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24 Mar 2004 : Column 880W—continued
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Afghanistan
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the refugee situation in (a) Zhare Dasht, (b) other camps within Afghanistan and (c) camps set up in Pakistan by refugees fleeing Afghanistan; and what support the UK is providing to (i) NGOs and (ii) the United Nations Refugee Agency to address the refugee problem. [162969]
Hilary Benn: DFID provided over £9 million funding to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) 2003 Afghanistan appeals. UNHCR and WFP have contracted local and international Non-Governmental Organisations to help provide basic health care, education, food and water in the refugee camps.
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Refugees are now returning home. Recently, community leaders from refugee camps inside Afghanistan issued a written statement that they felt conditions in the North have now improved sufficiently for refugees to return. As a result, 30 families (118 individuals) from the Zahre Dasht camp returned to Farayab province on 21 March. UNHCR jointly facilitated the return and provided shelter, income generation opportunities and water to vulnerable returnees in their areas of origin.
From a high of one million refugees living inside Afghanistan in 2001, there are now fewer than 200,000. Similarly, over three million refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran.
Brazil/Bolivia
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to UK non-governmental organisations this year for work in (a) Brazil and (b) Bolivia; how this sum is expected to change in real terms in the future; and if he will make a statement. [162962]
Hilary Benn: Under DFID's Civil Society Challenge Fund, the value of firm offers of support to UK NGOs for specific activities in Brazil and Bolivia in 2004–05 is £204,204.00 and £336,730.00 respectively. In addition, £454,589.00 has been provisionally allocated for regional projects, including possible interventions in Brazil and Bolivia. Future offers of support will depend on the numbers and quality of proposals submitted by civil society organisations.
In September 2003, £28,904.00 was provided to Helpage International through the Latin America bilateral programme in support of activities to be undertaken between September 2003 and August 2004 in Bolivia.
DFID will also be providing £61 million in strategic support in 2004–05 to 19 major UK based Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the form of global Partnership Programme Agreements (PPA). A number of these organisations currently support activities in Bolivia and Brazil. From 2005–06, DFID is proposing to increase partnership funding, to include PPA and NGO's working in middle-income countries and Latin America in particular.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which UK non-governmental organisations funded by his Department carry out work in (a) Brazil and (b) Bolivia. [162963]
Hilary Benn: The UK Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) funded by DFID, which have programmes in Brazil and Bolivia, are shown in the following list:
- Action Aid
- CAFOD
- CARE International
- Childhope
- Christian Aid
- Concern Universal
- Everychild
- International Service
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- Leprosy Relief Association (LEPRA)
- OXFAM
- Save the Children Fund
- War on Want
- WWF
- Action Aid
- CAFOD
- CARE International
- Christian Aid
- Helpage International
- Homeless International
- International Service
- Intermediate Technology for Development Group (ITDG)
- Marie Stopes International
- OXFAM
- Plan International
- Save the Children Fund
- WWF
Drinking Water Wells
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU project to dig 50 wells for drinking water; how many of these have been completed; and what steps are being taken to reclaim funds misappropriated in relation to this project. [161699]
Hilary Benn: The "Ysaka" project was approved and started in 2000, and implementation was delegated to a Management Unit led by two co-directors (one European and one Paraguayan). Seven wells have been completed to date. Up to December 2002, the European Commission had disbursed a total of 3.2 million euro to this project.
Serious financial anomalies were uncovered in January by the Commission's annual audit for the period of 1 January to 31 December 2002. The two co-directors were dismissed immediately and supervision of the project was transferred directly to the European Commission's delegation to Paraguay. The Commission's anti-fraud unit is currently conducting an investigation that will seek to recoup missing funds. In the meantime the Government of Paraguay have filed a criminal complaint against the two co-directors. DFID and the Foreign Office will continue to monitor the situation.
DFID does not have a bilateral assistance programme for Paraguay.
Energy Systems
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how he plans to develop renewable energy supplies within broader sustainable development and poverty reduction programmes; [162044]
- (2) what steps he is taking to enable developing countries to have equal access to upfront funding for renewable and conventional energy systems. [162043]
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Hilary Benn: Over the past 10 years, DFID has funded about £3.6 million of applied research on renewable energy, covering all the main renewable energy technologies, about half of this in the last four years.
We recognise the importance of access to affordable and reliable energy services to economic growth and development, drawing on the full range of appropriate technology options, including renewable energy. This was a key outcome of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and was included among the range of actions needed to reduce poverty.
As a follow-up to the WSSD, DFID is working with several international networks to promote improved access to energy services, including the Global Village Energy Partnership and the EU Energy Initiative. These programmes involve dialogue with developing countries about their energy needs in support of their poverty reduction objectives. Most countries possess a range of indigenous natural resources that may help meet requirements such cooking, heating, lighting and water pumping. Where they are practical and financially feasible, renewable energy resources may have an important role to play.
In addition, DFID is taking a lead role in discussions with the World Bank about increasing the share of renewable energy in meeting the energy needs of developing countries, wherever this is feasible and financially viable.
EU Aid
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the EU's (a) humanitarian assistance and (b) international development assistance budget was in each of the last five years. [162938]
Hilary Benn: The following table, sets out the European Commission's humanitarian and official development assistance spend over the last five years for which this information is available.
| Total Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) | Emergency Aid | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 6263 | 510 |
| 2001 | 5517 | 526 |
| 2000 | 4414 | 519 |
| 1999 | 4911 | 677 |
| 1998 | 5124 | 501 |
Source:
Development Assistance Committee, Destination of Official Development Assistance and Official Aid—Disbursements (Table 2a)
Food Aid
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much customs levy the Government paid on food aid given to developing countries in 2003–04. [162189]
Hilary Benn: As import or customs duties represent an additional cost that would reduce the overall amount of development assistance provided, all UK
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development assistance is conditional on being free of all import or customs duties. Food aid provided by the Department for International Development is given as cash only in response to specific appeals so would not attract customs duties.
In 2002–03 DFID provided food aid to the value of £65 million.
In 2004 the EC provision for food aid is 419 million euro of which the UK share is 19 per cent. EC regulations stipulate this is also free of import or customs duties.
Guatemala
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the extent of child labour in Guatemala. [162607]
Hilary Benn: Child labour is a significant problem in Guatemala with estimates of the number ranging from 550,000 to 900,000. The Government of Guatemala have ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, which call for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the rehabilitation of child labourers, and the prevention of child labour. They have also pledged to create a commission to examine the requirement for new regulations and the enforcement of existing labour legislation, but they face many constraints in putting these commitments fully in to effect. DFID will continue to monitor the Government of Guatemala's progress in doing so.
The International Programme for the Elimination of Child Poverty (IPEC) programme of the ILO is active in Guatemala. The programme focuses on child labour in eight sectors including coffee and broccoli cultivation and firework production.
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