1 Dec 2003 : Column 43WS
Written Ministerial Statements
Monday 1 December 2003
NORTHERN IRELAND
Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland(Annual Report and Accounts)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Angela Smith): Copies of the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2002 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
This document provides details of the Board's fisheries conservation and protection activities, its performance, and its expenditure for that year.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Departmental Expenditure Limit
The Minister for Rural Affairs and Local Environmental Quality (Alun Michael): Subject to Parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs DEL will be increased by £230,638,000 from £2,805,184,000 to £3,035,822,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £7,560,000 from £532,910,000 to £540,470,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
| New DEL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change | Voted | Non-voted | Total | |
| Resource | 164,459 | 2,303,085 | 505,563 | 2,808,548 |
| Capital | 66,179 | 332,745 | 75,745 | 408,490 |
| Depreciation* | - | -83,495 | -97,721 | -181,216 |
| Total | 230,638 | 2,552,335 | 483,487 | 3,035,822 |
* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
- (i) a take up of end-year flexibility of £82,043,000 programme resources and £1,453,000 administration resources as set out in the Public Expenditure 2002– 2003 Provisional Outturn Paper (Cm5884); (ii) a transfer to ODPM of £1,600,000 programme resources (which includes £85,000 non-Voted resources ) for Ordinance Survey; (iii) a switch of £6,780,000 capital resources to administration resources as agreed by HMT; (iv) a transfer of £2,315,000 administration resources to ODPM for Government Offices' running costs; (v) a transfer of £1,000,000 programme resources to DFID for environmental projects; (vi) a take-up of £524,000 programme resources from DTI for the Red Meat Industry Forum; (vii) a transfer of £67,000 programme resources to FCO for UNCLOS; (viii) a transfer of £4,000,000 programme resources to HMC&E for illegal imports; (ix) a transfer of £1,500,000 programme resources to FSA for illegal imports; (x) a take up of £1,500,000 administration
1 Dec 2003 : Column 44WS
- resources and £82,500,000 programme resources for Waste Implementation as agreed by HM Treasury; (xi) a take up of £60,000 administration resources from ODPM for Local Government PSAs; (xii) the increase in Administration resources and appropriations-in-aid by £300,000 for milk quota lease recoveries; (xiii) the increase in programme resources and appropriations-in-aid by £2,983,000 for OTMS Tallow recoveries; (xiv) a take up £5,000 administration resources from ONS for Neighbourhood Statistics programme; (xv) a take up of £77,000 administration resources from HMC&E for Receipt Verification work.
The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
- (i) a take up of end-year flexibility of £72,959,000 capital resources as set out in the Public Expenditure 2002– 2003 Provisional Outturn Paper (Cm5884); (ii) the switch of £6,780,000 capital resources to administration resources as agreed by HM Treasury.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Humanitarian Situation in Southern Africa
The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): The humanitarian crisis that has affected six countries in Southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) since September 2001 has eased in recent months. Emergency operations have largely ended in Malawi and Zambia and are working on a reduced scale in Swaziland. The position in Zimbabwe remains very serious and, while there are also significant needs in Lesotho and Mozambique, these too are now on a much smaller scale.
Efforts to support recovery operations are either underway or being planned in all six countries and DFID is examining, with partners, what further actions we can take to reduce hunger and vulnerability in the region in the long term. These efforts will need to take careful account of the widespread impact of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.
Humanitarian needs are greatest in Zimbabwe, largely caused by the Zimbabwe Government's disastrous policies. Foreign exchange shortages have meant that the Government of Zimbabwe has been unable to import significant volumes of food and seeds for planting, and the Government continues to prevent the private sector from importing or marketing grain. Rampant inflation and increasing unemployment has meant that few people are able to purchase the limited food available in the market. Though the needs of displaced former commercial farm workers and their families have yet to be assessed accurately, it is estimated up to half a million of them are in need of assistance. The economic collapse means that urban areas are also badly affected and vulnerability levels in the major centres have been rising steadily. A further assessment of needs
1 Dec 2003 : Column 45WS
in urban areas will be published shortly. In total, half the population of Zimbabwe—around five and a half million people—are likely to need food aid over the coming months.
There has long been concern about possible interference by the Zimbabwe Government with international food aid programmes. It is the agreed policy of the World Food Programme and other donor agencies working in Zimbabwe that relevant operations will be suspended in the event of such political interference. There have, however, been no significant incidents of this kind in recent months and no suspensions have therefore been needed. Minor incidents have occurred periodically but all of these have been investigated and resolved with local authorities using agreed procedures. By contrast, food distribution controlled by the Zimbabwe Government through the state Grain Marketing Board is not subject to the same monitoring procedures and there is evidence that it is distorted for political reasons.
In Mozambique, while harvests in the North remained good, there has been near total crop failure in many Southern and Central districts as a result of poor rainfall last year. This has affected about 650,000 people who are in need of food and other assistance.
In Lesotho, crop failure has also affected a significant part of the population with up to 700,000 people estimated to be affected following the failure of the winter harvest. There are considerable problems of access to many of the most vulnerable populations, many of whom comprise growing numbers of orphans and child-headed households.
To address these needs DFID will be spending over £40 million this year on immediate humanitarian assistance in the Southern African region. This builds on the £125 million that the Government has already spent since September 2001. The vast majority of the new funds this year (£35 million) will be for humanitarian assistance operations in Zimbabwe. We have also provided £3.5 million to fund emergency operations in Mozambique and Lesotho and are continuing to monitor the position in those countries closely. Resources are being channelled through the main UN agencies, notably the World Food Programme, as well as through a range of NGOs to support emergency feeding and nutrition programmes. We have also provided £500,000 for enhanced monitoring of food aid deliveries and beneficiary selection procedures in Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, DFID will also be supporting efforts led by the Ministry of Agriculture to better target humanitarian assistance in addition to providing immediate food aid and nutritional support. We are also providing £1.5 million to the UN's regional co-ordination and support office in Johannesburg to help the UN's regional planning and improve its country programmes in affected countries. The World Food Programme has responded to the concerns of DFID and other donors, as well as partner governments by stepping up efforts to increase the amount of food that it purchases in local markets. They and others are working to address remaining barriers, including import restrictions between countries in the region.
1 Dec 2003 : Column 46WS
Pockets of vulnerability remain in Malawi and Zambia, but we have seen important improvements in the food security situation in both countries over the past few months. Strategic grain reserves have recovered and these will need to be carefully managed. In Malawi, our support for subsidised inputs programmes continues to provide affordable seeds and fertilisers for poorer households, enhancing household food security and allowing them to grow maize that can offer an alternative to imported commodities. In Zambia, maize is both available and accessible.
Food security will continue to be a concern throughout the region for the foreseeable future, especially given indications that vulnerability is increasing, partly due to the high rates of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. DFID is developing a regional hunger and vulnerability strategy for working with national Governments and regional institutions to promote food security in the future in ways that both protect and promote livelihoods for the most vulnerable communities.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |