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8 Jul 2003 : Column 689W—continued
Redhill Aerodrome
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 192W, on Redhill Aerodrome, if he will list the meetings which have taken place with promoters of proposals for new airport capacity that are alternatives to, or variants of, options set out in the Government's consultation document; when the meetings took place; what their duration was; and what the purpose of each meeting was. [123852]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 7 July 2003]: Since publication of "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom South East: Second Edition" consultation document in February this year, officials in the Department for Transport have met on seven occasions with the promoters (or their representatives) of four alternative south-0east options, in addition to the two meetings with Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. to which I referred in my answer of 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 192W.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Maternal Health
Ms Christine Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment his Department has made in conjunction with the World Health Organisation to determine the most successful and cost-effective safe motherhood package for the developing world. [123553]
Hilary Benn: DFID, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and others agree that the most effective strategy to reduce maternal mortality is to ensure that all women are attended at birth by a skilled attendant backed by timely access to emergency obstetric care in the event of a life threatening complication. There is consensus on the content of antenatal, natal and post natal care 'packages' and these are considered cost-effective. The global failure to address the high burden of maternal mortality in developing countries does not reflect a lack of available cost-effective interventions but rather the lack of sustained political commitment to act on the scale necessary.
Burma
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many
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Burmese displaced people are (a) in refugee camps in Burma, (b) in refugee camps in neighbouring countries and (c) hiding in the jungle in Burma. [123723]
Hilary Benn: There are no refugee camps in Burma. According to the latest available figures released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 22,000 Burmese in refugee camps in Bangladesh, and 113,155 in Thailand. There are no accurate figures for the numbers of displaced people hiding in Burma.
Genetically Modified Food
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development (1) if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards genetically modified food aid by (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other donors; [123643]
- (2) what actions his Department has taken to persuade countries to accept genetically modified food aid from donor countries. [123644]
Hilary Benn: DFID's approach to food aid is guided by the following principles:
- Recipient governments should be given adequate information on the type of food they receive and its characteristics, including whether genetically modified;
Recipient governments should be allowed to decide on its acceptability; and
Donors should respect the decisions of recipients and accommodate them as far as possible. For example, if milled cereals are preferred rather than whole grain to avoid GM grain being planted as seed then this should be arranged for.
DFID has been actively engaged in helping central and southern African governments to understand the issues associated with GM food aid. Staff in our in-country offices have been involved in discussion with the World Food Programme and with governments on the acceptability of grain containing genetically modified material as food aid. The right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short), former Secretary of State for International Development discussed the issues with President Mwanawasa of Zambia and last year DFID organised a fact-finding visit by Zambian scientists to London to meet a range of representatives from Government and civil society.
Internal Policing (Funding)
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will list the schemes funded by the Department which have allocated financial resources to internal policing since 1997; and how much has been allocated in each case. [124002]
Hilary Benn: DFID have supported police development projects in a number of countries, some of which have contributed to international policing. A list of such projects that have taken place since 1995 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Support has been provided either through stand-alone police development projects, or since 2001, as an element within a Safety Security and Access to Justice programme.
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In the main, technical support is provided. This is provided through seconded officers; visiting consultants —usually retired police officers; in-country technical co-operation officers (TCOs); UK police forces and UK police training establishments. DFID also provide equipment.
New Partnership for Africa's Development
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what steps he is taking to encourage business participation in New Partnership for Africa's Development. [123641]
Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting (£117,000) the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) to develop private sector engagement in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Programme of Action, and stimulate the increased domestic and foreign investment required for NEPAD to succeed. This work is subsumed under the principal private sector initiative in support of NEPAD—the NEPAD Business Group (NBG).
NBG comprises leading business organisations that have a broad constituency both inside and outside Africa and are committed to helping the continent realise its full economic potential. NBG includes the following organisations: CBC; Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum; British African Business Association; and the International Chamber of Commerce,
Nicaragua
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) of 22 May 2003, Official Report, column 972W, on Central America, when his Department has had discussions with the Government of Nicaragua concerning violence and social exclusion in Central America; what the content of these discussions was, with particular reference to street children; and what the outcome was of these discussions. [123729]
Hilary Benn: DFID has been working on the issue of violence in Nicaragua since 2001, supporting the government to develop an integrated program that will address social causes of violence. The Government of Nicaragua recognises that many children are on the street and in street gangs due to poverty, intra-family violence and drug and alcohol abuse. DFID has been supporting the Education Department to develop a system of counsellors for children in schools in order to decrease drop out rates and ensure that the schools are a centre for support for children at risk. DFID has also been supporting the Ministry of the Family in developing community level responses to exclusion, violence and abuse.
Philippines
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development which projects his Department supports in the Philippines working with street children. [123735]
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Hilary Benn: DFID is not directly funding projects with street children in the Philippines. Funds from the Department for developmental and welfare activities in the Philippines are mainly provided as our share of spending by multilateral development agencies and as grants to non-governmental organisations, none of which is earmarked by the Department for particular purposes.
Street Children
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid his Department gives to tackle the problem of street children. [123727]
Hilary Benn : We are currently providing financial support of around £900,000 to three UK-based non-governmental organisations that work directly with street children: Childhope, GOAL and World Vision. We also support many more organisations and Governments working to tackle the underlying causes of the poverty, deprivation and social exclusion that force children on to the streets.
Children live on the streets because of poverty in their communities. Support for children's rights to basic health care, education, nutrition, shelter and protection from violence and abusive labour, along with work on sustainable livelihoods for their parents, is central to our effort towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The UN Convention on the Right of the Child sets out the inherent rights and entitlements needed to guarantee a child's right to survival, development and an adequate standard of living. Poverty Reduction Strategy processes are particularly important in ensuring that these policies address child poverty and secure child entitlements. The Government believe that we should all work for the earliest possible realisation of these rights for all children. We regularly raise our concerns in bodies such as the UN Commission for Human Rights.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid his Department gives to tackle the problem of street children in Central America; who this money is given to; and what the money is spent on. [123732]
Hilary Benn: DFID provides funds to support street children in Honduras (£18,000), Nicaragua (£10,000) and Guatemala (£16,000) under our Small Grants Scheme. In Costa Rica the British embassy has provided equipment to improve the lives of street children (£10,000). The money is given to non-government organisations (NGOs) and local organisations.
Funds are provided for projects such as the construction of a training centre in order to rescue young people and street children from drugs, alcohol and gangs; programmes to help street children gain vocational qualifications for preparation of integration into society; rehabilitation projects to prevent and combat violence in street children and projects for medical and psychological attention and vocational training.
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Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many street children there are in Africa; in which African countries they are located; and how many street children there are in each country. [123736]
Hilary Benn: We have no specific estimate of their numbers, but street children form a proportion of the 300 million people that live in poverty in Africa (on less than $1 per day, figure relates to 1999). In Africa, we know that some 50 million girls and boys are out of school (UNESCO). Some of these will be street children. Support for children's rights to basic health care, education, nutrition, shelter, and protection from violence and abusive labour, along with work on sustainable livelihoods for their parents, is central to our effort towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid his Department gives to tackle the problem of street children in Africa; who this money is given to; and what the money is spent on. [123737]
Hilary Benn: Much of DFID's work in Africa in support of street children is done in the context of broader based activities, and it is therefore not possible to provide specific figures for work in this particular area. Street children in many countries benefit from our support provided through the United Nations Children's Fund, the ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour, and Save the Children Fund Programmes. We directly support GOAL in Ethiopia. We are providing £188,000 for their Street Children's Rights Project which aims to rehabilitate 700 severely impoverished street children in Addis Ababa.
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