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Sudan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimates he has made
 
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of the number of refugees from Darfur in Chad; when these figures were last revised; and if he will make a statement. [175084]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Reliable figures for the number of refugees in Chad are difficult to find because of the inaccessibility of the areas affected. Agencies on the ground are constantly reviewing their estimates. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) press statement on 14 May 2004 estimated that there were 120,000 Darfurian refugees in Chad. Refugees International estimated on 19 May that the number could be nearer 200,000.

The Government are gravely concerned about the serious situation in Darfur. In addition to the refugees
 
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in Chad, there are over 1.2 million internally displaced people in Darfur who are in a precarious situation likely to become worse with the onset of rains later this month.

The UK is heavily engaged in the humanitarian response to this crisis. DFID is the second largest donor after the US and so far has committed over £16.5 million to agencies working in Darfur and Eastern Chad. A breakdown of these commitments is given below. In addition, DFID has seconded four humanitarian officers to support United Nations Office for the Co-Ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)'s response to the crisis in Darfur and are seconding an additional three for the UN Joint Logistics Centre. DFID is also paying for a despatch of non-food items (22,500 blankets and 15,000 plastic sheets) for distribution by humanitarian agencies.
UK Government-funded humanitarian interventions in Darfur, Sudan

Period	Agency	Description	Total cost (£)
October to December 2003	UNHCR	Supplementary Appeal for Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad—2003	1,000,000
October 2003 to September 2004	SC-UK	Emergency Response to Conflict Related Internal Displacement in North Darfur	500,000
November to December 2003	ICRC	Contribution to the ICRC 2003 Emergency Appeal for Sudan	1,000,000
November 2003 to March 2004	WFP	Additional Contribution to 2003 UN Appeal, due to Crisis in Darfur, to Provide Emergency Food Assistance to Sudanese Populations Affected by War and Natural Disasters	2,000,000
January to April 2004	MSF-F	Emergency Assistance to IDPs in Darfur—through increasing access to health care in conflict areas, disease prevention, halting nutritional deterioration and treating malnourished children	491,369
January to December 2004	MSF-H	Darfur Components of Emergency Health Interventions in Northern Sudan Project	650,000
February to December 2004	UNICEF	Emergency Assistance to Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur for Health; Water Supply; Water and Environmental Sanitation; Relief and Shelter Items; and the Protection of Children	1,000,000
February to November 2004	GOAL	Emergency Assistance to Population in Kutum Province, North Darfur—through a combined Health, Nutrition and Shelter Intervention	575,963
March to December 2004	ACF	Emergency Nutrition Programme in North Darfur	250,000
March to December 2004	WFP	Emergency Distribution of Food Aid Commodities to Sudanese Refugees in North East Chad	1,000,000
March 2004 to January 2005	UNHCR	Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad	1,000,000
April 2004 to December 2004	OXFAM	Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur (Water/Sanitation Programme)	2,193,161
May 2004 to December 2004	WFP	Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur	2,000,000
May 2004 to November 2004	WHO	Emergency primary health care and response to communicable diseases in Darfur; support to measles vaccination programme	1,500,000
May 2004 to December 2004	UNICEF	Additional support to humanitarian assistance for crisis in Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency health care and the protection of children	1,500,000
May 2004 to July 2004	UNJLC	Support to enable UNJLC to co-ordinate the logistics of an effective humanitarian response in Sudan	250,000
		Total	16,910,493

Zimbabwe

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Zimbabwe about its stockpiling of food in the run-up to national elections. [174777]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Although the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) provides little information about the activities of the parastatal Grain Marketing Board (GMB), donors believe that current GMB stocks are less than 100 thousand metric tonnes (MT), compared with a national food requirement of up to 1.8 million MT. GMB will build up its stocks in coming months as the harvest comes in, which is appropriate. Donors are particularly concerned about the dishonesty of the GoZ in declaring that the current harvest is in the order of 2.4 million MT and that Zimbabwe will be self-sufficient in food for the coming year, as confirmed by Robert Mugabe in a television interview this week.

