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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ghana

7. Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the help given to rural Ghana. [151169]

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Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK, in common with the majority of donors to Ghana, is supporting the implementation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, which prioritises support for rural Ghana, where 56 per cent. of Ghanaians live. Together with others, we are backing programmes to improve land administration, forest management, agriculture, communications, and access to markets and financial services, and to improve standards in health care and primary education.

Zimbabwe

8. Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. [151170]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Government of Zimbabwe's poorly implemented land reform programme and misguided economic policies continue to fuel the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, which is exacerbated by the effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and low and erratic rainfall. At least six million Zimbabweans will require food assistance in the months leading up to the harvest in April 2004. DFID has contributed £62 million for humanitarian assistance for Zimbabwe since the crisis began in 2001 and provides further funds to help tackle HIV/AIDS.

Uganda

9. Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the impact of conflict in Uganda on the Department's work there. [151171]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID's programme in Uganda, as elsewhere, focuses on poverty reduction. As a result of the conflict, levels of poverty in the north remain high, and have not been falling as elsewhere in the country. 63 per cent. of households in the north live below the poverty line compared with 38 per cent. nationally. The conflict severely hinders long-term development activities. The UK programme in the north has focused on humanitarian support and interventions to help resolve the conflict. We have provided £7.3 million of humanitarian assistance over the last 12 months. We will be discussing the conflict with President Museveni during his UK visit this week.

Bilateral Aid

10. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria are used by his Department to avoid fraudulent use of bilateral aid; and if he will make a statement. [151172]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID's Programme and Project Management procedures are designed to minimise the risks of bilateral aid being diverted for fraudulent purposes. The procedures include strict controls over project appraisal, approval, procurement, payments, monitoring and evaluation. In addition, all DFID's activities are open to scrutiny by my Department's Internal Auditors and by the UK National Audit Office (NAO).

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DFID is also committed to supporting the improvement of governance, transparency and accountability in developing countries. My Department itself operates, and encourages in others, a "zero tolerance" stance towards fraud and corruption.

Along with other aspects of development, DFID harmonises its anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies with other donors. The NAO commented in a recent report that "DFID's work is well-regarded by its partners who acknowledge the leading and proactive role that DFID plays in tackling corruption issues."

EU Overseas Aid

11. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the UK's priorities for EU overseas aid. [151173]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK Government's main objective for EC development co-operation is to improve its poverty focus and the effectiveness of its programmes. Our Public Service Agreement sets a target for increasing the proportion of EC overseas development assistance going to low-income countries to 70 per cent. by 2006.

Over the next year it will be important to engage the new European Parliament, Commission, and member states on developments issues and to continue to ensure development issues are adequately reflected in the debates on future financing and post Inter-governmental Conference discussions.

Botswana

12. Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's work on HIV/AIDs in Botswana. [151174]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID is contributing £7.65 million over five years to a programme implemented by the Southern African Development Community to help address HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. The programme supports the social marketing of condoms, strengthening of National AIDS Commissions in each of the countries and work to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission at cross border sites.

Vietnam

13. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on development assistance to Vietnam. [151175]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development will spend approximately £24 million bilaterally to support poverty reduction in Vietnam in 2003–04, and up to £60 million by 2005–06. The new Vietnam Country Assistance Plan (CAP), to be published shortly, will set out in detail the Department's plans in Vietnam for the next 3–4 years. The key priority will be to support the broad strategy laid out in the Government of Vietnam's own poverty reduction plan, the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS

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DFID's Country Assistance Programme for Vietnam will be published shortly and a copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Iraq

14. Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the current humanitarian situation in Iraq. [151176]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In spite of difficulties resulting from the security situation in Iraq, there is no humanitarian crisis in the country. Significant progress has been made since the end of the conflict in restoring essential services, restoring the Public Distribution System for food rations, reopening hospitals and schools, and beginning the process of longer-term reconstruction.

US$33 billion in grants and soft loans was pledged for the reconstruction of Iraq at the Madrid Donors' Conference in October. DFID has already committed £220 million to humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the result was of the consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers on possible next steps in maintaining public order in Iraq. [150001]

Mr. Rammell: I have been asked to reply.

Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office consult regularly with Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) representatives on a range of issues related to the UK support for police training and reform in Iraq.

ACPO's international affairs office has made a critical contribution to these efforts. This has included facilitating the secondment of 80 serving British officers currently involved in advisory and training roles in Baghdad, Basra and at the Jordan International Police Training Centre; and advice on the overall shape and objectives of the UK police contribution in Iraq.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate had been made of the state of essential civilian infrastructure prior to the commencement of the military conflict in Iraq; and what plans his Department prepared for maintenance and repairs of the infrastructure. [150223]

Hilary Benn: United Nations and NGO organisations active in Iraq made assessments of civilian infrastructure prior to the conflict. These included United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, International Committee Red Cross and CARE International UK. The Joint Needs Assessment prepared by the UN and World Bank before the Madrid Donors' Conference in October 2003 also assessed the condition of infrastructure pre and post conflict.

The Department's assistance prior to the conflict and in the immediate aftermath was largely channelled through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement and NGOs. These organisations had experience of working in Iraq, well-established local networks and a capacity to deliver assistance on the ground. They were able to move back

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into Iraq quickly after the major conflict ended and set up effective humanitarian operations. The Department helped these organisations to prepare for the post conflict phase.

As it became clear that the continuing insecurity meant that the UN was unable to operate in Iraq, we provided support to essential infrastructure in Southern Iraq. This was also informed by the needs assessment work in the lead-up to the Madrid Conference in October, following which we committed £20 million as a contribution to a US$127 million CPA Essential Services Programme for the restoration of essential infrastructure in Southern Iraq.

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