Select Committee on International Development Minutes of Evidence


Examination of witnesses (Questions 100 - 119)

TUESDAY 5 MAY 1998

RT HON CLARE SHORT, MP, MR RICHARD TEUTEN and MR JOHN KERBY  

Dr Tonge

  100.  I am conscious a lot of the answers to the questions we have, Chairman, are in the report that they have given to us so can I highlight a few things. Firstly, the volcanic ash: you know I have asked about this time and time again, it torments me, the long term effect of the volcanic ash. You say in the report given to us this morning that somebody is doing research to assess the effect of volcanic ash, is that being done at the Brompton or London Chest, where is it being done, in this country or Montserrat?
  (Clare Short)  If I could just say, Chair, I am also haunted by it. I read the first report that said the ash potentially may cause silicosis in September and I became absolutely obsessed with getting that information out on the island so that everybody knew the risk. We had a struggle to do that but there has been a document which has been circulated to everybody. I think and hope the risk is understood and monitoring is going on. Can you say who is doing it?
  (Mr Teuten)  The Institute of Occupational Medicine in Scotland is leading the primary research.

  101.  Will they be doing interim reports into how they are progressing?
  (Mr Teuten)  Some of their preliminary work was included in the papers made available at the turn of the year which contributed to the risk analysis.
  (Clare Short)  But the answer is yes. Also we have asked that medical practitioners in Britain and in the neighbouring islands keep an eye out for reporting of lung problems because it can show in people who have left the island already.

  102.  I realise at the moment the community of the island is relatively safe from ash as well as other dangers. How many people are living in the unsafe areas in the middle? Are there still people there?
  (Mr Teuten)  Dozens. It fluctuates.

  103.  And they are aware of the risks to their health from the ash?
  (Mr Teuten)  Yes, they are.

Chairman:  Mr Grant has a constituency case, or I think it is a constituency case. Do you want to ask the Secretary of State about that?

Mr Grant

  104.  It is the case of someone who stepped into the ash and her feet and legs were swollen to thrice their normal size. She has now come to Britain and her consultant wrote to me because there was difficulty in getting adequate housing for her from the local authority. We sent the case through to Baroness Symons in the Foreign Office and have not heard anything more about it as yet. I am wondering if there are any other people in this position and whether the kind of screening which has gone on in Montserrat is adequate and whether there is any screening going on in this country.
  (Clare Short)  Firstly, on her needs here, you are right to have approached the Foreign Office who are responsible for co-ordinating that activity. I must say I personally have not heard of anyone with swellings until you said this. I think we would be grateful for details and we will make sure that we pass them on to the people who are doing the medical monitoring. How systematic the monitoring of cases of ill-health in Britain is, I am not sure. I know that we wanted to draw the attention of medical practitioners to look out for particularly lung problems. Is it being done systematically?
  (Mr Teuten)  The Department of Health is co-ordinating this issue and is chairing a meeting later this month to agree the strategy both on island and in the UK for devising a database to enable us for future years to monitor whether there is any long-term impact as a result of ash inhalation. The point raised by Mr Grant is damage caused by pyroclastic flows, burns, and clearly there are a few individuals who have suffered in this manner and there are procedures on island for transporting severe burns cases to neighbouring islands for treatment.

Mr Grant:  But she has come here to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Chairman

  105.  Perhaps Mr Grant can give you the details.
  (Clare Short)  Yes, and we will look at whatever we can do about it.

  106.  I am anxious to get on. We asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs about the report that he commissioned on the lessons to be learned from the Montserrat experience and we asked him when will it be completed and when will the review be completed on the disaster preparedness of the Caribbean Dependent Territories, and he said that that was a matter for your Department.
  (Clare Short)  I am not aware of a report on the lessons of Montserrat.
  (Mr Teuten)  He was referring to the DfID evaluation report on which we have drafted terms of reference which we will be sharing with the Government of Montserrat and other government departments.
  (Clare Short)  And indeed we will share with the Committee[15].
  (Mr Teuten)  Yes, indeed, before commissioning independent consultants to undertake that activity later in the summer.
  (Clare Short)  We do a lot of evaluation of our work. You will understand that we need to.

  107.  Yes, and we have difficulty in understanding how you do it.
  (Clare Short)  But it is not an unusual step and we do evaluate our work regularly all over the place.

  108.  Will it be jointly with the Foreign Office?
  (Clare Short)  I think so.
  (Mr Teuten)  Yes, it would be managed by our Evaluation Department, but clearly the Foreign Office will be involved in the process and everybody else along with other government departments and the Government of Montserrat.

  109.  Perhaps when you have completed it, you will let us see it.
  (Clare Short)  Of course.

 Chairman:  Now, let us return to the Sustainable Development Plan.

Dr Tonge

  110.  We want to know please how long it is going to be before the Sustainable Development Plan will be published and if you think there is a realistic chance of a sustainable and viable economy in the north of the island and, if so, whether the people are being encouraged back to engage in economic activity there.
  (Clare Short)  There is a draft Sustainable Development Plan in being; indeed I finished reading it over the weekend. We and the Government of Montserrat are just trying to finalise our agreement on it. In fact, Richard is going to Montserrat in a couple of weeks hopefully to do that and there is broad agreement, so I am optimistic that that will be done. Then I want the draft to be published for a consultation, together with a budget of the kind of resources that are being spent and are going to be available because of course you cannot talk about a plan for sustainable development without talking about money and how much and what we can afford and what the options are, and that, we hope, assuming there is agreement with the Government of Montserrat, will go out at the end of this month.
  (Mr Teuten)  Or early next month, yes.
  (Clare Short)  And obviously it will come to you as well.

