Government Payments (Hansard, 28 January 2003)

§ Mr. Straw

Government funding for projects in the above countries for the last three years totals:

	£
(a) Turkey	6,972,416
(b) Syria	429,800
(c) Jordan	21,078,129

We have made no direct financial payments to these Governments, rather we have provided services in the form of training, expertise and equipment. These figures are approximate and may not be exhaustive. A breakdown of expenditure is set out as follows:

Breakdown of Expenditure

(a) Turkey

Funds: Purpose—to help Turkey meet the Copenhagen Political Criteria and to help Turkey address issues of importance to the UK. These include:

EU Action Plan: past projects include funding the Ministry of the Interior's and Ministry of Education's participation in the British Council Seminar in the UK on 'Communicating Human Rights'.
Human Rights Project Fund (HRPF): past projects include human rights training for
the Jandarma in custody, detention and public order policing.
Global Conflict Prevention Fund (GCPF): past projects include an anti-smuggling/customs course.
Defence Assistance Fund (DAF): past projects include English language training for Turkish officers at the BMEC English Language School in Beaconsfield. The DAF may be used to defray the cost, in full or in part, of bilateral activities such as training activities which provide a direct defence benefit. The use of the fund is determined by the country priorities set out in the Defence Assistance Plan.
Drugs and Crime Fund (DCF): past projects include customs training.
(Other small funds include the Environmental programme budget and project fund)

Turkey
	£
EU Action Plan
2000–01	n/a
2001–02	149,454
2002–03	¹1150,000
HRPF
2000–01	306,333
2001–02	311,409
2002–03	167,708
DAF Allocation
2000–01	571,000
2001–02	608,000
2002–03	356,000
GCPF
2000–01	n/a
2001–02	¹156,640
2002–03	¹169,700

764W

Turkey
	£
DCF
2000–01	108,515
2001–02	672,690
2002–03	³3261,967
¹Allocated
²Spent
³This does not include a UNDCP amount of £550,000 which may be allocated to Turkey projects.

There is no Department for International Development (DfID) programme in Turkey however DfID did provide £1.5 million in humanitarian assistance in 1999–2000 following a major earthquake and £283,000 in 2000–01.

(b) Syria

Our Embassy in Damascus runs a DfID-funded Small Grants Scheme. The FCO runs small projects in Syria under the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. We also fund Chevening Scholarship and sponsored visits programmes.

Syria
£
DfID
1999–2000	119,000
2000–01	75,000
2001–02	80,000
GCPF (formerly ASSIST)
1999–2000	18,880
2000–01	50,000
2001–02	27,000

Bilateral defence relations with Syria have improved. Over the past two years, the MOD has established a programme of assistance with the Syrians worth about £30,000 annually. This money is spent on funding Syrian candidates on courses such as English Language Training.

DfID's support to Jordan is set out in the table. This consists of debt relief, aid trade provision and technical assistance. The FCO funds small projects under the Global Conflict Prevention Fund. We also fund Chevening Scholarship, sponsored visits programmes and human rights projects.

The MOD has an extensive bilateral programme of assistance with Jordan costing in the region of £400,000 annually These funds are spent on providing course places to the Jordanian Armed Forces and in-country training. Their largest project to date with the Jordanians was the gifting of Challenger I Tanks, a project that began in August 1999 and is ongoing. This was a gift from the UK Government to the Jordanian Government, not a direct payment.

Jordan
	£
DfID
1999–2000	6,310,000
2000–01	6,298,000
200–02	6,433,000

765W

	Jordan
	£
GCPF (formerly ASSIST)
1999–2000	190,031
2000–01	220,000
200–02	427,098

I will write the right hon. Member with more details and place a copy in the Library.