The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas)Further to written statements on 17 July 2003 and 15 September 2003,Official Report, columns 86WS and 42WS by my right hon. Friend the (then) Minister of State for International Development and me respectively, DFID has continued to work closely with the Montserratian authorities to alleviate the impact 44WS upon the island community of the volcanic activity which affected Montserrat between 12 and 14 July this year.
I can now confirm that an additional £3.5 million in budgetary assistance has been made available to the Government of Montserrat (GoM) to fund Montserrat's ash clearing assistance programme (ACAP). The programme, designed jointly by DFID and GoM, entails clearance of the volcanic ash from residential and business properties as well as from roads and public facilities. We have contracted a manager for the programme, who is responsible for overall co-ordination of the ash clearing exercise. His work includes liaison with key GoM staff to ensure that management of equipment, staffing, materials and other resources is coordinated effectively.
DFID's total budget for Montserrat in the current financial year, including this latest additional provision, is now more than £23 million.