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China

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will ascertain from the Government of China if the population and family planning law due to come into effect in China in September requires detailed population control quotas; and if she will make a statement. [72543]

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Clare Short: We understand that the new Population and Family Planning Law in China, which is due to come into effect on 1 September this year, does not include detailed population quotas. The law sets out the rights and responsibilities of the state and individuals in the areas of reproductive health and family planning. Birth targets and quotas remain a feature of population policy in China, but we are supporting the work of the United Nations population fund which seeks to demonstrate to the Chinese authorities that a client-oriented quality of care approach is a viable alternative to the current administrative family planning approach. Birth targets and quotas have been removed in counties where UNFPA is operating.

Somalia

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2002, Official Report, column 41W, on Somalia, which individuals her Department have lobbied for the lifting of the ban on Somali livestock exports. [72436]

Clare Short: Our embassies in relevant Arab states have lobbied foreign Ministers about the livestock restrictions affecting Somalia. My Department is in regular touch with the FCO about these efforts.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimates her Department has made of how the planned increases in her departmental budget announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will assist in reaching the UN millennium targets for development. [71728]

Clare Short: The planned increase in my Department's budget announced in the 2002 spending review settlement will enable us to increase significantly our bilateral contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and to play a greater role in strengthening the contribution of the international system. There is no room for complacency. Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals will entail a massive collective effort by the entire international community, developed and developing countries, to support poverty reduction. This includes further progress by donors towards the 0.7 per cent. target; delivering on the Doha commitments to make trade fairer for developing countries; improving the effectiveness of development assistance through sharpening its poverty focus; untying and promoting harmonisation of donor practices to reduce transaction costs. for developing countries it means tacking responsibility for developing and implementing poverty reduction policies and tackling the constraints on pro-poor growth including corruption, weak governance and conflict.

Sierra Leone

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the progress being made with the campaign for good governance her Department is supporting in Sierra Leone; and what plans she has for developing further this work. [72332]

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Clare Short: DFID's current support for the civil society campaign for good governance is committed for two years. Its aim is to help build up a well informed, strong, viable and active civil society that effectively addresses political, socio-economic and human rights issues in Sierra Leone, particularly in areas of corruption, local government, economic empowerment, and the legal and human rights of women. It is just over half way through its course.

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about progress being made with the Chieftans' Government reform projects in Sierra Leone; and what plans she has for developing this work further. [72331]

Clare Short: In response to the wishes expressed by civil society, soon after the conclusion of the peace agreement signed at Lomé in July 1999, I agreed to support a project that would help restore the machinery of government at the local level in Sierra Leone. This entailed returning Paramount Chiefs to their Chiefdoms.

A project was designed for this purpose and became known as the Chiefdom Governance Reform Programme. It had three components: the construction of a chiefdom house from where chiefdom business is conducted; the filling of chiefdom vacancies (there are presently more than 60 and the drafting of a code of conduct that would constitute a uniform set of regulations determining chiefdom administration and practices.

The project has run its course and has recently been reviewed. The review findings are awaited. They will help to inform us whether we should approve a second phase to complete what we have begun or take forward only a limited range of activity, concentrating on what the review team deem to be the crucial components of the project.

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress in implementing the EU health programme in Sierra Leone. [72168]

Clare Short: The EU Health Sector Support Project was approved under the 8th EDF, National Indicative Programme for Sierra Leone. It will concentrate on revitalising much needed health care delivery and management systems with an emphasis on first contact and first referral levels in rural areas.

It is disappointing that despite lobbying from DFID and others the project has not yet started, over 18 months since the EDF Committee approved it in November 2000. We are advised that their preliminary assessments will be completed by last August and implementation will commence in early 2003.

Street Children

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what estimate she has made of how many street children there are in the developing world; and what plans she has to provide support for the work being done in developing countries to bring street children into mainstream society to benefit from more general education and health programmes; [72326]

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(2) what account her Department will take of the policy statement on promoting and protecting the rights of street children formulated by the South Asian Civil Society Forum meeting in Colombo last December when developing programmes to support Governments in South Asia combating poverty, ill health and poor education. [72167]

Clare Short: Children live on the streets because of poverty in their communities. We have no specific estimate of their numbers, but street children form a proportion of the 600 million children who live in poverty, and we know that some 113 six to 11-year-olds are not in school (1998 figure). Some of these will be street children. Support for children's rights to basic health care, education, nutrition, shelter, and protection from violence and abusive labour, along with work on sustainable livelihoods for their parents, is central to our effort towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

We are currently providing financial support of nearly £2 million to a number of organisations that work directly with street children. We also support many more organisations and Governments working to tackle the underlying causes of the poverty, deprivation, and social exclusion that force children on to the streets.

Arms Exports

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact of the proposed changes to guidelines on UK arms exports on the possibility of British military equipment reaching developing countries in regions of instability. [72623]

Clare Short: I have made no assessment of the impact of the proposed changes to the guidelines on UK arms exports on the chances of British military equipment reaching developing countries in regions of instability.

Anglo-Scottish Ministerial Meetings

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many formal and official inter-ministerial meetings her Department has held with the Scottish Executive since May 1999, broken down by (a) Scottish Executive Department, (b) subject and (c) date. [72723]

Clare Short: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Malawi

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the percentage of farmers in Malawi who will receive seed and fertiliser as overseas aid for planting 2003's crop. [73402]

Clare Short: DFID is currently discussion with Malawi Government and other potential donors the options for supply of inputs for the 2002–03 crop. These discussions will take account of the national food needs and the availability of finance for this and other interventions within an overall National Food Security Programme. Agreement is expected within the next three weeks to enable registration and required procurement to proceed in a timely manner.

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