§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much money his Department has provided to the Burma Border Consortium in(a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; [157474]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to meet the food needs of refugees in camps on the Thai-Burmese border in 2003–04; [157618]
(3) what support his Department has made available in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 for Burmese refugees outside the country. [157638]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThe Department provided £600,000 to the Burmese Border Consortium in 2002–03 and 450,000 in 2003–04 to help meet the food needs of refugees in Thailand. £220,000 is being provided in 2003–04 for a border areas health programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which covers refugees in Thailand.
The Department is also providing support to refugees from Burma through the European Commission (EC). The EC has so far allocated 2 million euros (£2.8 million) for the Burmese Border Consortium, over the period 2002–04, 20 per cent. of which is attributable to the UK.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been provided by his Department in(a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 to assist internally displaced people in Burma and to provide education for Burmese refugees in refugee camps on the Burma-Thailand border. [157620]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThe Department did not support programmes specifically focused on internally displaced people in Burma in 2002–03 or 2003–04. However, internally displaced people may be among the beneficiaries of other DFID programmes during this period, such as a UNICEF-led immunisation programme in Burma for which DFID provided £567,000 in 2002–03, work by the International Committee of the Red Cross802W for which DFID provided £1.5 million in 2002–03, and some small grants to civil society organisations in both years.
Our support in these years to Burmese refugees in camps on the Thai- Burma border focused on meeting basic food needs. Some support for education activities has been provided in the past through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as detailed in my reply to another question from the hon. Member for Buckingham.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what the projected level is of expenditure by his Department in 2004–05 on wildlife projects in Burma; and how the money will be allocated; [157621]
(2) what funding has been provided by his Department in 2003–04 for wildlife projects in Burma; and how the money was allocated. [157622]
Mr. Gareth ThomasThe Department has not funded wildlife projects in Burma during 2003–04 and currently has no plans to do so in 2004–05.