§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department gives to post-war reconstruction of Iraq. [125111]
§ Tessa JowellMy Department has recently taken a number of measures to assist the Iraqis to protect and conserve their Cultural heritage. Two officials from my Department have been working closely in Iraq with
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2002 Distributing body Number of grants Total amount awarded (£) Heritage Lottery Fund 1 996,000 Community Fund 2 6000 Sport England 2 7,184 Arts Council of England 1 2,800 New Opportunities Fund 1 599,350 Awards For All (England) Joint Scheme 16 57,762 Total 23 1,669,096
2003 Distributing body Number of grants Total amount awarded (£) Community Fund 1 221,220 New Opportunities Fund 5 657,613 Awards For All (England) Joint Scheme 13 54,110 Total 19 932,943 2. Exchequer Funding2
2 The grants from Sport England, Arts Council North West and English Heritage are to Pendle only. A large number of other grants will have had an impact on Pendle but will have been given to organisations based outside the constituency.Ambassador Cordone, Head of Cultural Affairs at the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Their priority has been to re-establish the Culture Ministry as soon as possible and a Culture Cabinet of six Iraqis was formed in May. DCMS officials have helped prepare a budget for the Culture Ministry for 2003–04.
My Department has created a database of offers of support from UK heritage bodies and others, and will follow up on these when we have a better picture of what specifically is needed in Iraq. It is in close touch with UNESCO, which is co-ordinating international help for the cultural sector in Iraq.