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Aid Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid his Department has (a) unilaterally and (b) multilaterally provided to (i) Afghanistan, (ii) Algeria, (iii) Angola, (iv) Bangladesh, (v) Botswana, (vi) Ghana, (vii) Jamaica, (viii) Kazakhstan, (ix) Kenya, (x) Nigeria, (xi) Pakistan, (xii) Sri Lanka, (xiii) Syria, (xiv) Tanzania, (xv) Tunisia, (xvi) United Arab Emirates and (xvii) the Ukraine per annum since 1997 through (A) ECHO, (B) the UN, (C) the World Bank and (D) the IMF; how much of this aid was delivered in kind; how much of this aid was provided as monetary investment for specific projects; and if he will make a statement. [129977]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Information in the form requested is not readily available but I have placed in the Libraries of the House two tables under the title "DFID Bilateral and Multilateral Aid to Countries referred to in Parliamentary Question UIN 129977". These show DFID bilateral expenditure to the countries listed broken down by form of aid, and the imputed UK share of multilateral assistance to these countries by main channel. The bilateral data are in financial (April-March) years and the multilateral in calendar years. The latest year is shown in each case.Note also that the imputed multilateral data are based on OECD statistics and are an estimate for the UK effort—i.e. wider than DFID.

Additional information on the bilateral expenditure is available in DFID's annual publication Statistics on International Development, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. No further information is available on multilateral expenditure.

Arms Control

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what steps have been taken by the Department to assist developing countries in increasing security for legal stockpiles of armaments. [131139]

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Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK recognises that improving stockpile security is a key component of efforts to prevent the proliferation of illegal armaments. The UK provides limited assistance to countries on security for legally held stockpiles of small arms. Through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool Small Arms Strategy, the UK provides support to the work of UNDP's South Eastern Europe Small Arms Clearing House, which has provided training and assistance to states in that region on stockpile security. In Sierra Leone, the UK provided training to the military and security forces on weapons management and security systems as part of a wider package of support for restructuring the military forces after the conflict.

The UK was a key contributor to the development of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Best Practice Guidelines on Stockpile Management, published earlier this year, and is currently working with the OSCE to devise ways to support the operationalisation of these Guidelines.

DFID, the FCO and the MOD are also looking at ways to increase provision of technical guidance and assistance in this area within the context of security sector reform programmes.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to his answer of 17 June, Official Report, column 122W, on the gun trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of export control legislation on the proliferation of small arms in developing countries; and whether the Government raised the issue of export control legislation and the proliferation of small arms at the UN Biennial Meeting of States in July. [129808]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK believes that stronger export control legislation is an important way of tackling the proliferation of small arms in developing countries, and is committed to working with our international partners to strengthen existing legislation at the national, regional and international levels. However, legislation also requires effective and sustained enforcement, and the UK government provides support to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of that legislation.

The UK Government made export control legislation one of its priorities for the UN Biennial Meeting of States, and made a strong statement on the need to strengthen and enforce export controls during the plenary session. The UK also co-sponsored a side meeting for interested states to consider ways of achieving this. This meeting established a considerable degree of support, particularly for regional processes as an interim stage to securing greater international agreement. The UK is now discussing options for taking this process forward with possible co-partners, including UK support for regional processes, and remains committed to working with our partners internationally to secure stronger export controls on transfers of small arms.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what steps the Department has taken to help developing countries

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use and develop their air traffic control infrastructures to reduce the number of illicit arms shipments arriving in their countries. [131149]

Hilary Benn : The UK currently focuses its assistance on strengthening policing, customs and border control in developing countries as a means of helping them to reduce the number of illicit arms shipments arriving in their countries. This work is funded under the Global Conflict Pool Small Arms Strategy. The Pool has not provided any direct assistance to developing countries to develop their air traffic control infrastructure.

Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether UK development aid to Burma is made conditional upon specific policies or course of conduct by the Burmese Government. [130629]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: UK aid for the Burmese poor addresses priority humanitarian and other critical needs, including prevention of HIV/AIDS. UK aid is provided within the European Union (EU) Common Position on Burma, which states that ". . . Non humanitarian aid or development programmes shall be suspended . . ." except those "projects and programmes which should be, as far as possible, defined in consultation with democratic groups, including the National League for Democracy, and run with their involvement:

in support of human rights and democracy,

in support of poverty alleviation and, in particular, of the provision of basic needs for the poorest section of the population, in the context of decentralised cooperation through local civilian authorities and non-governmental organisations,

in support of health and basic education through non-governmental organisations."

We require partners to institute suitable mechanisms to ensure that UK aid is used in a transparent and accountable manner. Monitoring and evaluation systems have to be set up by recipients of UK aid, and such systems prevent any part of it going to the regime.

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what the (a) extent and (b) nature is of Government development aid to Burma; and what plans there are to change the amount and nature of aid. [130631]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In the current financial year 2003–04, UK aid for poor Burmese people is likely to be about £4 million, addressing needs in the areas of health, HIV/AIDS and support to refugees. Options for future aid are currently being assessed through the preparation of a new country plan.

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what proportion of UK development aid to Burma is channelled through the Burmese (a) Government and (b) Government agencies. [130632]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: UK aid for poor Burmese people is channelled through United Nations (UN) agencies and international and local non-governmental organisations. In 2003, some of the funding for the UN-led programme to tackle HIV/AIDS, to which the UK

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is the largest contributor, will be spent on activities delivered through the National AIDS Programme. It is not yet possible to say what proportion of UK aid will be used in this way. The UN is required to monitor these expenditures rigorously to ensure that they are used for the intended purposes in a transparent and accountable manner.

Burundi

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the numbers of people internally displaced in Burundi; and what measures are in place to meet their humanitarian needs. [130305]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The current estimate of the number of internally displaced persons as of August this year is just over 280,000 plus up to an additional 100,000 temporarily displaced at any time. They are an important focal point for the humanitarian relief effort in the country. Although this is effective where there is access, there is concern about the welfare of communities who cannot be reached.

The UK's humanitarian support to Burundi includes a £400,000 grant to Medecins Sans Frontieres for emergency health interventions, which benefits displaced persons in Bujumbura by increasing access to basic health and to emergency surgical services. We envisage a further £500,000 contribution to the UN Consolidated Appeal in the near future. The EU are providing, through its European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), up to £15 million for humanitarian support activities in Burundi, this includes humanitarian support to internally displaced people.

We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation and will continue to respond to requests for support in line with perceived humanitarian priorities.

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