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21 Jun 2005 : Column 947W—continued
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Africa
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2005, Official Report, columns 2–3W, on Africa, if he will rank African countries according to the measure of relative poverty in his Department's financial model. [5147]
Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development uses a financial model to help inform decisions on bilateral aid allocation to its programmes in low-income countries in each region. The model takes account of both the extent of a country's poverty and the likely effectiveness of aid in reducing poverty there. The amount of aid which a country is likely to receive from other donors is also taken into account.
Within the part of the model that takes account of the extent of a country's poverty, gross national income per capita, converted to dollars using purchasing power parity rates, is used as a proxy indicator of relative poverty. This data is drawn from the World Bank's World Development Indicators database.
The following table ranks African countries according to this measure. Data is shown for 2003, the latest year for which information is currently available.
Source:
World Development Indicators 2005
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Algeria
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the Government have given to Algeria since 1992. [5406]
Hilary Benn: From 1992–93 to 2004–05 inclusive, the Government have given Algeria £36.2 million in bilateral aid. This includes £34.4 million of CDC investments in 2003–04 when there were two large investments of £12 million and £19 million.
In addition, the UK's imputed share of EC aid to Algeria over the period 1992 to 2002 inclusive is £69.9 million.
Tsunami
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much of the Government's aid for victims of the Asian tsunami (a) has been spent and (b) remains held in reserve; [5206]
(2) how projects working with victims of the Asian tsunami may apply for funding from the aid allocated by the UK Government; [5208]
(3) if he will list the projects on which UK Government aid for the Asian tsunami has been spent; [5209]
(4) on what UK Government aid for victims of the Asian tsunami has been spent; and through which agencies. [5207]
Mr. Thomas: Nearly £67 million out of the £75 million allocated to meet immediate relief needs has been programmed through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organisations and DFID direct action. So far £60 million of this has been disbursed. The balance will be drawn down by the recipient agencies as needed. The balance of the £75 million allocation has been earmarked for disaster risk reduction initiatives in affected countries.
DFID has also allocated up to £65 million to meet reconstruction needs. These funds will be channelled through trust funds managed by the affected governments, as the best way to ensure an effective and
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co-ordinated response to needs. Organisations wishing to apply for support to reconstruction projects should approach the relevant government department directly. As all of the money allocated to meet immediate relief needs has either been programmed or is committed, it is no longer possible for organisations to apply to DFID for this assistance. I have arranged for the document entitled 'A Breakdown of DFID's Immediate Relief Assistance in Response to The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami' to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Colombia
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Narino region of Colombia. [4982]
Mr. Thomas:
DFID is aware of the displacement of around 1,000 people in Narino State over the past three months following fighting between security forces and illegal armed groups. DFID has consulted the United Nations high commission for refugees (UNHCR) about needs and possible support. The UNHCR are continuing to monitor the situation and while they have
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raised the need to improve the access of displaced to humanitarian assistance they have advised that at this time they are not appealing for funds.
Forests
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what net percentage of forest cover worldwide has been lost since 1990; and what acreage this represents, broken down by country. [4456]
Mr. Thomas: The net percentage of forest cover lost worldwide between 1990 and 2000 was 2.37 per cent. This represents the change in forest cover over the ten-year period to 2000 and is the most up-to-date global assessment of forest resources.
In terms of acreage, this represents a total worldwide loss in forest cover of 232, 214,811 acres (93,974,000 hectares).
Forest cover data for individual countries may be found in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 main report. This is published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and is available online via the following web link: http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/fra/main/index.isp.
Please see as follows, a table summarising the current global data available for forest resources by region.
Ministerial Meetings (EU Trade Commissioner)
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the EU Trade Commissioner on (a) UK policy towards the G8 talks, (b) the UN Millennium Development Council, (c) trade talks during the UK's EU presidency and (d) the forthcoming World Trade Organisation's talks in China this December. [3635]
Hilary Benn: I have held discussions with both the Trade and Development Commissioners about the significance of trade for development, including our hopes for the G8 summit, the Millennium Review Summit and the World Trade Organisation Ministerial in December, where we will continue to work closely with the European Commission to achieve our shared objective, namely an outcome that delivers real development gains for the world's poor. The Department for International Development also has regular discussions with officials at all levels in the Trade Directorate, as well as those responsible for Trade issues in the Development and Agriculture Directorates.
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