To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Government are on track to implement the recommendations made by the Commission for Africa. (89942)

The Commission for Africa report set out a comprehensive set of recommendations for both Africa and the developed world for tackling poverty on the continent. In March 2006, we published a detailed report on the UK’s contribution to taking forward these recommendations for and delivery of G8 commitments. The report is in the Libraries of both Houses, on DFID’s website (www.dfid.gov.uk) and was sent directly to all Members of Parliament.

Many of the Commission for Africa recommendations were taken up at the G8 Summit at Gleneagles and turned into commitments. We published a booklet in June 2006—“G8 Gleneagles: One Year On: Turning Talk into Action”—that highlighted 12 areas, from aid and debt cancellation to fighting disease and promoting business, across which G8 commitments are being followed through (while recognising that much remains to be done). We also produce monthly progress reports against a “Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa”, which sets out international milestones that need to be met to stay on track to deliver G8 commitments. This is also in the Libraries of both Houses and is available on DFID’s website.

The UK’s new White Paper on “Eliminating World Poverty—Making Governance Work For the Poor” sets out what the UK will do with the international community to deliver the promises we made last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1800-1801W, on the Commission for Africa, what meetings he has had with ministerial colleagues to monitor implementation of Commission for Africa and G8 commitments. (89963)

On 25 July, I chaired a meeting of ministerial colleagues across Whitehall which focused on delivery of G8 commitments, many of which were Commission for Africa recommendations. At this meeting, we agreed a set of milestones that we believe the international community need to meet by July 2007 to ensure we are on track to deliver G8 commitments. These milestones are included in the September update of the “Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa” which is deposited in the Libraries of both houses and available on DFID’s website (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/g8/milestones.asp).

I discussed with Cabinet colleagues the UK’s new White Paper on “Eliminating World Poverty—Making Governance Work For the Poor”, which sets out what the UK will do with the international community to deliver the promises we made last year. For example, during my visit to Mozambique with the Chancellor in April, we committed £8.5 billion over the next 10 years to support long-term education plans to help meet the target of getting all children into school by 2015. At the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Singapore in September, seventeen African countries reported substantial progress on developing these long term education plans.