§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to his answer of 18 June 2003,Official Report, column 241W, on Iraq, whether water companies in the UK have offered assistance in Iraq. [129804]
Mr. Gareth ThomasIn response to requests from NGOs, one UK water company has provided assistance, on a not-for-profit basis, to drinking water supply and sanitation services in Iraq. The company has also provided DFID with information on its experience in the water sector in Iraq, and has offered further not-for-profit support to NGOs, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Baghdad Water Authority in rehabilitating water infrastructure. This offer has been forwarded to the Iraqi Ministry of Public Works and the CPA.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2003,Official Report, column 614W, whether the Department has made an assessment of (a) whether there are sufficient numbers of trained public health laboratory staff in Iraq and (b) whether British military personnel can offer assistance in this area. [129806]
Mr. Gareth ThomasNo overall assessment of public health laboratory staff in Iraq has taken place since the conflict this year. Information from agencies working the health sector in Iraq, such as the World Health Organisation, suggests that trained Iraqi staff are available, but their skills need to be updated in line with current professional knowledge.
UK forces have a very small number of appropriately trained personnel in theatre who could, in principle, offer assistance in the training of Iraqi public health laboratory staff, subject to other priorities.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2003,Official Report, column 124W, on Iraq, if he will also make a detailed study of the resources needed to re-establish a working civil service in Iraq. [129818]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThe Coalition Provisional Authority is assessing the resources required to re-establish the Iraqi civil service. Institutional strengthening requirements are also expected to be addressed in the social and economic needs assessments now being undertaken by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nations. DFID will consider whether any further detailed study is required after these bodies have reported their findings.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development pursuant to his answer of 17 June 2003,Official Report, column 124W, on Iraq, if he will take steps to ensure that short term reforms to Iraq's food network before the restoration of normal market conditions are free of political interference. [129819]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID's priority in the short term is to minimise any disruption to food supplies, particularly to poor and vulnerable people, resulting from the winding-up of the Oil for Food Programme in Iraq. Over the medium term, our policy is to replace the 1009W food distribution system by a monetary benefit which, like the current food distribution system, would initially be universal and standardised.
§ Lady HermonTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support has been given by his Department to the Marsh Arabs of Iraq since the conclusion of hostilities in that country; and if he will make a statement. [129825]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDFID has been providing support for health care and sanitation for Iraqi Marsh Arabs and refugees in Iran through the NGO AMAR (£2.45 million over the last four years). We are in the process of considering a further year's support for AMAR. DFID has also granted £522,000 to the International Medical Corps for its work in Iraq, which includes providing clean and sustainable water supplies in Marsh Arab areas.
Social and economic needs assessments being undertaken by the World Bank, IMF and United Nations are expected to identify future requirements in the Marsh Arab areas. The Coalition Provisional Authority and the UN Environment Programme are also planning to assess environmental issues in Iraq, including in the southern marshlands. Future DFID support will be informed by outcome of these assessments.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of(a) boys and (b) girls returning to school in Iraq. [129877]
Mr. Gareth ThomasIt is not possible to provide accurate estimates of numbers of children returning to school in Iraq because the administrative systems in the country do not at present have the capacity to collect such information. The Coalition Provisional Authority has reported that almost all Iraq's schools were open by June 2003. UNICEF, which assisted in the running of the summer examinations, has reported that end of year exams were taken by approximately 5.5 million children in June and July 2003.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether students in Iraq will be able to sit examinations in this academic year. [129878]
Mr. Gareth ThomasUNICEF reports that end of year exams were taken by approximately 5.5 million children in Iraq in June and July this year. We fully expect Iraqi students to be able to sit examinations in the forthcoming academic year.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent conflict in Iraq upon aid programmes for other developing countries. [130053]
§ Hilary BennAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and I set out in our letter of 22 May to Members of both Houses, we will not divert funding to Iraq from existing DFID programmes such as emergency assistance in Southern Africa, Afghanistan or the West Bank and Gaza, or programmes tackling poverty elsewhere.
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§ Llew SmithTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what amounts have been spent in Iraq since 1 May on(a) re-establishing water supplies, (b) re-connecting electricity supplies and (c) assisting in supporting existing Iraqi hospitals and medical centres; and if the Department will include a breakdown of itemised expenditure in each weekly edition of its Iraq Update Report. [130291]
§ Hilary BennMost of DFID's expenditure on Iraq is channelled through the United Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-governmental organisations, each of which report to DFID on their expenditure and activities separately and at different times. It would not therefore be possible, other than at disproportionate cost to DFID and to the agencies concerned, to provide details of our total spending in Iraq, sector by sector, at any particular point of time.
