Landmines (Hansard, 2 March 1999)

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what controls have been exercised by her Department over the use of funds paid from the United Kingdom Government to European Union landmine clearance programmes; and for what those funds have been used. [74162]

§ Clare Short
UK's contributions to the European Commission are subject to reporting and audit requirements. In 1998, EC expenditure (combined DG1A, DG1B, DGVIII, ECHO) on mines action totalled some 50.7 million euros (approximately £36 million) for programmes in 11 countries, and for research and development, and contribution to ICRC' s Mines Appeal. The share attributable to the UK was £5.4 million.
During the UK's Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 1998, we worked closely with member states to achieve more targeted discussions on European Union (EU) mine action within the EU Working Group on Disarmament and Security (CODUN); we urged greater transparency and accountability of European Commission (EC) activities and the implementation of the EU Joint Mine Action Programme.
My Department has in addition committed £200,000 towards European Union trials for a multi-sensor detection system. We monitor the project, which is on-going, through reports and technical meetings.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's budget designated for landmine clearance related activity was spent on(a) conferences, (b) transport costs for officials, (c) meetings between officials and (d) research and development in the last year for which information is available. [74217]

§ Clare Short
In 1998–99, we have contributed about(a) 1 per cent. to support civil society participation at international conferences central to the Ottawa process; (b) 0.2 per cent. for official travel to and participation in international conferences, technical discussions and project monitoring; (c) meetings between government officials are not funded from the humanitarian mine action budget; (d) research and development 9.3 per cent.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the current situation regarding her Department's funding for the MINELIFTA project. [74142]
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§ Clare Short
My Department has not made a funding commitment to MINELIFTA. Up until now, it has not met our criteria for field testing. A new programme of resources dedicated to research and development of equipment for application in humanitarian mine clearance will be launched later this year. Full details of this scheme will be publicised shortly.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the non-military agencies currently being funded by her Department for landmine clearance operations; and where they are operating. [74385]

§ Clare Short
The agencies currently receiving funding for humanitarian mine clearance areThe HALO Trust operating in Cambodia, Georgia, Mozambique; Mines Advisory Group working in Cambodia, Northern Iraq, Laos; Norwegian People's Aid in Bosnia; United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan, Bosnia is about to start; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Cambodia.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she expects to make available the further £5 million for landmine clearance-related work. [74161]

§ Clare Short
In October 1997 I announced that I would double my Department's bilateral annual expenditure on humanitarian mine action to £10 million by the financial year 2000–2001. Planned expenditure for 1998–99 is well over £6 million-a 27 per cent. increase on the previous financial year. I expect to meet the commitment I made.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research and development work has been undertaken since May 1997 funded from her budget for landmine clearance. [74245]

§ Clare Short
From May 1997 to date, about £720,000 has been spent on assessment trials of prototypes and full field trials of equipment for anti-personnel mine detection and clearance, preliminary vegetation clearance and operator safety tests. In addition, my Department has contributed about £140,000 to studies to improve the effectiveness of activities managed by the United Nations.

§ Mr. Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what are her Department's targets for bringing about a reduction in the amount of civilian casualties from landmines overseas. [74386]

§ Clare Short
All the Department for International Development-funded projects work to the United Nations standard for humanitarian mine clearance which aims for a minimum 99.6 per cent. clearance on verification. This ensures that cleared land can be used with confidence by the beneficiaries. Mine awareness is normally included within projects to reduce risk to communities in areas where clearance has not been completed. We look for opportunities to use appropriate technology within our projects to increase clearance rates while achieving the high standards required for humanitarian mine clearance activities.