| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Food Shortages
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what response she has made to the request for international food aid issued (a) by Niger in November and (b) by Burkina Faso in December. [24349]
Clare Short: UK assistance to these countries is provided mainly through the EU. We are in close touch with the European Commission about their plans.
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations the Government have received from (a) NGOs and (b) UK officials in Burkina Faso and Niger about the impending food shortages in these countries. [24350]
Clare Short: We have received an official representation from one NGO on this issue. Our Embassy in Abidjan, which is accredited to Niger and Burkina Faso, has recently received a request from the Nigerien authorities for assistance which is now being considered.
Development Assistance
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been given in development assistance to (a) Burkina Faso, (b) Niger, (c) Mali and (d) Chad in each year since 1992; and what percentage was (i) bilateral and (ii) multilateral assistance; and what proportion was given for (1) emergency relief and (2) long term disaster preparedness and food security. [24347]
Clare Short:
Figures for total bilateral assistance (including emergency aid and debt relief) to Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Chad from financial year 1991-92 to
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 20
1996-97 are given in Table 1a. Further details are given in British Aid Statistics which are available in the House Library.
| Country | Year | Gross public expenditure(2) |
|---|---|---|
| Burkina Faso | 1991-92 | 969 |
| 1992-93 | 345 | |
| 1993-94 | 248 | |
| 1994-95 | 168 | |
| 1995-96 | 325 | |
| 1996-97 | 204 | |
| Total 2,259 | ||
| Chad | 1991-92 | 227 |
| 1992-93 | 291 | |
| 1993-94 | 424 | |
| 1994-95 | 110 | |
| 1995-96 | 110 | |
| 1996-97 | 142 | |
| Total 1,303 | ||
| Mali | 1991-92 | 1,351 |
| 1992-93 | 1,223 | |
| 1993-94 | 811 | |
| 1994-95 | 921 | |
| 1995-96 | 1,336 | |
| 1996-97 | 8,656 | |
| Total 14,299 | ||
| Niger | 1991-92 | 392 |
| 1992-93 | 373 | |
| 1993-94 | 468 | |
| 1994-95 | 539 | |
| 1995-96 | 686 | |
| 1996-97 | 454 | |
| Total 2,912 |
(2) Includes non-DFID debt relief.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 19
(3) DFID uses the World Food Programme as a means of delivering emergency food aid. These amounts are recorded as bilateral food aid as DFID has control over the decision to provide such food aid to a particular destination. Regular non-emergency provisions of food aid are not included in this table.
(4) DFID uses certain UN Agencies as a means of delivering emergency assistance to individual countries. These amounts are recorded as bilateral disaster relief as DFID has influence over the use and destination of funds.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 21
| of which | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total multilateral | EC | UN | Other | ||
| Burkina | 1992 | 9.2 | 5.8 | 0.7 | 2.7 |
| 1993 | 13.4 | 9.2 | 0.7 | 3.4 | |
| 1994 | 8.7 | 5.1 | 0.5 | 3.1 | |
| 1995 | 11.5 | 7.7 | 0.7 | 3.1 | |
| Chad | 1992 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| 1993 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.9 | |
| 1994 | 6.9 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 2.6 | |
| 1995 | 4.8 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 1.6 | |
| Mali | 1992 | 9.9 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| 1993 | 9.0 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 1.7 | |
| 1994 | 10.5 | 5.8 | 0.5 | 4.2 | |
| 1995 | 12.4 | 8.7 | 0.7 | 3.0 | |
| Niger | 1992 | 6.1 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| 1993 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | |
| 1994 | 7.4 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 2.2 | |
| 1995 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | |
Net Official Development Assistance (oda) is an internationally comparable aid statistic.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Long-term Unemployment
Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how she intends to deploy New Deal Welfare to Work resources relating to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement; [22735]
- (2) When she proposed to announce the results of the Government's consultation on long-term unemployment; and if she will make a statement; [22743]
(3) if she will make statement on the New Deal Welfare to Work as it affects lone parents and people with disabilities. [22744]
Mr. Worthington:
Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency, under its chief executive Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 22
Letter from Ian Walters to Mr. Norman Godman, dated 19 January 1998:
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS 22735, 22743 AND 22744
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 23
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me as Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency to reply to your questions about the New Deal and the recent consultation on long term unemployment in Northern Ireland.
No 22735
Northern Ireland has been allocated £140 million from the £3.5 billion being raised from the Windfall levy to fund the New Deals for young people and the long term unemployed. We estimate that 13,000 young people will enter the Gateway in the first full year of operation beginning in April this year, of which 7,000 are likely to take up one of the four New Deal options. Provision is also being made for a further 3,000 young people in the New Deal age category who would otherwise have benefited from existing training and employment programmes. Resource transfers for the latter will be made from existing programmes during 1998/99. In addition we estimate that approximately 3,000 people aged over 25 and unemployed for more than 2 years will be eligible for subsided employment.
The allocation for the New Deal for the disabled has yet to be apportioned. The allocation for Lone Parents is mentioned below.
No. 22743
Work on the review of long-term unemployment was temporarily overtaken during the Autumn by the overriding priority of the New Deal. We have been examining how existing programmes for the long term unemployed could be best aligned with the New Deal while taking account of the outcome of last year's consultation exercise. I expect an announcement will be made shortly on the future shape of existing programmes and services.
No. 22744
An additional £9 million has been allocated to Northern Ireland to fund the New Deal for Lone Parents. From April this year, Lone Parents making a first-time claim for Income Support and whose youngest child is of school age will be offered advice and support to overcome the barriers preventing them from taking up employment. All other Lone Parents will be able to avail of this opportunity from October 1998. Personal Advisers will help Lone Parents to identify suitable after-school childcare services, advise them on in-work benefits and where appropriate, arrange pre-employment training as well as providing an in-work support service to ease the transition from Welfare to Work. Similar opportunities for the sick and disabled who are able to take up employment will mirror the arrangements in Great Britain. We will ensure that the launch of this initiative in Northern Ireland will coincide with national implementation.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |