Afghanistan

HC Deb 14 June 2004 vol 422 cc647-61W

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of rapes committed by members of armed factions in Afghanistan against women. [176602]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

Due to the reluctance of victims to speak out and the limited capacity for monitoring and data collection in Afghanistan, the number of rapes against women committed by members of armed factions in Afghanistan remains unclear. The German NGO Medica Mondiale is piloting a scheme to provide shelters for rape victims in Afghanistan in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with representatives of the World Food Programme about the impact on local commerce of providing free externally produced wheat to the western regions of Afghanistan. [177109]

Hilary Benn

A recent evaluation of the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) activities in Afghanistan has found that there is no evidence of any significant impact of providing free externally produced wheat on the local commerce. There was a significant decrease in wheat price last year but it is believed that it was mainly due to the bumper crop that Afghanistan had after several years of drought.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the funds allocated by his Department for reconstruction in Afghanistan in 2003–04 were disbursed. [177110]

Hilary Benn

DFID allocated £75 million for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan in 2003–04, and disbursed £77.6 million, 3.5 per cent. over budget.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who represented his Department at the international conference on reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan in Berlin on 31 March and 1 April; and what conclusions for the Department's policy have been drawn. [177113]

Hilary Benn

On 31 March senior officials from DFID represented the Department. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and officials from the FCO also attended on 31 March. I represented DFID on 1 April.

The conference emphasised the need for donors to remain focused on the needs of Afghanistan in the long term, and to continue to support the Afghan Government in their battle against narcotics and insecurity. These are all areas to which the UK Government are fully committed.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made by provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan in building(a) police stations, (b) roads and (c) bridges. [177121]

Hilary Benn

The UK Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Mazar-e Sharif has focused on security sector reform and building local government capacity, and not on rebuilding physical infrastructure. However, DFID through the PRT has funded local and international NGOs to build some police stations and bridges. In the city of Mazar-e Sharif, one police station has been rebuilt and work is underway on two more. Two bridges have been rebuilt in Sar-e Pol Province. DFID does not have this information for PRTs led by other nations.

Much more work is being done in these areas through other mechanisms such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund and bilateral development programmes. Figures published at the April Afghanistan Development Forum show that US$532.5 million had been allocated for road infrastructure this financial year and US$5.5 million for building police stations and headquarters.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made with the development of micro-enterprises as part of the sustainable livelihoods strategy for Afghanistan. [178019]

Hilary Benn

DFID is actively supporting the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan. US$15 million worth of contracts have been signed with five microfinance institutions through which around 35,000 loans have been provided to the poor to start their own micro-enterprises. The number of beneficiaries is expected to increase to 75,000 by March 2005. More than 90 per cent. of beneficiaries are women.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many experts have been seconded by his Department to provincial reconstruction teams to assist development in the regions of Afghanistan; and what the results have been of their work to date. [178020]

Hilary Benn

DFID has seconded four development advisers to Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Mazar-e Sharif, Bamian, Gardez and Kandahar. This work is ongoing and has concentrated so far on security sector reform and local government capacity building. DFID will carry out a full evaluation of its engagement with PRTs in October this year.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in strengthening the domestic revenue base of the Afghan Transitional Administration. [178021]

Hilary Benn

DFID is supporting the Ministry of Finance in undertaking both customs and tax reform over the next three years with the aim of increasing domestic revenues.

Since July 2002, DFID has provided technical assistance in customs policy and administration. This assistance has supported the development of a five-year customs modernisation plan. The plan lays out in detail the key reform areas, time frames and costs, to achieve the ultimate goal of facilitating trade and investment in Afghanistan and maximising revenue streams. DFID is supporting the customs department to strengthen its institutional capacity to formulate and implement policy in order to achieve the objectives set out in their Five-year Plan.

