14 May 2004 : Column 595W
Written Answers to Questions
Friday 14 May 2004
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
China
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 28 April 2004, Official Report, columns 1068–69W, on China (coercive population control), how and by whom the independent monitoring and evaluation of the impact of UN FPA's work in China is carried out; and if he will make a statement. [172985]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: In 2002, an impact survey was conducted by the China Population and Information Research Centre (CPIRC). Using funds provided by DFID, Southampton University provided technical assistance and quality control in the process of preparing the impact survey report.
In the current country programme which lasts from 2003 to 2005, the baseline survey and monitoring are funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and conducted jointly by CPIRC and the Chinese Ministry of Health. The baseline was completed in September last year. DFID is again providing funding to Southampton for quality control of the surveys. The total amount of funding from DFID is £99,200.
Development Aid (Africa)
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of UK development aid to African countries has been since 1992. [172502]
Hilary Benn: The total amount of UK development aid to African countries since 1992 is set out in the first table. This includes development expenditure by DFID, other government departments and the CDC (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation), whose recent reorganisation will greatly enhance its ability to mobilise investment into Africa. The fluctuations in this series are due to volatility in CDC investments and debt relief over which DFID has no control.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 521 |
| 1993–94 | 458 |
| 1994–95 | 475 |
| 1995–96 | 436 |
| 1996–97 | 445 |
| 1997–98 | 450 |
| 1998–99 | 574 |
| 1999–2000 | 631 |
| 2000–01 | 783 |
| 2001–02 | 879 |
| 2002–03 | 871 |
Source:
Statistics on International Development and Statistics database.
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The DFID programme expenditure for Africa is shown in the second table; this did in fact increase by £164 million in 2002–03 although there was a slight decrease in the overall UK development aid.
| £million | |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 407 |
| 1993–94 | 395 |
| 1994–95 | 410 |
| 1995–96 | 351 |
| 1996–97 | 350 |
| 1997–98 | 345 |
| 1998–99 | 446 |
| 1999–2000 | 495 |
| 2000–01 | 651 |
| 2001–02 | 586 |
| 2002–03 | 750 |
Source:
Statistics on International Development and Statistics Database
HIPC Initiative
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the countries which have reached decision point in the highly indebted poor countries initiative will receive their irrevocable debt relief. [172463]
Hilary Benn: Thirteen of the 27 countries that have qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative have reached Completion Point, the stage at which they receive an irrevocable reduction in their stock of debt. The next country expected to receive irrevocable debt relief is Ghana, which is expected to reach Completion Point by July 2004. A further five countries—Cameroon, Chad, Madagascar, Malawi and Rwanda—are expected to reach Completion Point by the end of 2004. Of the remaining countries, seven—Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone and Zambia—are expected to reach Completion Point in 2005, and one, the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of 2006.
Mines
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the recent report on UK mine action funding policy. [171053]
Hilary Benn: In reviewing its current policy on humanitarian mine action DFID commissioned an internal report to assist in the decision making process. The report is exempt from release under Part II, section 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information on the basis that to do so would harm the frankness candour of internal discussion.
The resulting changes in policy from the review have been announced to the House in a Statement dated 10 May. I have also written to the Chair of the Commons All Party Landmine Eradication Group and the Heads of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Development
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Programme (UNDP) Mine Action Team and the main UK based Non-Governmental Organisations working in the Humanitarian Landmine Sector.
Sudan
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what actions his Department is taking to work with the UN World Food Programme and other non-governmental organisations to assist refugees in Sudan. [171118]
Hilary Benn: There are approximately 100,000 refugees currently in Sudan. These are of Eritrean origin and are being supported by the World Food Programme's (WFP) Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation. DFID does not contribute to this World Food Programme operation.
Since October 2003, DFID has provided the following for World Food Programme operations in Sudan.
| Beneficiaries | Amount (£ million) |
|---|---|
| Sudanese affected by conflict in Darfur | 2 |
| Sudanese refugees from Darfur in Eastern Chad | 1 |
| Sudanese population affected by war and natural disasters | 3 |
| Further support for Sudanese affected by worsening conflict in Darfur | 2 |
DFID also provided £2 million to UNHCR in the last financial year for the assistance of Sudanese refugees in Chad.
World Bank
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of how the World Bank's Extractive Industries Review will influence future policy-making, with particular reference to (a) the link between extractive industries and poverty alleviation, (b) consultations with indigenous populations before extractive industries are set in place, (c) human rights obligations where extractive industries are about to be set up and (d) giving a higher profile and better funding to renewable energy projects. [172986]
Hilary Benn: The Government have been actively engaged in the Extractive Industries Review (EIR) process. DFID does not anticipate that the review will significantly influence future UK policy-making. It will however contribute to the ongoing process of improving the sustainable development performance of oil, gas and mining sectors; and the high standards that the World Bank encourages from its partners.
DFID supports the main conclusion of the review that the World Bank Group should remain engaged with the extractives sector and agrees that it is important that social and environmental safeguards are rigorously applied, that human rights are respected, and that efforts are made to improve the governance and transparency of revenue flows from the sector.
14 May 2004 : Column 598W
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which locations UK military forces have been deployed in Afghanistan in the past six weeks; for what reason in each case; whether the deployed forces have been involved in conflict; and if he will make a statement. [172279]
Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom currently has military forces routinely deployed in Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force, across the five northern provinces of Balkh, Faryab, Jowjzan, Samangan and Sar-e Pol covered by our Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and in both Kabul and Bagram as part of the coalition headquarters. All of these forces are routinely engaged in creating the conditions for stability in Afghanistan, through conflict prevention and resolution; examples during the past six weeks include the PRT's contributions towards facilitating Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in the North, and to calming tensions in Meymanyeh.
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