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Education
Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of the new money announced for International Development in the CSR will be spent on basic education; and how much this represents in real terms. [78217]
Clare Short: Improving education outcomes for poor people is not primarily about donor resources. We are working to help partner Governments put the policies and plans in place which will enable them to accelerate the achievement of universal primary completion. The resources allocated to this will therefore depend on individual country circumstances—but the international community has already made it clear that no country seriously committed to Education for All will be thwarted by lack of resources.
Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when her Department will announce what resources it will put into the Fast Track Initiative on Education. [78218]
Clare Short: Our approach to the Fast Track Initiative is to help partner Governments put the policies and plans in place which will enable them to accelerate the achievement of universal primary completion. As plans emerge from individual countries, the resources required for implementation will be discussed at the country level. We will determine through this process any additional resources from my Department.
Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support education in the Fast Track countries on the list. [78219]
Clare Short: My Department in engaged in over half of the countries included in the Fast Track Initiative. We are working with Governments to improve education policies and plans through a variety of mechanisms, including direct budget support, sectoral budget support and bilateral projects.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of her Department's budget she expects to be spent on basic education in the next three years. [78207]
Clare Short [holding answer sent 30 October 2002]:The Government have committed over #700 million to basic education since 1997. At Kananaskis we joined other G8 countries in pledging to increase our bilateral assistance for countries that have demonstrated a strong and credible policy and financial commitment to the goals of achieving universal primary education for all children and equal access to education for girls. We are working closely with partner Governments to help them improve their education policies and plans: actual expenditure will therefore depend on progress made in individual countries.
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Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government have contributed to the Education for All plan for each of the last seven years for which records are available. [78009]
Clare Short: The Government have committed over #700 million to basic education since 1997. Annual figures are not readily available.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what target sum she has agreed with her counterparts in other countries should be set for the total budget for the World Bank Education for All programme. [78010]
Clare Short: Improving education outcomes for poor people is not primarily dependant on donor resources but on political commitment at country level. We are working to try to ensure that the Education for All initiative adds value to the efforts to deliver universal primary education by 2015. The resources allocated to this will depend on individual country circumstances. We and the international community have already made it clear that no country seriously committed to Education for All will be thwarted by lack of resources.
Iraq
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the WHO study of possible increased cancer rates in southern Iraq and their causes has begun; and what the UK contribution to the study is proposed to be. [77683]
Clare Short [holding answer 29 October 2002]: The World Health Organisation's (WHO) study has not begun. My Department has not been asked by the WHO for any contribution.
Libya
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of (a) poverty levels and (b) human rights abuses in Libya. [78672]
Clare Short: Libya is an Upper Middle Income Country with an annual GDP per capita of $7,570 (UN Human Development Report 2001). DFID has no plans to provide assistance to Libya and we have thus not made any detailed assessment of poverty levels or human rights abuses. The FCO's assessment is that Libya's record on human rights is not good, but there are recent signs of improvement (including the release of remaining political prisoners), and Libya is expected to continue to show a commitment to improving its human rights record during its period as chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects her Department supports that operate in Libya. [78721]
Malawi
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in writing off debt for Malawi; and if she will make a statement. [78445]
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Clare Short: Malawi is currently eligible for interim debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) Initiative amounting to some US$91.4 million in total. Relief in 2001 was about $27 million and is estimated at about $50 million (including Japan) for 2002. This relief should be used for increased spending on health, education, and other social priorities. Subject to satisfactory performance, Malawi is scheduled to reach its HIPC Completion Point in the second half of 2003. At this stage, all of Malawi's eligible debt under the initiative will be irrevocably cancelled.
Millennium Declaration
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken to produce an annual report on progress towards the Millennium Declaration. [77571]
Clare Short: Following the Millennium summit in September 2000, the UN General Assembly mandated the Secretary General to produce annual reports on "Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration", including progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The first of these reports (reference A/57/270) is available on the UN website at www.un.org
Overseas Aid
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of overseas aid provided by the UK is spent on (a) education and (b) health; what steps she is taking to increase this percentage; and if she will make a statement. [78523]
Clare Short: The proportion of my Department's bilateral aid programme allocable by sector in 2001–02 was;
Health and Population: 20 per cent.
These figures represent expenditure on projects specific to these sectors but do not capture the full extent of our efforts in each policy area because they exclude multisector projects and programmes, strategic funding to civil society organisations and budget support and balance of payments. Also excluded are activities funded through multilateral channels. Education and health and population will remain priorities for future spending. We do not however, support externally imposed targets. We believe support for poverty reduction strategies devoted to meeting the millennium development goals is the right approach and that our programmes should be harmonised with the efforts of other donors behind locally led poverty reduction strategies.
Police Training
(South African Development Community)
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK Government is intending to seek an assurance that training on human rights will become a permanent component of police training programmes in the Southern African Development Community region. [77773]
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Clare Short: Poor people are particularly vulnerable both to crime and to weaknesses in the justice system. We believe that justice sector reform needs to be a key part of poverty reduction strategies in many countries. Justice programmes supported by my Department in SADC countries aim to promote respect for human rights, both through training, and through strengthening the accountability of the justice sector. Through such programmes we seek to encourage the integration of human rights principles into the training programmes of police services and other professionals in the justice sector.
Rwanda and Burundi
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the re-establishment of functioning legal institutions in (a) Rwanda and (b) Burundi. [78089]
Clare Short: The re-establishment of effective legal institutions and the rule of law are crucial for successful reconciliation and future development in both countries.
Rwanda has made significant progress in re-establishing a functioning legal system and rehabilitating the judiciary since the 1994 genocide. The development of a new Constitution will further clarify roles and enable greater effectiveness of the justice system.
The justice system is overstretched by the need to administer justice to people affected by the genocide. The Government are implementing the community-based justice system of Gacaca, which will relieve pressure on existing overburdened legal structures. The introduction of traditional Gacaca trials for genocide related crimes has an important role to play as a key part of the reconciliation process within Rwandan communities. This mechanism is complementary to national trials for more serious genocide related offences and those at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
DFID's programme in Rwanda is committed to the strengthening of governance systems and the elimination of poverty, including support to the Gacaca process.
In Burundi, DFID, with the rest of the international community, is actively supporting the process of implementation of the Arusha Accord for Peace and Reconciliation, which was signed on 28 August 2000. The Arusha Accord includes a Protocol dedicated to democracy and good governance. As well as setting out transitional constitutional and parliamentary arrangements, the Protocol sets out a number of measures aimed at reinforcing the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of the justice system. The success of the transition will largely depend on a ceasefire.
DFID has recently established an office in Burundi, and, in partnership with Government, civil society and the international community, is committed to an increasing effort to bring peace and help restart efforts to develop Burundi's full potential.
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