To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many complaints have been made to the UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's guidelines for multinational enterprises; how many NCP statements there have been that breaches of the guidelines have taken place; and if he will make a statement. (181733)

16 complaints have been brought to the UK National Contact Point since 2000. The NCP reorganisation in 2006 committed the NCP to state if breaches of the guidelines had occurred and whether a mediated solution was not possible. Seven complaints have been brought since the reorganisation. Six are under mediation or investigation and one was resolved outside the NCP process. The NCP will make it clear in its conclusion for any case whether or not the guidelines have been breached.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department, in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, to raise awareness, amongst British companies which operate in conflict-affected countries, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s guidelines for multinational enterprises and the risk awareness tool for multinational enterprises in weak governance zones; and if he will make a statement. (181734)

The UK National Contact Point (NCP) undertakes a number of activities to promote the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD’s Risk Awareness Tool. This includes use of the Government’s corporate social responsibility website, the provision of materials to DFID offices and FCO missions to raise awareness amongst British business overseas, and attending meetings and speaking at conferences. In addition, FCO, BERR and DFID Ministers have written to a wide range of companies to raise awareness of the guidelines and state HMG’s commitment to their effective implementation.

The NCP is organising for key embassies and DFID country offices to provide a link to the guidelines and risk awareness tool on their websites. The NCP has also agreed to provide £10,000 to the OECD to support a web portal to disseminate the risk awareness tool, and is sponsoring the upcoming Chatham House conference on corporate social responsibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department are working to promote the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s guidelines for multinational enterprises. (181747)

The UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD guidelines is currently managed by officials from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). BERR dedicate one full-time official to working on the NCP and are in the process of recruiting a second. The Foreign Office and DFID both currently contribute 20 per cent. of one official’s time as core resource. From time to time additional staff resources are deployed as necessary.