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Ministerial Meetings

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 22 March 1999, Official Report, columns 19-21, how many times Ministers in his Department met their counterparts in the US Administration between 1 January 1998 and 1 June 1998, indicating the dates and locations of each meeting, the Ministers involved and the name of the US counterpart. [80822]

Mr. Chris Smith: Under the US political system, there are no exact counterparts for DCMS Ministers. However, between the period 1 January to 1 June 1998 neither myself nor any of my Ministers met the equivalents of their counterparts in the US administration.

Digital Television (East Lancashire)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects all parts of east Lancashire to be able to receive digital terrestrial television. [81912]

Janet Anderson: Responsibility for the delivery of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services in the UK rests with the BBC and ITC. Under plans for the launch phase, which comprises 81 transmitter sites, the Commission predicts that DTT services will be available to 250,000 people from the Pendle Forest transmitter, which covers a large proportion of east Lancashire. In addition, the Winter Hill main transmitter, of which Pendle Forest is a relay, also provides a service into parts of the region.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Kosovo

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance the United Kingdom Government have provided to (a) Albania, (b) Macedonia and (c) Montenegro since 24 March. [82062]

Clare Short: Since 24 March, the British Government has allocated £20 million for the provision of humanitarian assistance for the refugees from Kosovo. This funding has been used to support the work of the United Nations, the Red Cross, and Non-Governmental Organisations. A detailed country-by-country breakdown of expenditure is not currently available--many of the programmes supported cover more than one country. We

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are currently considering, in concert with the International Financial Institutions and other key partners, the provision of broader macro-economic assistance to countries hosting the refugees. The EU has committed £100 million to Macedonia and Albania. The UK share of the EU commitment is approximately £15 million.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the (i) need and (ii) estimated costs of providing water, electricity and sanitation to the refugee camps in (a) Albania and (b) Macedonia; and if she will make a statement. [82160]

Clare Short: We are not, of course, responsible for running the camps in Macedonia and Albania, but we obviously recognise the vital importance of providing adequate water, sanitation, electricity and other services to the refugee camps. Our military and civilian personnel have been actively involved in planning and establishing, and ensured adequate provision. Detailed information about the costs of providing these utilities is not currently available.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how support for refugees in Macedonia and Albania is being co-ordinated amongst EU member states. [82157]

Clare Short: There have been meetings in Brussels, Geneva, and London, over the last three weeks, to co-ordinate international action to provide humanitarian assistance for the refugees. In particular, an extraordinary meeting of the EU Humanitarian Aid Committee was called to discuss Kosovo on 9 April.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to provide basic education for child refugees in Albania and Macedonia. [82158]

Clare Short: We are not, of course, running the refugee camps in Macedonia or Albania, but our programme of assistance for the refugees includes funding for education projects. We have, for example, contributed £300,000 to the Save the Children Fund appeal, which includes plans for non-formal educational activities in Macedonia and Albania.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries which have received refugees as a result of the Kosovo crisis. [82064]

Clare Short: According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the following countries or states have received refugees from Kosovo in recent weeks: Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, France, Poland, Israel, Norway, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland and Austria. The UK has agreed to UNHCR's request to grant temporary protection to Kosovar refugees--the first group are expected to arrive in the UK on 25 April.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the ways in which the £20 million of financial help from her Department for Kosovar refugees is being spent. [82161]

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Clare Short: The UK has made a major contribution to trying to increase the effectiveness of the UN-lead on humanitarian effort. We are funding airlifts and the necessary logistical support to overcome the constraints on delivering international assistance to those in need. So far, we have funded 32 flights, a truck convoy in Albania, personnel, and aircraft handling equipment for Tirana and Skopje airports. Our offices in Tirana and Skopje are working with NATO and UNHCR to establish refugee centres in Albania and Macedonia. We are strengthening agency capacity through the provision of key personnel, and making cash grants to international agencies and NGOs.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the medical needs of the refugees in Macedonia and Albania; and what provisions her Department has made to meet these needs. [82159]

Clare Short: We are in close touch with the World Health Organisation (WHO), who are taking the lead responsibility for the medical needs of the refugees. At present, the health status of refugees in both Macedonia and Albania is judged to be reasonably good, with no major epidemics, though recent arrivals have been in poorer condition as a result of spending several days on the road.

We have placed health experts in our offices in Tirana and Skopje. We are also providing a public health expert for WHO in Tirana. We have funded the purchase and transportation of 14 WHO emergency health kits to Macedonia, and seven kits for Albania--these will cover the needs of 210,000 people for 3 months.

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has prepared to maintain support for refugees in Macedonia and Albania over the next few months. [82156]

Clare Short: Our overriding aim is to enable the refugees to return to their homes as soon as possible. We recognise, however, that the refugees will require continuing support for some time to come, and are planning accordingly. We have established field offices in Tirana and Skopje, with experts in areas such as health and camp planning, to identify and respond to needs, both immediate and long term. We are strengthening the capacity of the humanitarian agencies themselves through secondment of expert personnel; and a DFID liaison officer is working with General Reith, the Commander of the British forces in Albania, to maximise the effectiveness of the humanitarian assistance they can provide. We have also begun, with the US, Germany, France and Italy, the planning for refugee returns to Kosovo.

Arms Exports

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many arms export licence applications her Department (a) has examined and (b) advised against granting since September 1997; and how many arms export licence applications have been granted by the Department for Trade and Industry since September 1997 against the advice of her Department. [71055]

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Clare Short [holding answer 16 February 1999]: Licences to export arms and other goods controlled for strategic reasons are issued by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. All relevant licence applications are circulated by DTI to other Departments with an interest. These include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and, since August 1997, the Department for International Development. Since August 1997, DFID has been consulted on 2,609 individual licence applications circulated to DFID by DTI. I am advised that views expressed by my Department fall under the description of "internal discussion and advice", the disclosure of which would, in this case, harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. The information is therefore being withheld on the basis of Exemption 2 of Part II of Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

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