DFID has also been involved in tax policy formulation and setting up the Large Taxpayers Unit. DFID is now supporting the Government's fiscal management strategies through effective revenue mobilisation and professional administration that is supported and trusted by businesses and the community in order to achieve the objectives set out in their reform plan.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the size was of the ordinary and recurrent budgets of the Afghan Transitional Administration in 2003–04; and what it is in 2004–05. [178022]

Hilary Benn

The ordinary and recurrent budget are the same thing. It was US$ 550 million for 2003–04 and is US$ 608.5 million for 2004–05.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the financial contribution was of his Department to the ordinary budget of the Afghan Transitional Administration in(a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [178023]

Hilary Benn

DFID provides financial assistance through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a multilateral donor trust fund, which is managed by the World Bank. The ARTF finances the Afghan Transitional Administration directly strengthening the legitimacy and accountability of the government and ensuring that resources are allocated to national priorities. It helps fund the essential recurrent budgetary expenditures required for the government to function effectively.

DFID contributed $30 million to the ARTF in 2003–04. DFID has committed $45 million for 2004–05 of which $25 million has already been disbursed.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the performance was of the Afghan Transitional Administration against its benchmarks for reform of public administration in 2003–04. [178024]

Hilary Benn

There were no benchmarks set for reform of public administration for 2003–04.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money his Department has spent on translations into local languages in Afghanistan in each of the last two years. [178025]

Hilary Benn

In the last two years DFID have spent £11,169 on translations into local languages. This money financed the translation of a report, published last year, on Afghanistan's Constitutional and Political Development. The report was translated into Afghanistan's two main official languages, Pashto and Dari.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department to improve the collection of data on development in Afghanistan. [178026]

Hilary Benn

In May this year, the Afghan Government and donors agreed a Statistical Master Plan for Afghanistan prepared with funding from DFID, the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank. DFID is now working with partners to determine how the plan will be implemented. Last year DFID also provided the Central Statistics Office with 50 personal computers.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been raised in domestic revenue in each of the last two years by the Afghan Transitional Administration. [178027]

Hilary Benn

In the period from the fourth quarter of Solar Year 1380 to the end of 1382 (January 2002 to March 2004), the Afghan Transitional Administration collected US$ 349 million in domestic revenue.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people have been employed under the National Emergency Employment Programme in Afghanistan; and what its cost has been to date. [178029]

Hilary Benn

To date some 200,000 people have been employed to undertake one month's work under the National Emergency Employment Programme in Afghanistan, and the cost of this has been around US$27.3 million.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to date has been of the National Solidarity Programme in Afghanistan; and what its results have been. [178030]

Hilary Benn

The total contract value of the National Solidarity Programme is US$42,252,342.

The programme is planned to cover all 20,000 villages in Afghanistan within four years. To date, over 5 million rural women and men have participated in electing 4,000 community development councils in 4,000 villages. As of 31 March 2004, block grants valuing $4,694,629 have been disbursed to fund projects identified by these councils including roads, water supply systems, schools and facilities for weaving and tailoring.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been(a) committed and (b) spent by his Department to support security and the rule of law in Afghanistan. [178031]

Hilary Benn

DFID has allocated £5 million for its work through Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), which support security and the rule of law in Afghanistan. Since July 2003, £411,000 has been spent. In addition, the joint DFID/FCO/MOD Global Conflict Prevention Pool allocated £16 million for the Afghanistan strategy in 2003–04, of which £12 million was spent, and this financial year has spent £6 million of an £18 million allocation.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been(a) committed and (b) spent by his Department to support governance and public administration in Afghanistan. [178033]

Hilary Benn

A total of almost £7 million has been committed and spent on public administration reform and governance since 2002.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much money has been(a) committed and (b) spent by his Department in each of the last three years in Afghanistan on (i) refugee return, (ii) education and vocational training, (iii) health and nutrition, (iv) livelihood and social protection and (v) cultural heritage, media and sports; [178034]

(2) how much money has been (a) committed and (b) spent by his Department in each of the last three years in Afghanistan on (i) transport and communications, (ii) water and sanitation, (iii) energy, (iv) urban development and (v) natural resource management. [178035]

Hilary Benn

Prior to the Tokyo conference in 2002 DFID did not have fixed allocations for Afghanistan. At Tokyo DFID pledged £200 million over five years from 2002–03. Since then DFID have allocated £75million per year for Afghanistan and disbursed £75.8 million in 2002–03 and £77.6 million in 2003–04. At the Berlin Conference this year DFID increased its five-year pledge to £500 million.

