§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will allocate financial resources to limit the effect on Iraqi civilians of the use by Iraq of(a) chemical and (b) biological weapons in the event of war. [101913]
§ Clare ShortThe risk that Iraqi forces may deploy chemical or biological weapons is a very grave one. Advice from the Department of Health and Ministry of Defence is that, given the unpredictable range of weapons that Saddam might use, only sophisticated protective suits and training would provide adequate protection to the threat. It is not possible for my Department to provide this training and protection to large numbers of Iraqi people.
In terms of response to any use of chemical or biological weapons, only highly skilled and well-equipped parts of the military or specialised agencies, who have been trained for such environments and on the use of protective suits, would have the capacity to operate. My Department is in continuing discussions with the Ministry of Defence about the provision of humanitarian response under a range of eventualities. DFID has a contingency reserve on which we are ready to draw for any emergency situation in Iraq.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to maintain food security in Iraq during any military action taken by the UK and allies. [101919]
§ Clare Short60 per cent. of the Iraqi people are totally dependent on the UN Oil For Food Programme for essential supplies, including food. We are working to try to minimise the impact of any military action on this programme and, in the event of disruption to it, to helping re-establishing it as quickly as possible. We are also drawing up contingency plans to support the provision of relief by those best placed to do so, to cover any period during which the programme would not be able to function. We have so far committed £10 million to support contingency planning by UN agencies and NGOs, which includes some prepositioning of supplies. There might be a phase when only military forces are fully able to operate in Iraq and thus would have primary responsibility for the initial delivery of humanitarian relief. My Department has been advising the Ministry of Defence on these issues for some time.