§ 4. Mr. Roger Casale (Wimbledon)What assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's work in Kosovo. [119354]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. George Foulkes)We have recently reviewed our work in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia. Our contribution last year totalled £110 million. As well as assisting refugees returning to Kosovo, we have supported the United Nations mission, mine action, human rights, health care and restoring basic services. We believe that our work has made a significant contribution to the process of getting life in the province back to normal after the conflict.
§ Mr. CasaleI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. I visited Kosovo last year with Mr. Geoffrey Morris, on behalf of London and South East Direct Aid to Kosovo, and saw at first hand the excellent work of the Department. I am a patron of LASEDAK and we work alongside the Scottish Charities Kosovo Appeal on humanitarian relief and development projects in Kosovo. Is my hon. Friend aware of the concerns of such organisations about the relative scaling back of the work of his Department within the overall framework of the EU stability pact? Non-governmental and voluntary organisations working in Kosovo depend very much for their effectiveness on the work of the Department and, with 10,000 refugees returning to the region, in which LASEDAK and SCKA are involved, there is a real danger that next winter will be worse than last.
§ Mr. FoulkesI am grateful to my hon. Friend for the kind things that he said about my Department's work. The main burden of reconstruction should now rightly be taken on by the European Union and the new agency for reconstruction, which started its work at the end of February. As I said earlier, 360 million euros has been provided through the European Union and our contribution is £35.5 million. However, we are anxious to make sure that the operation is not hampered by Brussels bureaucracy. We want resident advisers and devolved 135 responsibility to make the operation effective and to ensure that there is quick and effective reconstruction in Kosovo.
§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)Has the hon. Gentleman had a chance to study the United Nations Economic Commission report that was published today? It slams the aid efforts in the Balkans, saying that the big gap between funding pledges and disbursements delayed action and created disillusionment. The report also highlights poor co-ordination, the lack of coherent vision and the failure to place individual projects within a broader programme of development at national and regional level.
Can the hon. Gentleman assure us that all the promised UK funds have been disbursed and that he is making every effort to ensure that the civil administration posts in Kosovo, some 55 per cent. of which remain empty, are filled by local people? Does he agree that, while more than half those posts are vacant, the region will continue to be run by western non-governmental organisations? Despite their best efforts, they could repeat the mistakes made in eastern Europe and remain open to the criticisms made in the report.
§ Mr. FoulkesThe picture described by the hon. Lady is a travesty of reality. The Kosovo crisis saw the largest and fastest movement of population in Europe since world war two. The international community managed to get people under shelter in the winter, with heat, light and water, in spite of the dire predictions. The £110 million that we have provided is the largest humanitarian programme that DFID has ever undertaken, and 90 per cent. of operational targets were achieved on schedule and within budgeted costs. That is a great achievement, and the hon. Lady should recognise that.