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Water Action Plan
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish the next update on his Department's work on water and sanitation since the Water Action Plan. [45495]
Hilary Benn: We plan to publish the next Water Action Plan update on the DFID external website by the end of March 2006.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which African countries receiving budget support from his Department have spent 12 per cent. or more of those funds principally in support of increased access to safe water and sanitation. [45496]
Hilary Benn: DFID is currently providing budgetary support to Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. The DFID report 'Financial support to the water sector 2002 to 2004' includes (page 22) an assessment of the percentage of public expenditure (including budgetary support) allocated to water and sanitation by partner countries. In the African countries receiving UK budgetary support, this varies between 0.3 per cent. and 4.8 per cent. No country allocates as much as 12 per cent. from central Government funds to water and sanitation services. Copies of the report are available in the Libraries of the House and also on the DFID website www.dfid.gov.uk.
World Trade Organisation
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he plans to take to promote the interests of the world's poor following the outcome of the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meetings in Hong Kong at the end of 2005. [44848]
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Mr. Thomas: DFID recognises that the World Trade Organisation talks held in Hong Kong in December made only modest progress towards a pro development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). We remain committed to work towards a successful conclusion to the round by the end of this year. A good deal that promotes the interests of the poor would include improved market access, particularly in agriculture, and significant reductions in trade distorting domestic support.
DFID places paramount importance on ensuring that the voices of developing countries are heard in trade negotiations. For some time DFID has provided advisory support and financial resources to help developing countries formulate their own trade policies and negotiate and participate in trade deals, including the Hong Kong talks; we will continue to provide similar support. Over the coming weeks we will remain in contact with the LDCs on their post-Hong Kong
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priorities. This will help focus our efforts on promoting the interests of poor countries where they want our support.
DFID believes that greater market access won't in itself enable the poorest countries to benefit more from trade; developing countries have to also overcome significant supply side capacity constraints, such as lack of investment in physical infrastructure and human capital. The international community has committed development assistance to support this so called aid for trade, pioneered by the UK during our twin presidencies of the G8 and EU. We have pledged to increase our own aid for trade to £100 million per annum by 2010. While this is not a substitute for significant changes to WTO trade rules, DFID believes it will assist poor countries to engage in and benefit from the international trading system. DFID will also focus its efforts over coming months on ensuring pledges on aid for trade are honoured.