The UK funds Afghanistan's development process from our humanitarian and reconstruction budgets and through contributions to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). The following table shows the breakdown of DFID's bilateral humanitarian and reconstruction aid and contributions to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund in each of the last three years in Afghanistan:

£ million
	Humanitarian assistance	ARTF	Reconstruction assistance
2001–02	46 4	—	—
2002–03	44.7	15	16.1
2003–04	8.1	30	39.5

DFID's Afghanistan programme focuses on Public Administration Reform and Economic Management, Rural Livelihoods, Political Process and Security. UK contributions to the ARTF cannot be traced to specific projects within the Afghan development budget. DFID also funds a significant number of interventions that contribute to a range of areas. It is not possible therefore to set out how much money the UK has committed and spent in the specific areas you have identified.

From our humanitarian budget DFID have given the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) £3 million in 2001–02, £6.5 million in 2002–03 and £4.5 million in 2003–04. This has helped to fund refugee camps to provide shelter and basic health and education services and also assisted refugee return. Contributions to the World Food Programme have provided food aid to the most vulnerable groups.

The reconstruction budget includes DFID's livelihoods programme, which has provided to £0.1 million in 2002–03, £6 million in 2003–04 and has allocated around £13 million for 2004–05 to fund a mixture of practical research, income generation projects, natural resource management related projects and capacity building in key line ministries.

Payments to the ARTF cover recurrent costs along with a range of activities prioritised within the national development budget including areas such as health, education, urban development, water and sanitation.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many ex-combatants in Afghanistan have been demobilised; and what proportion of them have been reintegrated into public life. [178036]

Hilary Benn

According to the Afghanistan New Beginnings Programme, the UN organisation responsible for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in Afghanistan, 6,819 former combatants had been demobilised by 27 May, and 5,768 of those had passed through the reintegration process.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the consultative group mechanism, leading to the Afghanistan development forum, for the co-ordination of donor assistance. [178037]

Hilary Benn

As a mechanism the Consultative Groups (CG) work well in bringing together various donors and the Government to ensure co-ordination of assistance. DFID works hard in the Groups, of which it is a part, to ensure that they are as effective as possible. An Afghan Government Ministry chairs each CG and, since the inception of the CG process, the capacity of many Ministries has increased, helping to improve the effectiveness of the process. DFID, and the rest of the international community, will continue to work with the Afghan Government to make sure the system continues to be as effective as possible.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what has been the life expectancy in Afghanistan in each year since 1979; [178038]

(2) what the literacy rate has been in Afghanistan in each year since 1979. [178041]

Hilary Benn

Due to conflict and political instability, reliable data is not available between 1978 to 2001, but there are many reasons to believe that social indicators such as life expectancy and literary rates, have deteriorated during this time.

The most recent figures from the World Health Organisation show that the average life expectancy in Afghanistan is 42.6 years.

