Tacis region has a national co-ordinator, who is usually a senior member of that country's administration, supported by a National Co-ordinating Unit (NCU). The NCU is an institution of the partner country Government, and is headed by a local executive director and staffed by a team of national officials and experts, with necessary logistical and secretarial support.
The primary objective of EU support for NCUs is to improve and strengthen the planning and co-ordinating capacity of partner Governments in activities such as: providing information on their priorities; organising consultations with stakeholders; advising on drafts of programmes and project proposals; and providing functions related to Tacis where a national body is required.
The allocation is used to fund EU and local expertise, training, and office and equipment costs.