§ Sir Alastair GoodladTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid programmes her Department is currently supporting in Sri Lanka and at what cost; and what was the comparable figure for 1997–98. [42234]
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§ Clare ShortWe provided around £6 million of bilateral development assistance in 1997–98 to Sri Lanka, and expect to maintain this level of expenditure in the current year. The programme focuses on two major issues: raising the quality of primary education and helping those affected by civil conflict.
We are working closely with the World Bank in improving education, concentrating on management and planning, and Maths and English. We are financing a relief and rehabilitation programme for families displaced by the civil conflict in the North and East, and contributing to parallel programmes of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In addition, we are developing participatory management techniques with the Forest Department, raising the environmental management capacity of the Mahaweli Development Authority and improving the management of Colombo's sewers.