The most recent figures from the UN show adult literacy rates at 36 per cent.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of people in Afghanistan consume less than the minimum daily calorific requirement. [178040]

Hilary Benn

According to the last national vulnerability assessment report in Afghanistan for 2003, it is estimated that 20–24 per cent. of the population get less than the minimum daily calorie requirement.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of the proportion of the population in Afghanistan who live on less than one dollar per day. [178042]

Hilary Benn

The latest World Bank figures show that the majority (53 per cent.) of the population in Afghanistan live below the poverty line, surviving on less than $1 per day. 70 per cent. live below $2 per day. The principal cause of such poverty is prolonged violence and conflict in Afghanistan. Severe drought during the 1990's further worsened the position of many Afghans.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the latest(a) child and (b) maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan is. [178043]

Hilary Benn

The most recent figures from the World Health Organisation show infant mortality rates at 165 per 1,000 live births: under 5 mortality rates 257 per 1,000 and maternal mortality 820 per 100,000 live births.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken(a) with the Afghan Transitional Administration and (b) with the private sector to support the development of sustainable livelihoods for poor Afghans. [178044]

Hilary Benn

DFID is working with the Afghan Government and other international donors to support the development of sustainable livelihoods through the Natural Resource Management and Livelihoods and Social Protection Consultative Groups. DFID's livelihoods programme is concentrating resources on development priorities as set out by the Afghan Transitional Administration in the National Development budget.

DFID is funding a mixture of practical research, income generation activities, community development projects and technical assistance and training in the Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

DFID is also an active participant in the Consultative Group on Trade and Investment, the donor and Government consultative group that drives trade and investment and private sector development strategy in Afghanistan and is in dialogue with members of the Afghan business community. In addition, DFID currently financially supports (£3 million over three years) the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility Afghanistan (MISFA), which provides financial services to poor and low-income households, to enable them to invest in enterprise activities, meet emergency needs, reduce vulnerability, and build assets.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Afghan Transitional Administration about the effectiveness of humanitarian aid provided by his Department. [178045]

Hilary Benn

DFID staff in Kabul are in regular contact with the Afghan Government discussing a range of issues, including humanitarian assistance. In mid-June a team will hold discussions with the Afghan Government and other agencies about the effectiveness of past humanitarian support, and the priorities that exist for programming funds in the current financial year. In addition to this, DFID is participating with a number of donors in a joint evaluation to assess the effectiveness of their humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan since 2001.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent estimate is of Afghanistan's annual gross domestic product per capita. [178046]

Hilary Benn

The International Monetary Fund's most recent estimate of gross domestic product per capita is US$186.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the level of private sector investment in Afghanistan was in each of the last three years. [178053]

Hilary Benn

Until the formation of the Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA) in 2003, there was no way to track the amount or level of investment in Afghanistan. AISA figures show that by the end of 2003, $22 million had been invested by 24 companies, 70 per cent. of whom were foreign companies. In the half year from January 2004, the number of new investors increased to 369 with total investment amounting to around $360 million.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money was(a) committed and (b) spent by his Department on the national development framework in Afghanistan in each of the last two years. [178055]

Hilary Benn

DFID provide around half of our annual development assistance through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which funds the National Development Budget.

In the last two financial years, DFID have delivered the funds committed to the ARTF. In 2002–2003 DFID provided $15 million through the ARTF, and in 2003—2004 this increased to $30 million. DFID will provide a further $45 million to the ARTF for 2004—05, of which $25 million has been disbursed.

Apart from DFID's ARTF contributions, the majority of DFID's bilateral programme also focuses on priority programmes in the National Development Framework.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the nature is of the technical support provided by his Department for the political transition process in Afghanistan. [178056]

Hilary Benn

No technical assistance has been provided directly by DFID for the political transition process in Afghanistan. In 2003, DFID contributed £1 million to support the constitutional process in Afghanistan through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). DFID also funded a political and constitutional study, which was translated into Dari and Pashto. The new constitution was agreed in December 2003.

DFID has contributed a total of £14.6 million to the elections process so far. This includes support for voter registration provided through UNDP, civic education through Swiss Peace and building the capacity of the Afghan media through the BBC.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department to improve economic and financial management in Afghanistan. [178057]

Hilary Benn

DFID is working closely with the Ministry of Finance to enhance domestic revenues. Domestic revenues generated from customs revenues and domestic taxation amounted to US$ 200 million for Solar Year 1382. This constituted a small proportion of the US$ 2.2 billion budget. Increasing the government's capacity to generate domestic revenues is vital if Afghanistan is to cease being aid-dependent in the future. DFID is supporting the Ministry of Finance in undertaking both customs and tax reform over the next three years.

