§ 2. Mr. Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington)What assessment she has made of the long-term reconstruction needs of (a) Albania, (b) Montenegro and (c) Macedonia. [85974]
§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Clare Short)We are working closely with the international community to determine the development needs of the Balkan region. The major costs of reconstruction will be met by the EU and the international financial institutions.
§ Mr. BrakeI thank the Secretary of State for her response. How much of the £50 million of humanitarian aid announced on Monday will be spent on health 377 facilities? Does she believe that the Albanian Government are playing a supportive role in encouraging refugees who are with host families to remain in Albania until the situation in Kosovo is stabilised, and how much aid will those host families receive?
§ Clare ShortI am afraid that I cannot say precisely how much of the extra £50 million that we have just announced to help the refugees to return to Kosovo will be spent on health. We are dealing with a fairly chaotic situation. Currently, we are funding convoys which are taking in food and emergency medical supplies and blankets—which is a little odd because it is hot, but people have been sleeping in the open and do not have proper beds, and so on. Quite a lot of basic medical care is being supplied, so we are considering whether we can help to restore the hospitals. Sadly, dreadfully, I gather two accidents have already been caused by mines, and there will be many others, so decent hospital facilities will be required and we expect to make that a priority. I shall keep the House informed on the situation and the decisions that we make.
It is not for us to tell Kosovan refugees when to go home; it is our job to give them as much accurate information as possible so that they can make their own decisions. Therefore, the Albanian Government should not tell them when to go. It is important that the frail and vulnerable be looked after until the fitter and younger have returned and made their homes ready. They can then send for the women, children and the elderly. The process of return will take some months. If it is like Bosnia, the young and fit will go first, repair the roof and get the homes ready, and then send for the others. Therefore, the refugees will be in Albania and Macedonia for quite some time.
§ Mr. Tony Benn (Chesterfield)What funds has my right hon. Friend earmarked for Serb families who are now becoming refugees for fear of the KLA, who have not been disarmed and who said this morning that they had no intention of giving up their weapons until the Russians submitted themselves to the American command in Kosovo?
§ Clare ShortFirst, the agreement that has been reached internationally, the agreement that has been negotiated with the KLA, and the assurances given by General Jackson, all say very clearly to the Serbs of Kosovo that they are welcome to stay, that they have the absolute right to stay, and that every effort will be made to protect them. I want to make it clear that they are not being terrorised out of the country as the Kosovar Albanians were. We have also made it clear that provision will be made if there is any humanitarian need or disaster in Serbia. However, there will be no assistance to Serbia for reconstruction as long as Milosevic and his regime remain.
§ Mr. Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford)Is not it true that much of the money given by the Secretary of State for the relief of refugees in Kosovo will have to be channelled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees? Is the Secretary of State satisfied that the UNHCR is properly organised to handle that? Is she aware that the Select Committee on International Development wrote Mrs. Ogata a letter 378 nearly three weeks ago—to which she has not even replied—asking her to come and give evidence and tell us how she is organising the UNHCR to give the assistance that the refugees desperately need?
§ Clare ShortI am very well aware of the Select Committee's report, and I respect it greatly. I have said before to the hon. Gentleman that some things in this crisis have not been well organised, but our priority is to keep the systems with which we have to work operating. When the crisis is over, we will have to try to correct the deficiencies that have emerged during the crisis.
We have published a full list, which is available from the Library, of exactly how all the money that we have made available has been spent. Some of it has gone through the UNHCR, but a lot has gone through other agencies. We are using the most effective agencies, whichever they may be, but much of our support to the UNHCR has been in kind. We were able to book aeroplanes and move stuff around faster than the agency, so we booked and paid for that instead of handing over resources. Therefore, it has been more efficient to make a lot of our contributions in kind, not in cash.
§ Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire)Massive financial problems face the international community in dealing with the refugee crisis. Is consideration being given to the way in which funds can be raised on an international basis? If that is not possible now, will it be possible when similar problems arise in the future? One possibility is to tax international currency speculators by means of the so-called Tobin tax. Could not such an initiative, which has already been taken in relation to international debt, have a great impact in the future?
§ Clare ShortI share my hon. Friend's view that the Tobin tax suggestion is interesting, but it could not be implemented until all the world agreed to it. That might take a bit longer than securing enough funding for the reconstruction of the Balkans. A campaign of ideas would have to be put in hand before we could get anywhere near to achieving what I agree is an interesting possibility.
The reconstruction of the Balkans region will incur costs. Many of the surrounding countries suffered some disruption during the war but were not damaged. Funding was made available to cover their transition from communism. Its sources included the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Union also set aside funds for that purpose—so funds exist that are ready to be spent. However, additional funding has to be found for Kosovo and we have to make sure that it is not at the expense of other very poor countries.
§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)I welcome the £50 million that the Secretary of State has announced, and I agree that long-term reconstruction is important for the peace, stability and prosperity of the whole region. How will she ensure that goods and materials are sourced locally, rather than more expensively elsewhere? That would help to rebuild the economies of the region's countries. What methods will she use to ensure that the dispersal of funds is closely 379 monitored? I am sure that she appreciates that large infrastructure projects always carry the possibility of fraud.
§ Clare ShortThe £50 million will be spent on humanitarian and emergency help to return people to their homes and on assisting with the reconstruction of bridges and infrastructure that require immediate attention. We will disburse that money using our tight systems for ensuring that it is well spent. Matters are difficult in a disruptive region, but we are trying to do as much as possible.
The much larger spending on reconstruction that will occur across the Balkans will not, of course, take place under our management. The European Commission will lead it and there will be a great deal of welcome analytical input from the World Bank. I agree with the hon. Lady that local sourcing should be encouraged, but we will not have complete control over that. We are doing everything in our power to improve European Commission systems as we all know that there has been much waste and that there is much room for improvement.