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1 Apr 2003 : Column 660W—continued

Middle East

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with non-governmental organisations working in Palestine. [106007]

Clare Short: My Department is in regular contact with a wide range of international and Palestinian non-governmental organisations. I recently participated in the launch of Christian Aid's report "Losing ground—Israel, poverty and the Palestinians" about the alarming rise in poverty among ordinary Palestinians.

Western Sahara

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is providing to the indigenous people of the Western Sahara. [105623]

Clare Short: DFID provides support to the Saharawi refugees through its contributions to the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Western Sudan

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what support Her Majesty's Government are giving to the Fur and other indigenous peoples of Dafur in Western Sudan; [106423]

Clare Short: DFID closely monitors the situation in Darfur and has regularly intervened to address humanitarian needs, and will continue to do so. We are also closely involved in supporting the peace process. A successful conclusion to this will bring real benefits to Darfur as to all other parts of Sudan.

At present we have a £500,000 grant for Save the Children to trace abducted women and children, then reunify with the their families in Darfur. There have not been any other specific contributions to NGO's working in Darfur so far this year; however, we have contributed £2,500,000 to the World Food Programme's 2003 Emergency Food Operations in Sudan and £2,500,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross 2003 Appeal for Sudan; additionally we have given £900,000 to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which includes an element to provide a response to humanitarian needs where necessary. The WFP, ICRC and OCHA are able to provide humanitarian assistance to Darfur if needs are demonstrated.

Zimbabwe

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the need for her Department to assist with humanitarian relief in Zimbabwe. [105985]

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Clare Short: Continuing misgovernment, together with late rains, means that the crisis in food production in Zimbabwe will persist for the third consecutive year. Current DFID and UN feeding programmes for Zimbabwe extend until June 2003. A specific programme will be developed once detailed assessments and the plans of the Zimbabwe Government are published. In the meantime our contingency planning has been done and we expect to maintain some support for humanitarian needs for a further year, working with the UN and non-governmental agencies.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will place in the Library the business case for merging the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund; [105017]

Tessa Jowell: Merging the two bodies is expected to achieve administrative savings and allow better co-ordination of funding. The case for merger will be set out in a White Paper later this year following consultation with the voluntary sector.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which parliamentary constituencies received less than (a) half and (b) a quarter of the median for lottery grant funding in the year for which latest figures are available. [105693]

Mr. Caborn: The following list, which is based upon information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, shows (in alphabetical order) parliamentary constituencies which have received less than half and a quarter of the median for Lottery grant funding for the period 1 March 2002 to 28 February 2003.















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Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) which 20 parliamentary constituencies made the greatest number of applications for lottery funding in the last year for which statistics are available; [106052]

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Mr. Caborn: Comprehensive information on applications for lottery grants is not centrally held at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out (a) the average grant given for all constituencies, (b) the average grant given for eastern area constituencies and (c) the average grant given for Castle Point under the National Lottery Awards For All scheme in each of the last three years for which statistics are held. [106051]

Mr. Caborn: The following table, which is based upon information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, sets out the average grant given for all constituencies 1 , the average grant given for Eastern Area constituencies 2 and the average award to Castle Point under the National Lottery Awards For All scheme over the last three years.

1 March 2000 to28 February 20011 March 2001 to28 February 20021 March 2002 to28 February 2003
Average grant given for all UK constituencies3,190.913,516.443,589.95
Average grant given for eastern area constituencies2,985.253,485.963,361.03
Average grant given for Castle Point3,089.173,084.103,202.17

1 This has been calculated by taking the average grant for each UK constituency, and then identifying the median average of those averages.
2 We have defined the eastern area as the eastern region. Since regions are defined by local authorities not constituencies some constituencies may cross the regional boundary. This means that some awards will have been included because they are within a constituency, though the postcode may fall outside the region.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the policy of Sport England is on paying instalments of lottery grants directly to project contractors rather than via project trustees of the charities involved. [106582]

Mr. Caborn: As a Lottery award is a legally binding contract between Sport England and the applicant organisation, it is Sport England's policy to make payments only to the applicant.

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