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19 Apr 2004 : Column 402W—continued
Kenya
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources his Department will make available to the Kenyan Government in 2004–05; and if he will make representations to the Kenyan authorities on problems in North-West Kenya regarding (a) the roads infrastucture and (b) a clean water distribution system. [165063]
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Hilary Benn: In 2002 DFID provided £36.25 million in direct assistance to Kenya in support of the Government's Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS). I expect to at least to maintain this level of resources in 2004–05.
DFID supports development work in North-West Kenya through partners such as Oxfam. This work includes humanitarian assistance, drought mitigation, pastoral development, access to water, peace building and conflict management and strategic studies and operational inputs. It is carried out in close collaboration with the Kenyan authorities, and involves strengthening local organisations in their discussions with the Government about the provision of basic services, including roads and water. DFID's staff in Nairobi also maintain a close dialogue with the Kenyan Government on these issues. DFID has welcomed the emphasis that the Kenyan Government has placed on reducing poverty in the arid parts of Kenya, and will continue to monitor its implementation closely.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what amount of overseas aid has been allocated to assisting Kenya in each of the last 10 years. [165801]
Hilary Benn: Levels of official development assistance allocated to Kenya in each of the last 10 years are shown in the following table. All figures are in million.
| Amount of UK bilateral assistance | UK imputed share of EC assistance | |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 26.30 | 5.2 |
| 1994 | 28.94 | 3.5 |
| 1995 | 22.04 | 6.3 |
| 1996 | 28.04 | 3.8 |
| 1997 | 28.45 | 3.7 |
| 1998 | 32.64 | 4.6 |
| 1999 | 34.01 | 1.2 |
| 2000 | 48.30 | 2.3 |
| 2001 | 38.27 | 8.4 |
| 2002 | 36.25 | (137)4.13 |
(137) UK share of EC aid in 2002 estimated as official calculation exercise still to be carried out.
Land Classification
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information he has collated on (a) the average area of land classified as wetlands, (b) the (i) maximum and (ii) minimum area of mountain snow cover and (c) the total area of sea level intrusion in each of the last ten years, broken down by country. [165809]
Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not collect this information.
Mine Clearance
Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department will spend on (a) humanitarian mine clearance, (b) commercial mine clearance, (c) military initiatives in mine clearance, (d) mine awareness, (e) mine victim assistance and (f) research and development for mine clearance in 2004. [165849]
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Hilary Benn: Until the work of the current DFID review of mine action is complete I am unable to precisely indicate the detail of our mine action budget for 2004–05. However I anticipate that DFID's total allocation in this sector will remain at current levels.
Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on (a) humanitarian mine clearance, (b) commercial mine clearance, (c) military initiatives in mine clearance, (d) mine awareness, (e) mine victim assistance and (f) research and development for mine clearance in 2003. [165850]
Hilary Benn: Disbursements in the Financial Year 2003–04 were as follows:
| (£) | |
|---|---|
| Humanitarian Mine Clearance | (138)9,717,650 |
| Mine Risk Education (Awareness) Grant to UNICEF | 650,000 |
| Research & Development inc knowledge provision | 1,498,443 |
(138) DFID has not directly funded commercial mine clearance or military mine clearance initiatives in 2003. However commercial companies will benefit from contracts that use DFID funds provided to the United Nations for mine action programmes. The above programmes also include integrated demining activities that include mine risk education programmes. DFID is not able to disaggregate either of these figures.
Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the recent review his Department made of its mine action funding policy. [165851]
Hilary Benn: The review of DFID's Mine Action Funding Strategy is still continuing. As soon as a final decision has been reached I will inform interested organisations.
Bushmeat
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the action being undertaken by his Department to combat the international trade in bushmeat. [163512]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID's primary concern is poverty reduction and helping to bring about sustainable development for more than one billion people who are trying to live on less than one dollar a day. While bushmeat is an important source of food and livelihoods for many poor people, particularly those living in or close to forests, the bulk of bushmeat harvesting is not traded across national boundaries and less than 1 per cent. of the harvest is thought to comprise endangered species. DFID is concerned that the steady decline in the supply of bushmeat is having a negative impact on the livelihoods of poor people.
The Government has set up an Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on International Biodiversity to ensure that our response to biodiversity issues, including bushmeat, is as effective as possible.
Palestine
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the situation in Gaza, with particular reference to the movement of food into the area. [165823]
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Hilary Benn: The Government and our EU partners are seriously concerned about the new restrictions placed on the entry of humanitarian goods and services to Gaza, and have made strong representations to the Israeli Government to ease the situation. While DFID respects Israel's legitimate security needs, it is essential that these are addressed in a manner which minimises interference with the work of international organisations, humanitarian bodies and diplomats. 600,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip are dependent on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's food aid programme. This programme has been suspended as a consequence of current Israeli restrictions. Until the situation is resolved it will cause further suffering for communities struggling to cope with prolonged economic hardship.
Policy Objectives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the published objectives were of the (a) democracy and human rights, (b) international fishing agreements and (c) bananas ACP projects that were financed on the general Commission budget in 2002; what his Department's involvement in them was; what results they achieved; and what assessment he has made of their value for money. [165171]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: Detailed descriptions of the objectives of individual projects are given as part of the "Final adoption of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2002", published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 31 January 2002 (volume 45 L29). A copy of this is available in the parliamentary library or via the Commission website at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/archive/2002/l 02920020131en.html. Chapters relevant to the question can be found on the following pages: Human Rights pp. 1309; fishing agreements pp. 1314; Assistance to ACP banana producers pp. 1340. Funding for projects financed in 2002 may have been allocated in earlier years.
DFID comments on the Commission's future budget proposals for the Democracy and Human Rights and Assistance to ACP banana producers budget lines, through the annual budget negotiation process led by HM Treasury. Matters relating to international fishing agreements are the concern of the Department for Rural Affairs. In considering proposals from the Commission a number of factors are taken into account including cost effectiveness.
The EC Human Rights and Democracy initiative resulted in funding contributions for 33 specific projects in 2002. Details of these can be found on the Commission's website at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/proiects/eidhr/projects 2002 targeted en.htm_701.
In addition further funding was provided from this budget line for specific projects carried out by non-governmental organisations working in the field of democracy and human rights.
Expenditure on Assistance to ACP Banana producers resulted in continued financial support to 12 traditional ACP suppliers under the special framework of assistance established in 1999. Projects included support
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for improving competitiveness and encouragement for diversification in countries where banana production is no longer considered profitable.
An assessment of the value for money will only be possible once the projects have been completed. The EC is best placed to carry out value for money assessments for individual budget lines through its own performance monitoring mechanisms.
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