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Orphan Funds

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what analysis he has conducted of the amount of unclaimed orphan funds in (a) banks, (b) building societies and (c) elsewhere; [120684]

(2) how much unclaimed money lay in orphan funds on 1 January in each year since 1973; and what records his Department has of unclaimed funds in years before 1973. [120685]

John Healey: The Treasury does not hold this information.

Probation Service

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the 2003–04 pay negotiations for the Probation Service in England and Wales will commence. [120597]

Mr. Boateng: Under pay delegation, it is for the individual organisation, in this case the National Probation Service, to determine when negotiations with their unions will commence.

Travel and Subsistence Allowances

Mr. Prosser: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost of travel and subsistence allowances paid to Customs and Excise officers in the Law Enforcement South Region was in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of travel and subsistence allowances payable to Customs and Excise officers in the Law Enforcement South Region in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004. [120041]

John Healey: Customs and Excise Law Enforcement South Region was created in April 2001, as an entity did not exist prior to April 2001. Law Enforcement changes its structure from time to time in order to meet new business challenges. Over the period in question there have been some changes to regional management structures in the South, which together with accounting constraints, mean that no exact correlation of data is possible.

For the fiscal year 2001–02 the total spend on travel and subsistence for the Law Enforcement South Region was £2.32 million, and covers the operations of all detection, intelligence and investigation officers.

For the fiscal year 2002–03 the total spend was £2.42 million. The initial allocation of funds to cover travel and subsistence costs for this region for 2003–04 is £2.55 million.

For 2004–05 we would expect similar expenditure to 2003–04 but would adjust accordingly at the time of allocation in the light of any new business developments or changes.

The figure for 2003–04 does not yet take account of new activities related to anti-terrorism and Products of Animal Origin (POAO), which may result in higher spending on travel and subsistence allowances in the South Region.

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Whitehall Refurbishment

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what searches were carried out for surveillance devices during the refurbishment of the Treasury buildings in Whitehall; and if he will make a statement on the results of searches. [120139]

John Healey: The Treasury does not comment on security matters of this nature. Exemption 7 of the Open Government Code applies.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid

Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what funds were made available through the Department and its predecessors for aid, expressed as a percentage of GDP, in each of the last 30 years. [120635]

Hilary Benn: Details of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) from 1977 are available in "Statistics on International Development 1997/98–2001/02", Table 16.1 page 153; the document is available in the House of Commons Library. The table sets out the figures from 1973. The provisional figure for 2002 is 0.30 per cent.

	ODA as percentage of GNI
1973	0.34
1974	0.40
1975	0.39
1976	0.39
1977	0.44
1978	0.46
1979	0.51
1980	0.35
1981	0.43
1982	0.37
1983	0.35
1984	0.33
1985	0.33
1986	0.31
1987	0.28
1988	0.32
1989	0.31
1990	0.27
1991	0.32
1992	0.30
1993	0.31
1994	0.31
1995	0.29
1996	0.27
1997	0.26
1998	0.27
1999	0.24
2000	0.32
2001	0.32

Child Labour

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if she will make a statement on treatment of child labour on banana plantations in Ecuador. [119987]

Hilary Benn: There are some 6,000 children working on plantations in Ecuador and thousands more working on small farms. They do so because of the lack of

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earning opportunities available to their parents. There is no concrete evidence to suggest that children are being forced against their will to work in plantations. The only sustainable solution is to improve earning opportunities for poor people. We continue to encourage multilateral donors to focus their support on the needs of the poorest to help achieve this.

DFID's Civil Society Challenge Fund is supporting a cross regional programme of assistance for banana workers in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. This project is managed by the UK based NGO 'Banana Link' and aims to secure and maintain the freedom of plantation workers to organise themselves into independent trade unions and to participate in free collective bargaining.

The British embassy monitors the compliance of Ecuador to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights legislation to which Ecuador is a signatory. The UK Government are committed to helping eliminate child labour globally, particularly the worst forms such as child slavery, and all forms of abusive or exploitative child labour. The Government strongly supports the International Labour Organisation's work to fight child labour and the UK has ratified both of the ILO Child Labour Conventions.

Iraq

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what discussions he has had with the Coalition Authority regarding the role of women in the Interim Iraqi Administration; and when these discussions took place. [118477]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.

Through the UK's Special Representative for Iraq, we are working closely with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and Iraqis to ensure that women play a full and equal role in the Iraqi Interim Administration.

The UK's Special Representative, John Sawers, has consistently emphasised the importance of women being an integral part of Iraq's political process.

A gender expert from the Women and Equality Unit has been seconded to the CPA and she is working with other secondees and Iraqi women to help facilitate women's involvement in the political process in Baghdad.

John Sawers and Ambassador Bremer, the US civilian administrator of Iraq, met women on 25 May in Baghdad to listen to their views and concerns, as well as to discuss ways to ensure their full involvement in the reconstruction process.

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what guidelines have been issued to the Coalition Authority concerning the appointment of women to the Interim Iraqi Administration; and what role the Department will have in the appointment of delegates to the Interim Iraqi Administration. [118478]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.

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No decisions have yet been taken as to the composition of any Iraqi Interim Administration. Consistent with UNSCR 1483, Iraqis, with the help of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the UN Special Representative, will establish interim bodies, and work towards the formation of a fully representative new Iraqi government.

We believe it is important for women to be represented in those interim bodies. Through the Office of the UK Special Representative to Iraq, we are working towards this aim, in conjunction with the CPA and Iraqi groups. A gender expert from the Women and Equality Unit has been seconded to the CPA and is working with other secondees and Iraqi women to help facilitate women's involvement in the political process in Baghdad.

Marie Stopes International

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what measures the Department takes to ensure that advice given by departmentally funded Marie Stopes websites is legal. [119496]

Hilary Benn: DFID supports a number of Marie Stopes International (MSI) projects in developing countries, but this has not included specific funding for MSI's website. The Charity Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that charities operate within the relevant rules and laws that govern their activities.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's total budget for Afghanistan has been in each of the last three financial years; what the projected budget is for the year ahead; and how funds have been allocated. [118589]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 June 2003]: Separately identifiable costs apportioned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for Afghanistan over the last three years are: 2000–01: £0.67 million, 2001–02: £1.77 million, 2002–03: £9.5 million. The forecast cost for 2003–04 is £22 million.

These costs include:

a. staff and administration costs in UK and Afghanistan (£256,000, £1.1 million, £2.5 million over the past three years and £4.3 million forecast for 2003–04);

b. capital costs in Kabul: (£0, £650,000, £500,000 over the past three years and £2.8 million forecast for 2003–04. The 2003–04 forecast includes the cost of the new Embassy)

c. Afghanistan assistance programmes: (£418,000, £310,000, £6.5 million over the past three years and £15 million forecast for 2003–04).

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the objectives of Government policy are towards Afghanistan. [120502]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The objective of British Government policy in Afghanistan is a stable and secure Afghanistan restored to its rightful place in the community of nations and enjoying mature relations with its neighbours. It should have a self-sustaining economy; strong institutions; and a broad-based, multi-ethnic regime committed to:

eradicating terrorism

eliminating opium production;

reducing poverty;

respecting human rights, especially those of women and minority groups; and

honouring Afghanistan's other international obligations.

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