The GoZ cancelled a Crop and Food Supply Assessment that was recently in progress jointly with the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, which would have provided an independent figure. Other recent studies suggest the actual harvest to be at or below 1.2 million MT. Donors are concerned that the GoZ is trying to control food supply in the country in the run-up to parliamentary elections next year, pretending that land reform has
 
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been successful. Apart from deceiving its population, the GoZ is putting many of them at great risk of hunger later in the year, while probably needing to divert a substantial amount of its scarce foreign exchange to import grains.

PRIME MINISTER

Sudan

Clare Short: To ask the Prime Minister what action he is taking to (a) bring about an end to the killing of the black Muslim Sudanese of Darfur and (b) secure access for humanitarian assistance to relieve their suffering. [175840]

The Prime Minister: I am deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Darfur. Following the cease-fire agreement of 8 April between the Government of Sudan and the Darfur groups, we are calling on all parties to co-operate fully with the Africa Union-led ceasefire monitoring mission. We are also considering how we can contribute to this.

I wrote to the Sudanese President earlier this year emphasising the Government's concern at the situation in Darfur. We continue to hold discussions with the Sudanese Government on access for humanitarian assistance and my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development raised the matter with the Sudanese Foreign Minister during his visit to London on 11 May. The Sudanese Foreign Minister has now announced new measures governing the issue of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers wishing to travel to Darfur.

We hope that these measures will facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to a population in great need and will be closely monitoring their implementation. We have already committed £16.5 million in response to the crisis and are urging other partners to contribute as well.

Govan Shipyard

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials held with the management of Govan/Kvaerner to discuss the future of the Govan shipyard; [174254R]

(2) what role he played in informal and oral approaches made to GEC over the purchase of Govan shipyard; [174256R]

(3) on which dates in 1999 he met Mr. George Simpson of GEC; if he will publish minutes of the meetings; and if he will list the attendees at those meetings; [174311]

(4) what communications (a) he and (b) his representatives and advisers had with GEC in 1999 over (i) the proposed merger of BAE-GEC and (ii)   Govan shipyard; and if he will publish the communications; [174312]

(5) what communications (a) he and (b) his representatives and advisers had with Kvaerner, their representatives and advisers over the proposed closure of the Govan shipyard in 1999; [174313]
 
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(6) what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials held with Sir Gavin Laird to discuss the future of the Govan shipyard. [174315]

The Prime Minister: My officials and I have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings, under exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what (a) his and (b) his officials' involvement was in the negotiations over the future of Govan shipyard; [174255R]

(2) what meetings took place between Mr. Ed Miliband and his officials in 1999 to discuss the (a) GEC-BAE merger and (b) Govan shipyard; [R] [174259]

(3) what advice he received in 1999 on the GEC interest in the Govan shipyard; [R] [174260]

(4) what advice he received from the Ministry of Defence on the GEC-BAE merger; [R] [174258]

(5) when he was first informed of the GEC interest in the Govan shipyard. [174261R]

The Prime Minister: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is exempt from disclosure under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Prime Minister what (a) his, (b) his officials and (c) his advisers involvement was in approving the GEC-BAE merger. [174257R]

The Prime Minister: The decision was made by the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the right hon. Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers) in his capacity set out in the Fair Trading Act 1973.

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Prime Minister what the name was of the task force chaired by Sir Gavin Laird set up by the Government to look for potential buyers for the Govan shipyard; who was on the task force; what its   terms of reference were; and when it was disbanded. [174314]

The Prime Minister: The Kvaerner Task Force was set up by Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 13 April 1999 under the Chairmanship of Sir Gavin Laird to identify potential purchasers of the shipyard at Govan, the engineering business in Clydebank, and for any other facilities subsequently identified for sale in Scotland. The other members of the Kvaerner Task Force were Bill Scott, Malcolm Clark and David Smith. The Task Force was wound up on 14 July 1999.

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