HC Deb 18 November 2002 vol 394 cc16-7W
Mr. Swire

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money was pledged by Her Majesty's Government to Afghanistan to help rebuild that country since October 2001; how much money has been paid by Her Majesty's Government to bodies in Afghanistan tasked with rebuilding that country; what percentage of money pledged to Afghanistan was promised to nongovernmental organisations; and what percentage of money pledged to NGOs in the rebuilding of Afghanistan has been paid. [77942]

Clare Short

At the international donor conference in Tokyo in January 2002, the UK Government pledged £200 million of Department for International Development (DFID) resources over five years for humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Afghanistan. This was in addition to the approximately £60 million DFID had provided to address the immediate humanitarian need since October 2001. For the current financial year DFID have allocated £65 million for Afghanistan, of which just over half has been disbursed. Of this £7.7 million has been allocated directly to NGOs, of which over 95 per cent. has been disbursed. My Department have made significant contributions towards UN humanitarian appeals, which are putting into place important foundations for Afghanistan's longer term reconstruction. £10 million has been paid into the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to help meet the costs of the Afghanistan Transitional Authority.