Chairman

  111.  Will it go out as an agreed plan?
  (Clare Short)  No, as a draft for discussion with people on the island, your Committee and anyone else.

  112.  I wanted to ask whether we could see it. I know that there is a draft plan in existence because the Government of Montserrat told me that there was one and they said that they were going to send it to me, but they have not sent it to me.
  (Clare Short)  There is a draft in existence and the sum difference, and it is fairly minor, between the Government of Montserrat and my Department, we are just trying to finalise. If we cannot reach agreement, I will let you have details, but I am very optimistic that we will reach final agreement and we will have a published draft for consultation alongside a budget so that people on the island can look at all the options, where the future lies, what the costs are likely to be, where the resources are going to come from, so I am hopeful that that is all on track and about to come out and you and, more importantly, with respect, the people on the island will have copies of it. As to the second part of your question, clearly the most developed and fertile parts of the island are still not able to be occupied. The time will come when they will be able to be.

Dr Tonge

  113.  But it is going to take quite a long time.
  (Clare Short)  I know, it is going to take time and we do not know how long and in the meantime it is about preserving the community and basically decent life in the north of the island, but that will be limited by the very nature of the geography and the landscape. What I am certain of is that all the kind of basic needs for decent life, decent housing, decent health care, decent education and decent care of the elderly will be provided. We will do our best to assist the development of businesses and small enterprises. We are very keen to move away from the kind of hand-out dependency to giving people the chance to build and repair their own houses, create their own little businesses, and what can be agricultural development is possible on much more difficult land, so I am absolutely sure that there will be viable life and a viable community.

  114.  But it is going to be heavily dependent on our financing that, is it not?
  (Clare Short)  I am afraid so, yes.

  115.  So "sustainable" does not mean self-sufficient.
  (Clare Short)  I think that is right. Really until the volcano has finished this round of activity and the island is able to recover, then in time I am sure the island can rebuild, but it will take time.

  116.  I have always been, as you probably know, very worried about engaging in this Sustainable Development Plan and plans for the north of the island until the volcano has been dormant for a considerable amount of time. It seems that we still do not know and we cannot be completely sure of what the volcano is going to do.
  (Clare Short)  I understand that, but, on the other hand, I am very keen that we do not keep making decisions in a very short-term, emergency way. We have got, whatever it is, 2,800 or so people——
  (Mr Teuten)  About 3,000.
  (Clare Short)  It is a little under I think, of people remaining on the island and increasing an elderly population because, very understandably, older people do not want at that stage of their life to move and make a new life, and we owe it to them that they can look ahead and know what facilities will be there and how their life will be within the limits of the volcano not having burnt itself out and life having to be confined to the north of the island. Let us have no illusions, there are great limits, but I think we owe it to the people to get the longest-term kind of decision-making that is possible so that people know where they are.

Ms Follett

  117.  I think it is very admirable what your Department is trying to do in the business and enterprise sector, but what about insurance? There are a great many risks involved in business, just as in ordinary life, but when you go on to an island with an active volcano, the risks go off the scale. You talk about the enterprise development, of small enterprise units and people going into them, but is there any arrangement for insurance?
  (Clare Short)  There is a section in the report on insurance, is there not? I think there were three insurance companies operating on the island and two have basically ceased to offer insurance and one offers limited insurance, is that right? It is a problem, as you say, of the basic risks of the situation and it is yet another burden and difficulty that people on Montserrat have to carry. Could you add to that?
  (Mr Teuten)  This is a matter on which the Foreign Office has been leading. There has not been any aid monies involved, nor would it be appropriate to subsidise what is essentially a private commercial activity. Our aim has been to try and inform the insurance companies by providing them with sufficient information on the volcanic risks and on the British Government's intentions by way of supporting the longer term development of the island and to encourage them to return by that means rather than through financial inducements.

  118.  I think that is admirable, I think it outlines the problem.
  (Clare Short)  The loss to the three insurance companies to date is more than £25 million. Sun Alliance of the East Caribbean is the only company still providing property insurance and they are not invoking cancellation clauses but even they are running down their remaining business by means of not inviting renewals. We are not the lead department.

  119.  No, I know that. I am not suggesting that you do anything on it, I am just saying that given that background it seems that efforts to provide sustainable development or enterprise, admirable though they are, are going to be very difficult because this is going to come from the private sector. I have to underline what Dr Tonge is saying that in such a risky situation it is going to be very difficult indeed.
  (Mr Teuten)  There are ongoing discussions with insurance companies. Some insurance companies have suggested restoration cover but naturally at this stage the premia being mentioned are quite high. Over time we hope those figures will come down and they will become more affordable.
  (Clare Short)  It is absolutely right, the situation on Montserrat is very difficult. Rebuilding from scratch in the north is enormously difficult. People are being very resilient and strong but the difficulties are enormous. For all of us it is a very difficult situation but within those constraints we are determined to provide all the basics that people need and give people the prospect of planning their life in a rather more long-term perspective.

Chairman:  I would like to invite Ann Clwyd to continue to lead our questioning.


15   See Evidence p. 34 and pp. 36-42. Back


 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries

© Parliamentary copyright 1998
Prepared 4 August 1998