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Zimbabwe

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to encourage school attendance in Zimbabwe. [88478]

Clare Short: There are programmes in Zimbabwe which aim to provide all primary school children with supplementary food. But there is a lack of funds to implement these programmes fully. Direct bilateral programmes, including DFID's supplementary feeding programme, are now providing over one million school children with a supplementary meal a day. Monitoring indicates that where feeding is being conducted, this has been successful in reducing drop-out rates.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the answer of 10 July, Official Report, columns 957–8W, on HIV/AIDS, how money has been (a) allocated and (b) spent for HIV/AIDS-related programmes, broken down by country. [72433]

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Mr. Marsden) 23 July 2002, Official Report, columns 894–5W.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the impact which the decision of the Zimbabwean Government to ban the milling of GM maize has had on food relief efforts in the country. [88477]

Clare Short: Last week, the Government of Zimbabwe rescinded its decision to ban the importation of GM maize for milling in-country. Milling of GM food already in the country has resumed, agreement has been reached on the import of 17,500MT of GM grain which will also be milled in country. The National Food mill at Bulawayo has continued to mill, and the Gweru plant will also be brought on stream, bringing the authorised milling capacity in Zimbabwe to about 16,000MT/month.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what impact the break in food aid in the first two weeks of December has had in (a) Zimbabwe and (b) Zambia. [88479]

Clare Short: It is now unlikely that there will be breaks in the food pipelines to either country during December, although the situation remains fragile. For Zimbabwe, against a target distribution of 50,000MT of maize for 4.5 million beneficiaries in 44 districts, the realistic distribution figure may be as low as 20,000MT.

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In order to allow for this shortage, WFP has introduced two ration scales: (i) 5Kg of maize will be distributed to families in districts that have been receiving food aid on a regular basis; and (ii) 10Kg of maize will be distributed to families in areas that have not received food aid thus far. All families will receive 1Kg of CSB and 1Kg of pulses. For Zambia, DFID has helped strengthen the WFP pipeline with a unique agreement between the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) and WFP. This involves distributing 23,000MT of GRZ purchased maize through the WFP pipeline with transportation costs being met by DFID. This will ensure a full maize pipeline for Zambia during December.

SCOTLAND

Civil Defence

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will list the civil defence grant allocations by local authority, in (a) cash and (b) real terms; and if she will make a statement on civil defence in Scotland. [87035]

Mrs. Liddell: Civil Defence grant to Scottish local authorities ceased with the signing of the Civil Defence (Grant) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 in March 2001. Financial support for local authorities for the emergency planning work which they carry out continues to be provided at the request of local authorities through the normal GAE mechanism.

In Scotland there are well-established procedures for dealing with a wide range of civil emergencies. Following the events of 11 September a range of additional measures have been put in place. These provide significant funding for new equipment for the emergency services; new procedures for dealing with suspect packages; and guidance on dealing with the threat from, and consequences of, chemical and biological incidents. In addition my Department and Scottish Executive colleagues are fully involved in the work being led by the Cabinet Office in resilience planning across the UK.

Expenditure Limit

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 27 November 2002, Official Report, column 29WS, whether the Scotland Office is running a budget surplus in the current financial year. [85194]

Mrs. Liddell: I expect Scotland Office expenditure to be contained within the Department Expenditure Limit in the current financial year.

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 27 November 2002, Official Report, column 29WS, what factors account for the increase in the Scotland Departmental Expenditure Limit arising from the take-up of the End Year Flexibility. [85195]

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Mrs. Liddell: The increase in the Scotland Departmental Expenditure Limit is required to meet planned expenditure by the Scottish Executive and the Boundary Commission for Scotland, and to enable the Scotland Office to move towards its full staffing level.

Industrial and Provident Society Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive about amending industrial and provident society law; and if she will make a statement. [87888]

Mrs. McGuire: Scotland Office officials have discussed with executive officials the implications of the report by the Strategy Unit, XPrivate Action, Public Benefit", on charities and the wider not for profit sector. This report contains recommendations on bringing Industrial and Provident Society law up to date.

Official Travel

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total expenditure of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies was on official travel in 2001–02. [84794]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 3 December 2002]: Since 1999, the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing #500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Details of travel undertaken during the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 were published on 24 July 2002, Official Report, column 75W. The cost of Ministers' visits overseas for 2002–03 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the current financial year. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.

All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Total expenditure on travel by my Department in 2001–02 was #305,000.

Organic Food

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the target for increasing the market share of UK-produced organic foods over organic imports in the DEFRA Organic Action Plan will apply in Scotland. [87915]

Mrs. Liddell: Responsibility for agriculture in Scotland is devolved. While some of the elements of the DEFRA plan such as the compendium of standards will apply on a UK basis, the targets will not apply to Scotland. Scottish Executive Ministers have appointed an Organic Stakeholder Group to deliver an action plan with recommendations for future executive support for the organic sector in Scotland. The Group will consider a wide range of issues including future executive support for organic conversion, development of the organic food chain, research priorities and organic standards and certification. The group is due to report in January 2003.

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Rail Links

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive regarding the proposed plans to redevelop a rail link between Edinburgh and the Scottish borders. [87761]

Mrs. Liddell: Following approval in July of an Order under Section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament now has legislative competence for the promotion and construction of railways wholly within Scotland. I understand that the Scottish Executive has provided #2 million to the promoter, the Waverley Railway Partnership, to help towards the costs of securing the necessary parliamentary powers for reinstating a railway connection between Edinburgh and the central Borders.

Sustainability Strategy

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the sustainability strategy is for her Department; and if she will make a statement on how it has changed since the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. [83505]

Mrs. Liddell: My Department has limited executive responsibilities, but it is committed to the Government's sustainability development strategy in carrying out its functions.

Following devolution, most aspects of sustainable development in Scotland are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. In April this year, the Executive published XMeeting the Needs—Priorities, Actions and Targets for Sustainable Development in Scotland". This identified resource use, energy and travel as the main priorities for action and set out indicators and targets for monitoring progress.

The outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and first views on follow up, will be reflected in the annual report on UK progress on sustainable development for 2002.

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