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Liberia

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether his Department has suspended humanitarian aid to Liberia due to the recent escalation of fighting in Liberia. [119359]

Hilary Benn: We have increased our support to UN and other humanitarian aid agencies by £1.5 million in response to the displacement by fighting of up to 200,000 people into and around Monrovia. The first two grants we have made from this sum are to ICRC and Merlin. This is additional to the £1 million we provided for International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières in Liberia earlier this year.

This year we have also given a total of £3 million to humanitarian agencies in Guinea and Sierra Leone for programmes directed at or including Liberian refugees.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support the Department is providing to refugees who have fled recent fighting in Liberia. [119360]

Hilary Benn: We have provided a total of £3 million this year to UN and other agencies for programmes in Sierra Leone and Guinea providing services either wholly or partly for Liberian refugees.

We have also provided £1 million for International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières in Liberia. In response to the recent advances by opposition forces, we have allocated an additional £1.5 million, focusing on assistance to internally displaced people in and around Monrovia, whose situation is causing greatest concern.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether the Department supports projects working with the Government of Liberia to reduce poverty in Liberia. [119363]

Hilary Benn: We have no projects directly with the Government of Liberia. The nature of the present Government and the absence of security prevents the establishment of projects to promote development and poverty reduction.

Our activity in Liberia is confined to support for international agencies providing humanitarian relief. We have provided a total of £2.5 million this year for this purpose, including £1.5 million in response to the recent displacement of people into and around Monrovia.

The UK strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS to negotiate a ceasefire. This the necessary first step towards peace and security, which are the conditions needed for development and poverty reduction programmes to be put in place.

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Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the impact of recent fighting in Liberia on the Department's work in (a) Liberia and (b) Sierra Leone. [119358]

Hilary Benn: There has been no direct impact on our work in Sierra Leone. We have, this year, contributed £1.4 million to UNICEF, ICRC and UNHCR in Sierra Leone. The grant to UNHCR is specifically for care of Liberian refugees. Those to ICRC and UNICEF are for services that include refugees. The instability in Liberia underlines the importance of the strengthening of the security sector in Sierra Leone, which is a key part of our programme.

We have no bilateral programme in Liberia. We support humanitarian programmes managed by UN and other agencies. Earlier this year, we provided £1 million to ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières. In response to the recent worsening of the situation, we have agreed an additional £1.5 million for humanitarian activity. The first two grants from this sum have been to ICRC and Merlin.

WORK AND PENSIONS

British Sign Language

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 85W, on British sign language, what action is being taken to ensure that (a) rural areas and (b) Cornwall are represented on the consultation regarding the additional funding for raising awareness of British sign language; and if he will list those being consulted on how the additional funding should be allocated. [118479]

Maria Eagle: We are in the process of establishing a BSL working group comprising organisations of and for deaf people and Government Departments to facilitate the process of consultation. The organisations represented on the working group are the British Deaf Association, the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People, the Federation of Deaf People, the National Deaf Children's Society, The Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the UK Council on Deafness. The working group will be coming forward with proposals for our approval.

Carers

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his policy on the eligibility of carers of people who are affected by asbestosis for carers benefit. [117109]

Maria Eagle: People aged 16 or over who care for a person with asbestosis are entitled to carer's allowance if they meet the usual qualifying conditions for the benefit. The person they care for must also receive either attendance allowance, the middle or highest rate care component of disability living allowance or the equivalent rate of constant attendance allowance paid under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme or the War Disablement Pensions scheme.

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Crisis Loans

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria the Department has for awarding crisis loans. [119123]

Maria Eagle: Crisis loans can be paid to anyone in an emergency or as a result of a disaster, when they have no other means of preventing serious damage or risk to their, or a member of their family's, health or safety. The applicant does not have to be in receipt of any benefit or pension, but any income or capital which they have will usually be taken into account by the decision maker.

Part 3 of the Discretionary Social Fund Guide (para 4700 et seq.), a copy of which is in the Library provides examples of the circumstances in which a crisis loan can be awarded.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates he has made of the rate of (a) cash and (b) case compliance under the new Child Support Scheme. [112336]

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Webb, dated 23 May 2003:

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked what estimates have been made of the rate of (a) cash and (b) case compliance under the new Child Support Scheme.

I will be providing the Secretary of State with a full set of information after the first quarter of the Agency's business year. The Secretary of State intends to report this information to the House.

DEFENCE

Armed Services Accommodation

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on renting private accommodation for armed services personnel (a) in the last financial year and (b) this financial year to date. [119394]

Mr. Caplin: The following figures show expenditure on substitute Service accommodation in Great Britain rented by the Ministry of Defence from the private sector when accommodation according to entitlement, within daily travelling distance from the work place, could not otherwise be provided for Service personnel and their families.

	£ million
Financial year 2002–03	33.8
1 April to 31 May 2003	5.7

Roughly one third of the figures quoted is for family accommodation.

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Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) single living accommodation and (b) service family accommodation was empty in each month since July 2002; and if he will make a statement. [119395]

Mr. Caplin: The figures for empty single living accommodation are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The approximate figures for vacant Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in mainland United Kingdom at the end of each month from July 2002 to May 2003 are as follows:

	Number
July 2002	9,000
August 2002	9,100
September 2002	9,100
October 2002	9,200
November 2002	9,300
December 2002	9,300
January 2003	9,100
February 2003	9,200
March 2003	8,200
April 2003	8,200
May 2003	8,300

Since January 2000, some 12,000 surplus SFA have been released for disposal. The disposal programme will continue, but the numbers released are constrained by Service deployment uncertainties.

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