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Child Prostitution (Cambodia)

Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she plans to take to tackle the organised abuse, trafficking and prostitution of children in Cambodia as part of the child-sex tourism industry in the Far East. [107163]

Clare Short: We take the trafficking, abuse and exploitation of children in Cambodia, and the Far East, very seriously. Children from poor and uneducated families are most at risk. Our support for programmes to reduce poverty will have an impact in the longer term. In the meantime we are also supporting more direct action.

DFID has been funding the International Labour Organisation's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour to combat trafficking of children and women in the Greater Mekong Sub Region for three years and is now supporting it for another five—making a total contribution of over £7 million. The programme covers Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and the Yunnan Province of China. It aims to work with governments, NGOs, the private sector and trade unions to promote awareness of the dangers of trafficking, to provide alternative livelihood options and to help governments reach agreements on how to tackle cross border issues.

DFID is also funding a three-year £1.66 million Save the Children Fund-UK initiative that began in early 2003 to reduce the incidence and impact of trafficking of

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children. This programme includes all the above countries as well as Myanmar. Its focus is on promoting grass roots initiatives to bring families out of poverty.

Through the British embassy in Phnom Penh the UK Government are working with Non Government Organisations to publicise the dangers to families and children at risk, including street children. There is work with the Cambodian police to detect and disrupt paedophile activity. And in the UK, courts now have powers to deal with British citizens who commit sex offences with children abroad.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the reoccupation of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Ugandan troops; what talks her Department has had with the Rwandan Government in relation to the possibility that it may launch a new offensive in the DRC; and if she will make a statement. [107546]

Clare Short: We are deeply concerned about the Ugandan occupation of Bunia on 6 March and have told the Government of Uganda in the clearest terms that it should withdraw its army from Ituri immediately. We have also urged restraint on Rwanda in strong terms.

European Commission Budgets

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the European Commission issued calls for proposals for budget line B7–6312; and if she will make a statement. [107575]

Clare Short: Budget line B7–6312 (Aid for Population and Reproductive Health in Developing Countries) is intended to support innovative approaches for the reduction of maternal mortality. The call for proposals under this budget line for 2002 was not issued in January 2003 as previously advised, due to unforeseen administrative difficulties. The call for proposals will now be made in early May 2003.

Guinea and Liberia

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial resources she has allocated to the refugee camps on the border between Guinea and Liberia. [108038]

Clare Short: Within the last month I have approved around £4 million for humanitarian assistance in the Mano River Union countries. This was in response to the UN Consolidated Appeals for countries of the region. Within this sum there is a strong emphasis on assistance to both refugees and internally displaced people located in the border areas between Guinea and Liberia. The funds have been channelled mainly through UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Haitian Immigrants

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what financial resources her Department has allocated to illegal Haitian immigrants with HIV/AIDS; [107278]

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(2) what financial resources her Department has allocated to Haitian refugees in the Turks and Caicos Islands for each year since 1997. [107286]

Clare Short: According to the Governor's Office in Turks and Caicos Islands, there currently are only two registered refugees in the islands, neither of whom is Haitian. My Department has allocated no financial resources for Haitian refugees in the Islands since 1997.

Our development assistance is not allocated by specific population groups within the Turks and Caicos Islands. In consultation with the Islands' authorities, we are developing a programme of support to improve the quality and equity of access to health care for all. The Islands' Government already has an established National AIDS Control Programme, which is addressing the HIV/AIDS problem. This includes on-going education and information work, which takes account of language differences, to ensure that key messages about HIV/AIDS risks reach the whole population. The Turks and Caicos Islands also benefit from our support to the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre for HIV/AIDS prevention, to which we have allocated £1.7 million for the period 2002 to 2005.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate her Department has made of the number of Haitian immigrants in the Turks and Caicos Islands who have HIV/AIDS. [107282]

Clare Short: There is no segregation of numbers of Haitian immigrants within the Turks and Caicos Islands population for the purposes of the national HIV/AIDS surveillance system. According to the data from the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, the HIV prevalence in the Turks and Caicos Islands population as a whole was estimated in 2001 to be 5 per cent., as compared to the Caribbean average of 2 per cent. The estimated number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the Turks and Caicos Islands by the end of 2001 was 972, comprising nine children, 459 women and 504 men.

HIPC

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Government will be issuing a response to the World Bank's recent evaluation of the heavily indebted poor country initiative. [106186]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

The World Bank Operations Evaluation Department's recent review of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) was prepared to inform donor and recipient countries of progress to date and make some key recommendations for strengthening the Initiative. It is not a report to the UK Government specifically and as such does not require a formal response. We are, nevertheless, considering the OED's recommendations.

