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India

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects her Department supports in India; and what the amount of grants is in each case. [11395]

Clare Short: All project support to India is provided in the form of grants. The table provides details of active projects and total financial commitment.

£

SI Number	Projects	Total commitment
Andhra Pradesh
1	Andhra Pradesh Energy Efficiency Project	42,700,000
2	Andhra Pradesh Power Sector Reform Project	31,500,000
3	Andhra Pradesh Economic Restructuring Project	5,300,000
4	Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project	45,543,000
5	Andhra Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor	94,413,000
6	Impact and Expenditure Review for Government of Andhra Pradesh Project	600,000
7	Andhra Pradesh Governance Reform Project	5,900,000
Karnataka
8	Karnataka Watershed Development Project	14,758,000
9	IISD/MYRADA—Project on developing appreciative inquiry technique	105,052
10	Western Ghats Forestry Project	23,294,000
11	OXFAM—Western Ghats Parallel Project	173,643
West Bengal
12	West Bengal Sexual Health Project	4,780,000
13	Eastern India Rainfed Farming Project	8,091,000
14	Calcutta Slum Improvement Project	12,620,000
15	West Bengal Reproductive and Child Health Project	2,990,000
16	ADB—Calcutta Environment Improvement Project	28,300,000
17	Christian Aid and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action Project	1,200,000
18	Enhancing Pro-poor Governance in West Bengal and Bihar	212,000
Madhya Pradesh
19	Support to Self Employed Womens Association	14,000
20	Madhya Pradesh Public Resource Management Project	350,000
21	Western India Rainfed Farming Project Phase II	27,920,000
22	Bihar—Madhya Pradesh Tribal Development Project	7,000,000
23	Natural Resources Management Project in the Bundelkhund Region	1,170,000
24	Indore Financial Services for the Poor Project	79,000
Orissa
25	Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project	32,750,000
26	IFAD Tribal Development Project	25,000
27	Orissa Power Sector Aid	67,000,000
28	Hirakund Rehabilitation Project	21,400,000
29	Orissa Gridco (Power Sector Reform) Restructuring Project	6,000,000
30	Energy: Orissa Rural Community Electric Supplies (CENDERET project)	1,000,000
31	Energy: Dadri Dry Ash Disposal Project	1,700,000
32	Orissa Power Sector Reform: Field Management	4,013,037
33	Orissa Public Sector Reforms Programme	19,000,000
34	Orissa Budgetary Aid—Design Phase	25,000
35	Orissa Health and Family Welfare Project Phase 3	3,827,000
36	Orissa Social Marketing—PSI	2,270,000
37	Orissa Urban Reproductive Health Project	4,997,780
38	Cuttack Urban Slum Improvement Project	12,720,000
39	Orissa cyclone rehabilitation initiatives	57,848,850
National
40	ILO-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour	2,860,000
41	Revised National Tuberculosis Project	20,570,000
42	WHO Operational Research on Tuberculosis	719,370
43	World Bank Trust Fund	4,000,000
44	ADB-Poverty Trust Fund	20,000,000
45	CARE: Credit and Saving for Household Enterprises Project	9,852,401
46	Haryana power Sector Reform and Restructuring Project	15,000,000
47	Indo/UK collaboration on Oil Seed crops Phase II	2,000,000
48	Development of Watershed Guidelines Project	60,000
49	Forestry Training Project	2,020,000
50	Integrated Coastal zone management training Project	1,000,000
51	Private Sector Forestry Project	114,000
52	Rural Development Programme Support Fund	100,000
53	Education: Shiksha Karmi Project Phase II	20,140,000
54	Education: Lok Jumbish Project	31,423,000
55	Pulse Polio Project	40,813,000
56	Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme	27,000,000
57	STD: Truck Drivers (Support to HIV/AIDS programme targeted at the Highway community)	4,500,000
58	Partnership for Sexual Health Project (Support to HIV/AIDS Programme)	28,180,000
59	Gender Centre	2,000,000
60	Public Administration training project	4,650,000
61	Training Development of Indian Police	1,180,000
62	BBC Marshall Plan for the Mind Project	1,217,825
63	Small Industries Development Banking of India support project	16,585,000
64	Community Ophthalmology Blindness programme support	1,119,754
65	Environment and Poverty Link	200,000
66	Health Systems policy development support	800,000
67	Management Development for senior urban public health officials	1,460,000
68	UNDP Monitoring and Evaluation Project	60,000
69	Small Grants Scheme	212,000
70	Water and sanitation Programme-South Asia	2,520,000
71	Credit and Micro-enterprise support project	500,000
72	UNICEF: Child Environment Improvement Project	17,500,000
73	District Primary Education Project (AP+WB+Orissa)	166,416,000
Others
74	Himachal Pradesh Forestry Project	6,399,000
75	Cochin Urban Poverty Reduction Project	11,947,000
76	Natural Resources Management Project in the Western Himalayas	182,000

