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Landmines (Angola)

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the landmine problems in Angola; and how much money her Department has given to de-mining programmes in Angola. [87072]

Clare Short: My Department's Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department (CHAD) carried out an assessment mission to Angola in July to determine the extent of the humanitarian crisis there. They found that

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according to mine clearance agencies, the number of mines in Angola is now considerably lower than the previously estimated 13 million. Nevertheless, Angola remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Earlier this month, the national coordinator of Angola's Inter-sectoral Commission for De-mining and Humanitarian Assistance (CNIDAH) estimated that Angola has about four to five million unexploded landmines. As many as 70,000 Angolans are believed to have lost limbs as a result of landmine explosions. Relief agencies in Angola also state that landmines continue to restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

My Department has allocated US$ 459,000 to UNDP for a project aimed at improving the effectiveness of mine action through strengthened coordination and planning at the provincial level in Angola. We will also be contributing 19.7 per cent. of the Euro6 million which the EC has recently made available for mine action in Angola. This includes Euro5 million for a variety of mine clearance agencies.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information displaced people of Angola are receiving to raise awareness of the problem of landmines. [87073]

Clare Short: UNICEF has a substantial programme of Mine Risk Education (MRE) in Angola. In the informal sector, UNICEF is providing support in terms of capacity building and financial subsidies to a network of six national NGOs conducting MRE in seven of the most mine-contaminated provinces in Angola: Moxico, Uige, Kuando Kubango, Bie, Huambo, Malanje and Huila. The MRE sessions have served resident, internally displaced populations (IDPs) and returning refugees alike, using drama, presentation, puppets and other ways of transmitting the message to the target groups. In 2002, UNICEF supported activities working within the informal sector reached over 230,000 beneficiaries.

In addition, UNICEF, in conjunction with the National Institute for the Removal of Explosive Articles and Ordnance (INAROEE) and national and international MRE partners, has produced a total of 616 MRE radio programmes. These have been transmitted in Portuguese and national languages; including Kimbundo, Umbundo and Chokwe.

Macedonia

Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial aid the Government plans to give the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia in the next financial year. [86954]

Clare Short: The EC's planned expenditure for the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia for the 2003 calendar year is euros 38.5 million of which the DFID share will be euros 7.3 million or #4.7 million. In addition we have earmarked #2 million for bilateral technical assistance to the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia for the 2003–04 financial year.

Marie Stopes International

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is towards providing funds to Marie Stopes International; and if she will make a statement. [86895]

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Clare Short: My Department's funding policy to any non-profit making organisation or network, including Marie Stopes International, is based on their ability to effectively contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; and to my Department's overall objective which is the eradication of poverty.

National Democratic Institute

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the financial accountability of the money given by her Department to the National Democratic Institute in the USA. [87097]

Clare Short: When the National Democratic Institute are working for DFID their accounts are open to DFID scrutiny and DFID itself operates within a financial and accounting control framework designed to comply with the requirements of Government Accounting. Adherence to procedures, and their effectiveness, is scrutinised internally by DFID's internal audit department. Regular external scrutiny is assured through the oversight of the Department's expenditure by the National Audit Office, whose reports are scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee and placed before Parliament.

Overseas Aid

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the OECD's figures on the proportion of UK overseas aid spent on (a) basic health care and (b) basic education; and if she will make a statement. [87009]

Clare Short: The OECD-DAC data are drawn directly from the figures which the UK reports to the organisation each year. They are compiled on the basis of the international definitions agreed by all donors. The figures are often used to compare donor performance, but can be misleading if used out of context. For our own use, DFID has developed a more sophisticated commitment and reporting system that is better able to reflect the full extent of our commitments.

OECD figures classify all expenditure according only to the primary sector intervention targets. As we move towards greater emphasis on crosscutting and multi-purpose interventions, the figures will represent an increasingly partial picture. Specifically excluded from the UK figures are:

elements of budget support that are targeting health or education;

block funding to NGOs;

emergency assistance; and

basic education or basic health expenditure of any programme whose primary sector was not basic health or basic education.

Education or health expenditure is often presented as a proportion of the total bilateral programme, but it would be more appropriate to present it as a proportion of the allocated bilateral aid.

In common with other donors, the sector statistics exclude any resources given to multilateral agencies, which frequently target the basic health or education sectors. It is also important to note that DAC basic health sector definition excludes family planning.

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John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 July, Official Report, column 42W, on overseas aid, what plans she has to increase the percentage of UK bilateral assistance spent on low income countries. [72437]

Clare Short: As part of the 2002 Spending Review, my Department has set itself a Public Service Agreement target for increasing the proportion of DFID's bilateral programme going to low-income countries to 90 per cent. over the 2003–06 period.

Full details of my Department's progress towards this target thus far can be found on DFID's website (www.dfid.gov.uk) or in the 2002 Departmental Report, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Peru

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the amount is of the grant entitled XImproving the Health of the Poor: A Human Rights Focus", that her Department plans to make to Peru; if the grant will be used for the provision of population control and abortion; what her response is to the request from the Peruvian Health Minister that the grant should be made through the Peruvian Department of Health; and what account her Department takes of national legislation prohibiting abortion when making overseas aid grants. [87025]

Clare Short: The proposed health project in Peru XImproving the Health of the Poor: A Rights-Based Approach" is budgeted at #7.5 million, over five years. The project would support the work of the Ministry of Health, the Ombudsman's office and civil society and has a number of components, one of which relates to reproductive health.

The reproductive health component would include support for poor people's rights to access family planning services, education and, if appropriate, post abortion care but not abortion.

We have received no formal request that the entire grant be made through the Peruvian Ministry of Health.

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My Department only considers support for activities to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of abortion services where this is legal in the country concerned, and where it is available as a matter of uncoerced individual choice. In all situations, DFID will consider support for measures to improve access to effective and high quality post-abortion care to deal with the complication of spontaneous or induced abortion.

I discussed the project with the President of Peru during his recent visit to London and he was strongly supportive.

Reproductive Health Services

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much she gave in each of the last five years to (a) Marie Stopes International, (b) International Planned Parenthood Federation, (c) British Pregnancy Advisory Service, (d) Pregnancy Advisory Service, (e) United Nations Population Fund and (f) Family Planning Association (UK) for the purposes of (i) abortion, (ii) family planning and (iii) other reproductive health services; and what the total grant was that she gave to each organisation in each of the last five years. [86894]

Clare Short: Data is not held centrally in the format requested and to collate it would incur disproportionate costs. However, my Department supports a number of international sexual and reproductive health organisations that share our aim of eliminating poverty, including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). All DFID funding in these areas is in support of the International Conference on Population and Development goal of universal access to reproductive health and is central to attainment of the millennium development goals (MDGs) specifically those related to maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and child mortality. Without access to high quality reproductive health services and care, it is most unlikely that progress will be achieved in meeting the health MDGs. We will continue to support international organisations and NGOs which make an effective contribution to these goals, and of course the efforts of governments seeking to improve people's access to reproductive health services.

DFID funding to the organisations referred to is as follows:

#000

Organisation	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Marie Stopes International	3,103	4,235	4,945	5,132	2,554
International Planned Parenthood Federation	5,850	5,500	5,500	5,500	4,500
United Nations Population Fund	11,500	13,120	15,000	40,050	24,213

DFID has not provided financial support for British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Pregnancy Advisory Service or to Family Planning Association (UK).

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