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25 Apr 2006 : Column 1031W—continued
Nepal
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the stability of the Government of Nepal for the purpose of channelling aid to the Nepalese people. [64629]
Hilary Benn: DFID is monitoring the current political instability in Nepal very closely. Under present conditions, the ability of the Government of Nepal to implement development activities and deliver basic services is very sharply constrained. For UK aid through Government to be effective, it is therefore essential that there is a satisfactory resolution to the present crisis.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was allocated to Nepal in each of the last three years. [64630]
Hilary Benn:
Expenditure under the DFID bilateral programme, including humanitarian aid and DFID-managed funds from the cross-Whitehall Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), was as follows:
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1032W
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 27.16 |
| 2003–04 | 32.05 |
| 2004–05 | 35.08 |
The estimated figure for expenditure in 2005–06 is £33.2 million (£32.8 million excluding the GCPP).
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to reduce aid allocation to Nepal. [64631]
Hilary Benn: Following King Gyanendra's assumption of direct rule last year, DFID's allocation to Nepal for the financial year 2005–06 was reduced from £40 million to £32 million. For 2006–07, the allocation has been reduced further, to £30 million. These changes reflected the deteriorating environment for using aid funds effectively to reduce poverty in Nepal. The current political crisis in Nepal poses a further serious threat to the effective use of aid and DFID is keeping the situation under close review.
DFID also manages funds from the cross-Whitehall Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). Including the GCPP, expenditure in 2005–06 was an estimated £33.2 million and the 2006–07 allocation is £30.16 million.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has given in overseas development aid excluding debt relief in each of the last 10 years; what percentage of UK gross domestic product these payments constituted; and if he will make a statement. [64652]
Hilary Benn: Set out are details of UK official development assistance (ODA) with and without debt relief as a percentage of gross national income. This is the measure used in international reporting.
The Government have announced a clear timetable to reach the UN target of 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI) spent on development aid by 2013. Last year UK aid spending as a proportion of GNI rose sharply, reflecting implementation of the Government's plan to increase development assistance set out in its 2004 Spending Round and a significant short-term increase due to debt relief for Nigeria. Debt relief to poor countries frees resources for poverty reduction and is quite rightly classified as official development assistance (ODA).
ODA, excluding debt relief, rose in cash terms last year but decreased as a proportion of GNI. The main factors were changes in the CDC portfolio and timing of payments to the European development fund. We do not expect these issues to affect the 2006 figures.
(19)Provisional estimates.
Source:
DAC online database.
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1033W
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what total aid budget has been allocated to (a) Tanzania, (b) Nepal, (c) Ethiopia, (d) Venezuela and (e) Peru by the UK for 2006–07; and what percentage each figure represents of each country's GDP. [64813]
Hilary Benn: Of the five countries referred to, DFID has bilateral aid programmes in Tanzania, Nepal and Ethiopia. The total aid budget allocated by DFID in 2006–07 to each country is:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Tanzania | 110,000,000 |
| Nepal | 30,000,000 |
| Ethiopia | 90,000,000 |
There is no UK bilateral programme in Venezuela or Peru. However, DFID has allocated £620,000 in 2006 for Andes regional activities which covers Peru, Bolivia and Columbia.
Projected 2006–07 GDP figures are not available so it is not possible to say what percentage the 2006–07 allocations represent in relation to the countries' GDP, but for information, the GDP for each country for the latest year available (2004) is:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Tanzania | 5,921,548,953 |
| Nepal | 3,659,813,448 |
| Ethiopia | 4,407,543,048 |
| Venezuela | 59,656,960,830 |
| Peru | 37,323,129,672 |
Parliamentary Questions (Supplementary Information)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy when placing material in the Library in response to a parliamentary question, to supply a copy of the material to the hon. Member who tabled the question; and if he will make a statement. [64204]
Hilary Benn:
As well as depositing material in the Libraries of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Department for International Development has always adopted the policy of supplying copies of additional material referred to in the response to a parliamentary question to the Member of the House who tabled the question.
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1034W
Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much each country in receipt of funds through the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund has received in each of the last three years. [64627]
Hilary Benn: The Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund is a recent initiative within DFID's aid programme in Nepal, and is co-financed by the Swiss Government. The Fund was launched in January 2006 to support Nepali initiatives aimed at strengthening institutions of democracy and increasing the political inclusion of ethnic minorities, dalits and women. To date, one grant has been approved by the Fund, which received some 30 proposals in its first two months of operation. It was anticipated that the Fund would disburse up to £3 million of British and Swiss funds over its three-year life, with some £400,000 allocated for the 2006–07 financial year. However, management and implementation of all development activities, including this Fund, have been seriously affected by the current political crisis in Nepal.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures are in place to assess the effectiveness of funds allocated through the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund. [64628]
Hilary Benn: Applications for financial support under the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund are subject to careful scrutiny by a committee comprising staff from DFID's Nepal office, the British embassy in Kathmandu, and a representative of the Swiss Government. All approved projects will have clear objectives against which organisations receiving grants will be required to report. In addition, the effectiveness of the Fund overall will be periodically reviewed to ensure that it represents a good use of aid funds.
Strategic Defence Reviews
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions the Department has allocated funds to assist strategic defence reviews in the last nine years. [64845]
Hilary Benn: DFID has supported defence reviews through the Global and Africa Conflict Prevention Pools, which bring together the conflict prevention work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development (DFID). The Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACPP) has supported a Strategic Defence Review in Uganda. The Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) has supported defence reviews in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In each case, advice was delivered through the Security Sector Development Advisory Team (SSDAT), a team of technical advisers from the Ministry of Defence and DFID.
DFID encourages national security reviews that address the safety, security and access to justice needs of individuals and communities as well as of the state. A national security review should inform any following defence review process by clearly stating the priorities required by a country of its defence sector. The ACPP has supported such national security reviews in Sierra
25 Apr 2006 : Column 1035W
Leone and has provided limited advice to the United Nations Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). The GCPP has supported the development of a National Security Strategy in Jamaica and the Internal Security Review in Kosovo.
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