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Serbia
10. Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian aid her Department is providing for Serbia. [89761]
Mr. Foulkes: We provide humanitarian assistance wherever it is needed, but it is essential to verify need and proper use. Applying these principles in Serbia is difficult in view of limited independent access. We shall consider requests for assistance through international humanitarian organisations. ECHO have allocated a total of 26.5 million euros for humanitarian assistance to Serbia, of which the UK share will be some £2.5 million.
Nigeria
11. Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about development assistance being given by her Department and the European Union to aid the return of Nigeria to democracy. [89762]
Clare Short: Britain and the EU provided significant support to the transition process which led to President Obasanjo's inauguration in May and the return of Nigeria to democracy.
The challenge for the new Nigerian government is to redirect their resources towards growth and development aimed at removing inequalities and eliminating poverty. International assistance will be needed. Britain and the EU are ready to help Nigerian government efforts to bear down on corruption and adopt reforms that benefit the poor.
AIDS
12. Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help the Government are providing to tackle the spread of AIDS in developing countries. [89763]
Clare Short: We are supporting HIV/AIDS work in 39 developing countries. We are also working with UNAIDS and other UN agencies to develop a more co-ordinated and intensified global response. We are funding research into development of new methods of protection against HIV, such as microbicides and an HIV/AIDS vaccine.
Sub-Saharan Africa
14. Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what spending on aid for sub-Saharan Africa by her Department (a) was in 1997-98, (b) is in the current year and (c) is planned to be in 2000-01. [89765]
Clare Short:
Bilateral country programme expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa in 1997-98 was £332.36 million. A firm figure for 1998-99 is not yet available, but expenditure is estimated to be at least £400 million. Planned outturn figures for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 are expected to be £450 million and £477 million respectively. In addition,
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we make substantial contributions to multilateral organisations, where our share of assistance in 1997 amounted to £217 million, much of which is spent in Africa.
16. Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress she is making with her plans for halving world poverty by 2015. [89767]
Clare Short:
Great progress has already been made this century--more people have climbed out of poverty in the last 50 years than in the previous 500--but we must continue with our efforts at every level to meet this ambitious target. The plans for halving world poverty by 2015 are in place and set out in the 1999 Departmental Report, working both with our partners in country and internationally. It is achievable if the international system works together. It requires greater coherence of aid, trade, environment, agriculture and economic reform policies. We are engaging positively with all our partners to this end.
19. Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional requests for aid she has received since March for those countries in the Balkan area affected by the Kosovo conflict. [89770]
Clare Short:
Requests for international assistance from countries affected by the Kosovo crisis have been handled within the framework of Donor's Conferences.
We have responded through our contributions to the EU and World Bank pledges which, to date, total some $200 million to Albania and $250 million to Macedonia. Bilaterally, we have committed £90 million in humanitarian assistance, much of which has been spent in Albania and Macedonia. We have also committed £10 million for technical assistance to the Governments of Albania and Macedonia to help strengthen their capacity to take forward key reforms and to help them absorb international assistance through improvements to their budgetary planning and assessment processes.
We expect that the proposed regional Stability Pact will provide a framework for discussing the regeneration of the Balkan region. The EU will be a key participant in this process and in the international reconstruction effort in Kosovo.
20. Mr. Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to visit the Indian sub-continent before the end of the year to discuss the consequences of the conflict in Kashmir. [89771]
Clare Short:
I visited India in March, before the start of the present fighting in Kashmir. I have no plans at present to visit the sub-continent again before the end of the year.
21. Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the aid which she plans to make available for the reconstruction of Kosovo. [89772]
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Clare Short:
The EU, with the support of the World Bank, will assume leading responsibility for reconstruction within the overall UN-led civil implementation structure. They are co-ordinating damage and needs assessment and will organise donor conferences over the coming months to mobilise the necessary international effort. We contribute to EC funds and also intend to provide technical assistance to try to ensure that EC funds are well spent.
24. Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department is taking to support reconstruction in Kosovo, with particular reference to assistance with mine clearance. [89776]
Clare Short:
The EU, with the support of the World Bank, will assume responsibility for reconstruction within the overall UN-led civil implementation structure. They will organise donor conferences over the coming months to mobilise the international effort. We are working to ensure that the arrangements for managing EU assistance are effective.
We have already committed over £1.7 million in support of humanitarian mine actions and we are ready to do more through the United Nations Mine Action Co-ordination Centre (MACC) Kosovo programme.
23. Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to visit the island of St. Helena to discuss improved transport links. [89774]
Clare Short:
I have no plans to visit St. Helena. Later this month, the St. Helena Government will be receiving the Final Report of the preliminary desk study into the viability of air access to St. Helena. We will then discuss the report and possible changes in the scheduling of the RMS St. Helena with them.
25. Mr. Corbett:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to assist countries in central America with reconstruction after Hurricane Mitch. [89777]
Clare Short:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts) on 16 June 1999, Official Report, column 177.
26. Barbara Follett:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her assessment is of the current humanitarian situation on the island of Montserrat. [89778]
Clare Short:
The situation has improved considerably since the height of the volcanic activity in 1997. Accommodation has been or will have been provided by the end of the year for approximately 850 households--370 direct build houses, 338 self-build houses and permanent accommodation for 130 elderly people. Consideration is currently being given to providing the necessary infrastructure for a further 220 houses. It is
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intended that all those remaining in shelters will be given the opportunity to build their own homes or move into direct-build housing by March 2001.
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