Bangladesh International Development, Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development, Rutland and Melton, Conservative

Bangladesh
International Development

Nick de Bois (Enfield North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Bangladesh Remittance and Payments Partnership; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)

The Remittance and Payments Partnership programme, which ended in 2011, had the objective of improving access to and reducing the cost of remittances for the poor in Bangladesh. Key programme outcomes include:

Savings of $66 million by migrants in Saudi Arabia, UK and Singapore by bringing down the cost of formal remittance transfers.

Establishment of the Bangladesh Automated Cheque Handling System that has resulted in a reduction in the time required to deliver a remittance. 95% of individuals surveyed received their remittances in less than 15 days, of which 65% received them in less than seven days compared to 20-25 days.

Increased usage of formal remittance channels, reported to be at 90%.

Emerging Markets Group implemented this programme in partnership with Bangladesh Bank, International Organisation for Migration and Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit.

Nick de Bois, Enfield North, Conservative, Bangladesh International Development

Bangladesh
International Development

Nick de Bois (Enfield North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcomes were of her Preparation of Electoral Roll with Photographs Programme; and how the project was implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)

The outcome of this project was the preparation by the Bangladesh Election Commission of a credible voter list, with photographs, for use in the parliamentary elections in 2008. The list included more than 81 million voters, and increased public and political parties' confidence in the parliamentary elections in 2008, which had a voter turnout of 86%.

This project was funded by the Government of Bangladesh and a consortium of donors. UK Aid provided approximately 22% of the total finance, which was channelled through the United Nations Development Programme.

Bangladesh International Development, Nick de Bois Enfield North, Conservative

Bangladesh
International Development

Nick de Bois (Enfield North, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what outcomes she expects from her Public Service Capacity Building Programme; and how the project is being implemented in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)

By January 2013, the intended outcome of the Public Service Capacity Building project (PSCB) is to have contributed to strengthening the leadership competencies and capacity of 1,700 senior level, reform-minded, civil servants. This will translate into more effective leadership for the development and delivery of government policy.

Some specific outcomes expected of the project include:

the development of human resource policies, systems and procedures to enable effective deployment of staff in the civil service;

the training of 1700 senior managers and other senior public sector managers.

PSCB is implemented by the company Capita Helm, in consortium with the British Council, in support of Bangladesh's Ministry of Public Administration.