DFID is also supporting the Afghan Government in modernising its budget formulation process. DFID is assisting the Afghan Transitional Administration in formulating the budget on good budgeting principles which focus on achieving service delivery. The introduction and implementation of good budgetary practices will in time lead to a full Medium Term Budget Programme which will have a unified current and capital budget based on available resources allocated to priority programmes.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps have been taken by his Department to develop public administration in Afghanistan. [178058]

Hilary Benn

DFID plays a key role in addressing the public administration needs of Afghanistan. As well as the three capacity building projects in the Ministry of Finance, DFID is providing $2.5 million to the World Bank lead Second Emergency Public Administration Project (total grant value $10.9 million), which will support the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) to manage administrative reform in Afghanistan and to recruit and manage a professional and ethical civil service into the future. The IARCSC will use a merit-based recruitment process, which should contribute both to a professionalisation of the civil service and to a decrease in the destabilising tendency toward ethnic concentration in ministries and Departments.

DFID is to date the largest single donor to the Afghanistan Stabilisation Programme (ASP), which aims to re-establish governance and public administration throughout the provinces and districts of Afghanistan. The total value of this programme is £173 million, to which DFID has contributed £20 million. The ASP will reconstruct district administration buildings where necessary, establish communications and support the recruitment and management of effective personnel. This will contribute to an improvement in public services to provinces and districts, as well as to strengthening the centre's relations to the populations outside Kabul and the bigger cities.

DFID is also contributing £1 million to the development of an effective cabinet secretariat, which will facilitate rational decision-making at the centre of Government.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide a breakdown of his Department's expenditure on the UK Delivery Plan in support of the Afghan national strategy. [178060]

Hilary Benn

The UK Drugs Delivery Plan is costed for the first three years of the strategy. DFID's contributions are in the area of alternative livelihoods and are broken down in the following table.

	Amount (£ million)
2003–04	1.6
2004–05	1.9
2005–06	1.9

In addition to the money allocated under the UK Drugs Delivery Plan, DFID disbursed just over £5 million for livelihoods programmes and projects in 2003–04, and has allocated a further £12 million in the current financial year.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what targets were set for his Department's work with the Aga Khan Foundation in Badakhshan on Integrated Rural Rehabilitation to improve livelihoods and curb poppy cultivation; and what results have been achieved. [178062]

Hilary Benn

The objective of the Aga Khan Foundation project in Badakhshan is to provide support for sustainable economic and social incentives to make food production and off-farm employment an attractive alternative to opium cultivation. DFID has agreed with the Aga Khan Foundation, a range of activities and outputs for the project, including the stimulation of rural incomes and improved agricultural production through training, agricultural inputs such as seed and fertilizer, and improved veterinary facilities. Progress against these is regularly monitored but it remains too early in the project to assess results.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the role of his Department has been in implementing the Development of Sustainable Agricultural Livelihoods project in Eastern Hazarajat; and what the results of the project have been. [178063]

Hilary Benn

DFID is funding the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation £3.8 million over four years to implement the Development of Sustainable Agricultural Livelihoods project in Eastern Hazarajat. The project has now been under implementation for 10 months.

