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Madagascar

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what arrangements were made for the continuation of bilateral development assistance to Madagascar when the decision was taken to transfer responsibility for the administration of the Small Grants Scheme to the Foreign Office; [57856]

(2) what responsibilities for development in Madagascar his Department has taken over from the Small Grants Scheme since its discontinuation; [57857]

(3) what forms of bilateral development assistance were provided to Madagascar before the announcement of the decision to close the British Embassy. [57858]

 
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Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the responses I gave on 30 January and 13 March 2006; Official Report, columns 13W and 1938W respectively.

Malawi

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) mechanisms and (b) funding are in place to develop twinning and civic co-operation between the UK and Malawi. [58200]

Hilary Benn: DFID funded the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme, launched in 1998, which supported 30 technical co-operation projects between local authority partners in Commonwealth countries. In Malawi, these were Crawley borough council with Lilongwe, South Staffordshire borough council with Zomba, and East Staffordshire county council with Blantyre city council. An evaluation of the scheme in 2000 recommended that it focus on selected countries, of which Malawi is not one, although some of the links are still active, such as that between East Staffordshire and Blantyre. In addition, DFID funds, through a Strategic Grant Agreement, the secretariat of the UK Local Government Alliance for International Development, which encourages UK local authorities to engage more closely with international development issues, including through technical cooperation links with local authorities in developing countries.

The Scottish Executive and Malawi signed a Co-operation Agreement in November 2005 which encourages Scottish organisations and individuals to make links with organisations in Malawi. This policy is supported by the Scottish Executive's International Development Fund. Scottish non-governmental organisations (NGO)s with a Malawian partner are eligible to bid for funds assuming they meet basic criteria in line with the Co-operation Agreement. There are also health links between several UK national health service trusts and tertiary and training health institutions in Malawi.

While civic and town twinning are not priorities for DFID's bilateral programme with Malawi, the British High Commission supports and facilitates existing links between towns and churches through representation at ceremonies to donate equipment and assisting with inquiries from institutions in the UK or Malawi wishing to set-up a twinning arrangement. DFID advises UK institutions seeking to develop links with Malawian institutions to collaborate with other development partners and to align with Malawi's own strategies, priorities and funding mechanisms.

Maldive Islands

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what support his Department has offered to assist post-tsunami reconstruction work in the Maldives; how much has been spent; what projects have been completed; and what projects are yet to be completed; [56136]

(2) what recent assessment he has made of the progress of (a) the Maldives Government and (b) international donors and institutions in eradicating poverty in the Maldives; [56153]
 
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(3) what efforts his Department has made to ensure that (a) UK and (b) EU funds offered to assist with tsunami reconstruction in the Maldives have been properly audited; [56152]

(4) what conditions the UK Government have attached to (a) technical assistance offered to the Maldives Government and (b) the work which Hill and Knowlton is undertaking for that Government; [56139]

(5) what assessment he has made of the (a) transparency and (b) impact of UK Government aid programmes offered to the Government of the Maldives. [56138]

Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows.

Support for reconstruction following tsunami

Following the tsunami the UK provided emergency humanitarian assistance directly to the Maldives totalling £1.6 million and included funding to a number of UN agencies (the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF). The activities funded included: emergency waste management; restoration of livelihoods; disaster preparedness; water and sanitation.

DFID provides support to the Maldives through the European Commission, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The Government of the Maldives has set up a Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Fund (TRRF) to receive resources from local and international sources and to channel these for relief and reconstruction. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have helped the Government to ensure that procedures used in the TRRF are compatible with international standards. The Government of the Maldives are using the reconstruction programme to implement their long-term development strategy of resettling and concentrating the population in a few focus islands. This includes improving services in health and education and protecting them from rising sea levels.

Under its 2005–06 tsunami indicative programme, the European Commission (EC) pledged €16 million to the Maldives. The UK share of the EC assistance is 18 per cent. Of the €16 million, €2 million will be channelled to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led programme to restart livelihoods and repair housing on the damaged atolls. The remaining €14 million will be channelled through the TRFF via the World Bank.

Eradicating poverty in the Maldives

The Maldives has had much success in tackling poverty to date, with a GNI per capita income of $2,300 per annum. There has been a significant reduction in income poverty, decline in maternal and infant mortality and increase in school enrolments. It is clear that the tsunami will have temporarily affected future progress. Funding provided by the EU post tsunami forms part of the EU's ongoing development assistance for the Maldives and will cover the heightened development needs of the country post tsunami and also longer term development planned before the tsunami.
 
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Auditing funds, transparency and impact of UK aid programmes

The fact that much of DFID's relief and recovery assistance is being channelled through familiar partner organisations, including NGOs, helps ensure the funds are spent effectively. Individual agencies providing relief and reconstruction assistance are expected to have set their own targets for monitoring, taking into account the needs assessments undertaken by the Maldives' Government. In line with the Charity Commission's Statement of Recommended Practice 2004 annual reporting on progress and activities will be provided against their stated objectives.

The European Commission (EC) has also played an important role by gathering data on individual member states humanitarian, rehabilitation and reconstruction funding and putting this on their website.

The EC and the World Bank have undertaken joint evaluations of the national reconstruction plan (TRRF), as well as assisting the Government of Maldives in taking corrective measures when needed. We will continue to ensure that monitoring and technical assistance provided to the Maldives is in line with EU and UK policy. Regular monitoring of the TRRF will provide donors with the structure and opportunity to assess the impact and effectiveness of the support provided.

UK conditions

Aside from support directed through multilateral institutions, the UK also provides limited non-humanitarian assistance, from programme budgets or the Small Grants Scheme to support individual projects that further Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and or/DFID objectives.

We understand that the relationship between the Government of the Maldives and Hill and Knowlton is a commercial one to which we are not a party.

Nepal

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will cease to engage with state institutions in Nepal and seek other means of delivering assistance to the people of Nepal. [59355]

Mr. Thomas: Since King Gyanendra suspended democratic rule on 1 February 2005, the DFID programme in Nepal has been kept under review. DFID has looked carefully at the effectiveness of the different aid instruments we use to deliver development assistance and the risks posed to field staff.

We continue to use financial aid in health, education and agriculture, where in my judgment it remains possible to help poor people and contribute to progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by channelling resources through Government. However, the political context and the conflict do adversely affect the performance of these programmes and we are currently closely monitoring possible increases in fiduciary risk in relation to government programmes. In other areas such as forestry,
 
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infrastructure, water, community support, anti-corruption, support to democratic groups and peace-building, we are channelling funds through DFID managed Technical Co-operation, through national NGOs or directly to communities.

DFID will shortly take stock of the political and conflict situation in Nepal and the outlook for development work, taking account of fiduciary and other risks and will consider how best we can continue to sustain essential services to the poor, and contribute to progress towards the MDGs and to a future peaceful and democratic Nepal.

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