To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of whether the Government are on course to implement the recommendations made by the Commission for Africa for which it is responsible; and if he will make a statement. (181743)

Many of the recommendations of the Commission for Africa (CfA) were taken up by the G8 at Gleneagles and agreed as collective commitments, including on peace and security, good governance, human development, cancelling debt and promoting growth. To mark the first anniversary of the launch of the CfA report the Government published a detailed report on the UK’s contribution to taking forward the Commission’s recommendations and ensuring that the other G8 countries deliver on their Gleneagles commitments. The report was deposited in the Library of both Houses on 9 March 2006.

I made a written statement to the House on the Gleneagles commitments on 25 October 2007 (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/g8/alexander-statement.pdf). This showed good progress by the international community on the majority of milestones the UK Government identified as important for the period December 2006 to July 2007, in particular new funding for health, education and infrastructure. The UK has substantially increased its own aid to underpin these efforts: DFID’s bilateral spending in Africa for 2007-08 is expected to reach £1.25 billion, up from £850 million in 2004-05.