5 Nov 2001 : Column: 21W

Tajikistan

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the extent of poverty and malnutrition in Tajikistan; and what aid has been offered to Tajikistan by the United Kingdom (a) directly and (b) through the programmes of the EU and United Nations. [10923]

Clare Short: Reliable data on Tajikistan are scarce. It is one of the poorest countries of the former Soviet Union, with rates of acute malnutrition ranging between 6.4 and 10.3 per cent. in different areas.

Since 1994, the United Kingdom has offered a total of £29.7 million to Tajikistan. Of this, £1 million has been through DFID's direct programme. DFID has also channelled £9.5 million into humanitarian assistance. £11.8 million has been provided through the European Commission, mainly to ECHO (EC Humanitarian Office) programmes. £1 million has been allocated to ECHO this year. £1.2 million has been offered to Tajikistan through programmes of the United Nations.

DEFENCE

Harrier Pilots

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total requirement is for trained Harrier pilots in the (a) Navy and (b) RAF; and how many there are at present in each case. [11578]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 31 October 2001]: The naval requirement for Sea Harrier pilots (Commander and below) as at 1 October 2001 was 64, with an authorised increase to 66 planned for 1 April 2003. The current naval strength (Commander and below) is 44. The Royal Air Force requires 85 Harrier pilots to fill Harrier GR7-specific flying and flying related ground appointments (Wing Commander and below). It has a current strength of 102 Harrier pilots. A number of these are filling career broadening posts such as staff appointments, or are serving as qualified flying instructors or with the RAF Aerobatic Team, and some are on exchange postings.

5 Nov 2001 : Column: 22W

Retention

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to improve retention rates within the armed forces. [10067]

Mr. Ingram: Armed forces retention is being tackled as a matter of the highest priority. Our aim is to maintain good levels of retention through policies that genuinely reflect the priorities of our people and their families, both at home and on deployment. A key outcome of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a widespread recognition of the need for an Armed Forces Overarching Personnel Strategy (AFOPS) as part of the 'Policy for People'. This was introduced in April 2000 to give more emphasis to personal issues. The SDR 'Policy for People' included some of the following aims: better terms and conditions; improvements to pay and allowances; better quality of training; addressing concerns about family life; ensuring equality of opportunity and provision of better accommodation. All these have now been embodied in the AFOPS Action Plan.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is to improve the career prospects and retention of young service men and women; and if he will make a statement. [10570]

Mr. Ingram: A wide range of challenging careers are offered to both young men and women joining the services. We need over 25,000 high quality, well motivated recruits each year to maintain the correct balance of age and experience; and the need for and success of training is therefore crucial to the continuing operational success of our armed forces. The Defence Training Review, completed earlier this year, emphasised the importance of transferable qualifications to both the recruitment and the retention of personnel in the armed forces. An earlier scheme to come out of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was the 'Learning Forces Initiative' which provides opportunities for service personnel to gain transferable skills and recognised civilian qualifications, not only improving and enriching their service careers but also preparing them for their second careers. The armed forces are also working closely with a number of key authorities to deliver increased recognition of service education and training leading to academic, vocational and professional qualifications. In

5 Nov 2001 : Column: 23W

summary, the armed forces provide attractive career prospects by offering: high quality training; accreditation of training wherever possible, against nationally recognised standards; a wide range of professionally demanding jobs, with many offering significant amounts of responsibility early on in careers; good promotion opportunities; encouragement to serve to age 40 or beyond; and provision of education facilities and grants to assist with the cost of education.

Armed forces retention is being tackled as a matter of the highest priority. Our aim is to maintain good levels of retention through policies that genuinely reflect the priorities of our people and their families, both at home and on deployment. A key outcome of the Strategic Defence Review was a widespread recognition of the need for an Armed Forces Overarching Personnel Strategy (AFOPS) as part of the 'Policy for People'. This was introduced in April 2000 to give more emphasis to personnel issues. The SDR 'Policy for People' included some of the following aims: better terms and conditions; improvements to pay and allowances; better quality of training; addressing concerns about family life; ensuring equality of opportunity and provision of better accommodation. New initiatives are under way in all of these areas.

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