The project has established a management and administration unit in Eastern Hazarajat. Surveys of existing livelihood systems and of local institutional capacity have been carried out. The project is now working with farmer-based organisations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and local NGOs to select communities for piloting measures to improve food security and create opportunities for income generation and employment. It is intended to scale up successful experience from these pilots more widely in the region.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total sum of short-term bridging funding has been by his Department for micro-credit initiatives through BRAC; and what the results have been. [178064]

Hilary Benn

DFID provided a bridging fund of £203,931 to BRAC for its micro-credit project in Afghanistan. DFID's grant assisted BRAC to open branch offices in 14 districts of four provinces, establish 388 Village Organisations, and disburse more than US$650,000 of loan to around 7,000 women borrowers.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total sum of short-term bridging funding has been by his Department for the development of livelihoods monitoring through the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit; and what the findings of the monitoring have been. [178065]

Hilary Benn

DFID provided £50,000 to fund the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit in 2003–04 to assess the information generated by the Vulnerability Assessment Mapping review in 2002 and the contribution that information made to the programming of humanitarian interventions and its potential value to 2003.

DFID is also providing £538,536 funding to a consortium of NGOs consisting of ACF, GOAL and Save the Children (US) to pilot a standardized round of data collection, analysis and dissemination for the National Surveillance System in seven provinces.

The piloting phase focused on testing methodologies and data collection techniques appropriate for the Afghanistan context, building capacity and structures at the provincial level to collect and manage data and use the findings to advocate for programs and/or target resources for already existent programs, and providing information on the feasibility of running an effective national level system. It also provided in depth information on livelihoods, food security and nutrition situation in the seven provinces where government surveillance units were active. To further develop a national methodology, implement a second round of data collection and link results to programming, and further develop capacity of key government staff at district and provincial levels.

The completion of these activities will lay the groundwork for an EU funded four-year project for the 2004 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment to be implemented through the Vulnerability and Analysis Unit of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. This is scheduled to start in July-August 2004.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the extent to which the constitutional consultation process in Afghanistan is taking account of the views and interests of women. [178066]

Hilary Benn

DFID contributed £650,000 to support the public consultation on the constitution and preparations for the Constitutional Loya Jirga which was held in December 2003.

Women's rights were explicitly protected in Afghanistan's constitution. The final charter avoids making any explicit reference to Shari'a, the traditional Islamic law that is often interpreted to discriminate against women. It guarantees that "any kind of discrimination and privilege between the citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited. The citizens of Afghanistan—whether man or woman—have equal rights and duties before the law."

Female delegates at the Constitutional Loya Jirga also argued successfully to double the number of seats for women in the Wolesi Jirga (House of People). Women will now comprise 25 per cent. of this body. The constitution also requires that 50 percent of presidential appointments to the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders) will be women.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance has been provided by his Department to the Public Information Unit of the Afghan Transitional Administration to improve communication with the population. [178067]

Hilary Benn

DFID is providing £1.5 million over three years to build the public information capacity of the Office of the President. The project will be administered by the United Nations Development Programme and will begin later this year.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which the national education budget of Afghanistan is meeting needs; and what advice has been provided by his Department. [178068]

Hilary Benn

Since the fall of the Taliban, donors have been working through the Afghan Education Consultative Group to improve access to education and increase enrolment. The results look encouraging. More than four million children have returned to school, 37 per cent. of them girls. There are now 70,000 teachers (one third are women) and 6,500 schools.

DFID is not a member of the Afghan Education Consultative Group. In line with the Transitional Administration's National Development Framework which is designed to coordinate assistance from donors and multilateral organisations, the British Government has concentrated our assistance on areas where DFID can have most impact. DFID's focus has been on helping to put in place an economic management framework, improving livelihoods in rural and provincial areas, security sector reform and counter narcotics.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which donors to Afghanistan have provided the technical assistance required to establish a sustainable health system. [178069]

Hilary Benn

DFID has made no specific assessment of technical assistance (TA) being provided by the international community.

DFID is currently providing two consultants to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Their Terms of Reference are for them to work very closely with Health Ministers. Although one of these consultants will not be visiting Afghanistan until next month, the other one has been working with the MoH for the last two years and feedback that we have from the MoH is that this assistance has been of very high quality.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent input has been made by his Department to the development of health policy in Afghanistan. [178070]

Hilary Benn

Over the last two years DFID has been providing strategic support to the Ministry of Health (MoH). DFID has supported development of their interim health strategy and provided consultants to start mapping out policy options in budgeting, health financing, human resources and hospital management.

