§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EC task force's contribution to the delivery and planning capacity in Bosnia of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydSince its formation in November, the European Community task force—ECTF—has focused its efforts on improving the co-ordination and liaison between the various relief programmes of EC member states, the European Commission and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees; the provision of additional trucking capacity and a secondary distribution network; and the provision of teams of experts from EC member states to work in conjunction with the UNHCR. To date the ECTF has 37 trucks with a further 30 expected shortly and various experts are being recruited. The United Kingdom has played a leading role in the formation of the EC task force and has provided its head, together with 12 trucks, 10 trailers and 17 drivers and mechanics.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the planning and priorities of the relief efforts for Bosnia.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydOur relief effort in the former Yugoslavia is focused on the provision of food, shelter and medicines to those in need in Bosnia this winter. We have already committed over £70 million in humanitarian relief, all of which has been agreed in consultation with the UNHCR who are co-ordinating the international response to this crisis. I also refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Mr. Hendry) on 23 November at columns452–53, in which I set out our humanitarian relief programme in more detail.