The Government acknowledges that debt relief is not a panacea for broader economic development problems; even the provision of 100 per cent. debt relief to all low-income countries would still fall short of the resources needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals. That is why the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development have proposed an

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International Finance Facility (IFF) that would seek to double the amount of development aid from just over US$50 billion a year today to $100 billion per year in the years to 2015.

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure the additionality of heavily indebted poor country funding. [106187]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

Virtually all of the debts of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries to the UK Government are owed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). The UK participates fully in the enhanced HIPC initiative under which bilateral creditors are typically required to offer 90 per cent. debt relief. These costs are borne entirely by ECGD and hence are additional to any aid spending by the UK.

The UK goes further than is required under the HIPC initiative and always provides 100 per cent. debt relief. The Department for International Development (DfID) reimburses ECGD for the cost of this additional bilateral voluntary debt relief. To ensure that funding for the HIPC Initiative is additional these costs are carefully considered and agreed in each spending review.

However, even the provision of 100 per cent. debt relief to all low-income countries would still fall short of the resources needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals. For this reason the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development have proposed an International Finance Facility (IFF) that would seek to double the amount of development aid from just over US$50 billion a year today to $100 billion per year in the years to 2015.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources are set aside in her Department's contingency reserve for 2003–04; what assessment she has made of the impact of allocating a significant proportion of the contingency reserve for the next financial year to humanitarian support for Iraq on her Department's ability to respond effectively to other global emergencies; whether she expects her Department's contingency reserve for 2003–04 to be replenished by the Treasury; what bids for additional funding for humanitarian activities in Iraq she has made to the Treasury; and if she will make a statement on how her Department spent its contingency reserve in 2002–03. [107581]

Clare Short: DFID's contingency reserve for 2003–04 has been set at £100 million, of which £75 million has been earmarked for Iraq. We have allocated £15 million to Iraq from other DFID budgets and have been allocated an additional £120 million from the Treasury reserve for expenditure on Iraq.

We have made clear that we will not redirect funds to Iraq from other emergencies like Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Afghanistan or the West Bank and Gaza; nor will we divert funds from programmes supporting development for poor people elsewhere.

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We started 2002–03 with a contingency reserve of £50 million. During the year allocations were made from the reserve to augment our response to the food shortages in Southern Africa, to provide humanitarian aid and initial rehabilitation assistance in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Ethiopia, and for emergency assistance in the Palestinian territories.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many internally displaced people there are in northern Iraq. [107942]

Clare Short: Recent reports from the UN Office for Project services (UNOPS) indicate that an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people have been newly displaced in northern Iraq since the onset of the current crisis though some have returned to their homes. Approximately 90 per cent. of these are staying with families or friends. The needs of the remainder are being met by local authorities and humanitarian agencies. UNOPS is currently undertaking a comprehensive survey of internally displaced people in the north. Results will be noted in DFID's Iraq Updates as soon as they are available.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on (a) food shortages and (b) water shortages in northern Iraq. [107943]

Clare Short: The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that food stocks have been diminishing in northern Iraq. Recent reports indicate that WFP have delivered 850 tonnes of wheat flour to northern Iraq from Turkey. This is the first part of an initial 6,000 metric tonne consignment expected to be delivered in the coming days. 12 further UNICEF trucks are also en route to the north.

We have received no reports of significant water shortages in the north. Water for internally displaced people camps is being provided by UN agencies, NGOs and local authorities.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether deliveries of emergency food and medical supplies to support internally displaced people in northern Iraq have been subjected to delays; and if she will make a statement. [107944]

Clare Short: The Turkish authorities acknowledge that delays have occurred with cross-border movements of supplies into northern Iraq. However, we understand that these have now eased. The World Food Programme, UNICEF, and NGOs have been able to cross the border into northern Iraq with supplies in recent days. We are monitoring the situation closely.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what advice her Department has given the Ministry of Defence regarding food distribution in southern Iraq. [107945]

Clare Short: DFID has seconded two humanitarian advisers to UK forces. They are advising the military on a range of issues, including appropriate food supplies and distribution mechanisms.

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Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans are in place to restore electricity supplies in Basra in order that sewage treatment and water pumping can resume. [107946]

Clare Short: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in collaboration with local authorities, has succeeded in restoring much of the water supply in and around Basra, though significant problems remain. The main water pumping station is currently running on six back up generators as a temporary measure. Work is under way to restore the mains electricity supply. The UK has offered assistance.

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