DFID has so far committed £198 million to humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq. This includes £15.8 million to water and sanitation, £12.2 million to power and fuel, and £8.5 million to health and nutrition. A further £35 million has been allocated to humanitarian agencies without being earmarked to specific sectors, a proportion of which is being spent in the water, power and health sectors according to priorities identified on the ground. DFID has also recently agreed a £20 million project to help restore essential infrastructure in southern Iraq, which is expected to improve service delivery of power, water and fuel to over 5 million people.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent assessment has been made of the availability of medical supplies in Iraq. [130307]
§ Hilary BennRecent assessments by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Iraqi Ministry of Health indicate that there are no major shortages of essential medical supplies in Iraq. There are, however, still reported shortages of specialist supplies such as laboratory reagents, TB antibiotics, oxygen and drugs for some chronic diseases. A number of agencies, including WHO, have helped refurbish drug warehouses in Baghdad, and the transport of drugs to the regions.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent assessment has been made of the supply of(a) clean water, (b) sanitation and (c) electricity throughout Iraq. [130308]
Mr. Gareth ThomasRecent assessments suggest that the Baghdad water system is working at approximately 80 per cent. of its pre-war capacity, and that 75 per cent. of the population of Baghdad has access to sewage networks. The supply of clean water and access to sanitation in other areas is difficult to assess accurately. UNICEF and the General Corporation for Water Supply are compiling a database on progress in the water and sanitation sector in order to provide better assessments of the current level of services.
Electricity supply throughout Iraq has improved over the last month. On 8 September, power generation had reached 3550 megawatts, approximately 81 per cent. of the pre-war level of 4400 megawatts. The Coalition Provisional Administration has set a target for reaching
1011Wthis pre-war level by the end of September. Work is also taking place to restore the transmission grid, which has suffered particularly badly from looting and sabotage. This will allow the additional power to be used effectively throughout the country to improve the reliability of service and to provide additional power to the less well served areas. In July and August Baghdad had power on a 3 hours on and 3 hours off basis while Basrah had up to 20 hours per day.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what measures are in place to restore and maintain security in Iraq to enable the provision of humanitarian aid. [130309]
§ Hilary BennThe provision of stability and security in Iraq is the highest priority for the Coalition. A secure environment is essential if political and economic reconstruction is to succeed, and humanitarian assistance provided. The Coalition is making considerable efforts to develop Iraq's own security institutions as quickly as possible, as well as deploying, additional forces to Iraq as announced by my RHF the Secretary of State for Defence on 8 September.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment has been made of the level of food shortages in Iraq.[130310]
§ Hilary BennThe food security situation in Iraq is under constant review by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Iraqi Ministry of Trade. Food stocks are not expected to run out.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent discussions the Department has had regarding the role of the UN in Iraq. [130311]
§ Hilary BennDFID is in regular contact with the UN, both in New York and in-country about its operations in Iraq and I met Kevin Kennedy, the head of the UN mission in Iraq, during my recent trip to Baghdad. The UN is still assessing the effect on its operations of the bombing of its Baghdad office and the subsequent temporary reduction in the number of international staff in Iraq. The UN has said that it intends to continue to operate in Iraq and that its key humanitarian programmes, including the Public Distribution System for food, will remain operating under the management of Iraqi staff.
A current priority for the UN is to complete assessments of its own security provisions and put in place additional appropriate security measures. DFID has offered to help support increased safety and security measures for the UN operations in Iraq.
DFID is also involved in discussions with other Government Departments on the role of the UN in Iraq's political development.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assistance his Department is giving to the(a) World Bank, (b) IMF and (c) UN in preparing the report on the social and economic needs in Iraq; and when he expects the report to be completed. [131203]
1012W
§ Hilary BennDFID has not provided financial assistance to the IFIs or the UN to prepare their report on the social and economic needs of Iraq.
DFID has however committed £3.15 million to the IMF to provide technical assistance to Iraqi Ministries and £113 million to UN agencies for humanitarian and reconstruction activities.
We expect the WB/IMF/UN report to be published on 2 October.