HC Deb 11 November 1997 vol 300 cc498-9W
Ms Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people are currently living in communal shelters in Montserrat; and if he will make a statement. [14998]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

As at the morning of 6 November, there were 783 people living in communal shelters.

Ms Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new homes are currently being built on the island of Montserrat; and if he will make a statement. [14999]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Contractors employed by the Department for International Development have recently completed 50 new houses at Davy Hill. Work is underway at Lookout on another 50 which should be completed in late December.

Also available to Montserratians are Government funded, self-help financial assistance schemes to build or complete their own properties. These schemes are administered by the Government of Montserrat and numbers of participants are not known, although £342,000 has been provided to date under the materials assistance project.

Ms Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many migrants from Montserrat are currently in the United Kingdom; how many entered in (i) June, (ii) July, (iii) August and (iv) September; and if he will make a statement. [15001]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Figures are not available in the precise form requested. Under the voluntary evacuation scheme which began in April 1996, a total of 1,049 Montserratians had entered the UK by 3 July 1997; a total of 1,291 had come by 28 July, and by 1 September a total of 1,715 had arrived. Following the introduction of an assisted passage scheme, a further 635 Montserratians arrived in the UK in September. We estimate that there are currently around 3,000 in the UK.

Ms Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many patients are currently being cared for in the temporary hospital in Montserrat; what are the hospital's sanitation arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [15000]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

There are currently five patients in the acute ward and a further 37 elderly persons cared for in the Margetson Memorial Home. A community services unit on the same site accommodates approximately 30 elderly or disabled persons evacuated from their homes.

The sanitation system at the temporary hospital was not designed for such heavy use. As part of an ongoing programme of major works at the hospital, the Department for International Development is spending approximately £150,000 on improvements to sanitation.