DFID has also agreed to help implement the MoH's Priority Reform and Restructuring programme in the: (i) Liaison Office of Provincial Health; (ii) 32 Provincial Health Offices; (iii) Policy and Planning Department; and (iv) Health Care and Promotion Department. This will be over three years.

DFID's assistance has been and will continue to be coordinated through the Health Sector Consultative Group.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to enable the Afghan Transitional Administration to tackle its capacity constraints. [178071]

Hilary Benn

DFID is financing three capacity building projects within the Afghan Ministry of Finance. The three-year project to support the Afghan Customs Department will strengthen the institutional capacity of the Afghan Customs Department to formulate and implement policy, to manage human resources, define and deliver on training needs, to organise its workload effectively and ethically.

The three-year project to support the Afghan Tax Administration will increase capacity within the General Presidency of Revenue (GPR) to implement strategic policy through modernisation of revenue administration, development of a comprehensive legislative base for taxation policy and administrative reform, training and capacity building of the workforce.

The three-year Budget Formulation Project will strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Finance to lead and co-ordinate the budget formulation process, and strengthen the capacity of Afghan ministries to formulate their budgets on good budgeting principles eventually leading towards the implementation of a Medium Term Budget Programme.

DFID is also supporting the overall capacity constraints that face the Transitional Afghan Administration by supporting the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) to develop and implement a system for managing a skilled, professional and ethical civil service. Together with the World Bank, DFID is contributing a total of $10.9 million, of which $2.5 million is a contribution by DFID. This grant will increase the ability of the IARCSC to manage the capacity needs of the future.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the size is of Afghanistan's current debt to international financial institutions. [178073]

Hilary Benn

Following the clearance of the arrears to multilateral institutions, Afghanistan's current debt outstanding is US$49.5 million to the World Bank and US$9.2 million to the Asian Development Bank.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total financial allocation was of his Department's Asia division to Afghanistan in 2003–04. [178074]

Hilary Benn

The total financial allocation from Asia division to Afghanistan in 2003–04 was £75 million.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool was spent in Afghanistan in 2003–04. [178075]

Hilary Benn

In 2003–04, £12 million was spent in Afghanistan from the Afghanistan Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) strategy, and £8.4 million from the Counter Narcotics GCPP strategy.

Funding to Afghanistan in 2003
	£millions
Recovery and reconstruction	2003 committed	2003 contracted	2003 contracted percentage
Aid to uprooted people	*	—	—
Reconstruction support first tranche	79.5	73	—
Reconstruction support—second tranche	79.5	42	—
Food security	30	5.5	—
Rapid reaction mechanism	—	—	—
Return of Afghan nationals	7	3.5	—
Reallocation of ALA under-committed funds to Afghanistan	50	50	—
Total reconstruction support	246	174	70
Humanitarian ECHO	55	50.4	92
Total humanitarian and development	301	224	75

These figures are available on the EU website at http://europa.eu.int

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his latest assessment is of progress in the implementation of the Bonn Agreement in relation to Afghanistan. [178077]

Hilary Benn

Good progress has been made towards implementing the Bonn Agreement in Afghanistan, most recently the adoption of a new constitution at the Constitutional Loya Jirga in December last year. The next big challenge will be elections, which are due to be held in September this year.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the programme management responsibilities are of his Department's office in Afghanistan. [178078]

Hilary Benn

Responsibility for management of DFID's programme in Afghanistan is split between the DFID office in Kabul and the DFID Afghanistan desk in London. The Afghanistan programme is presently working towards full devolution of programme management to Kabul, the timing of which will depend on the security situation in Afghanistan.