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Pacific Islands

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister of New Zealand on the possibility of sharing diplomatic premises on the Pacific Islands; and if he will make a statement. [197652]

 
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The Prime Minister: I have discussions on a wide range of issues with the Prime Minister of New Zealand. As with previous Administrations, it is not the practice of this Government to make public details of discussions I have with foreign Governments.

Russia

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has held with the Russian Government on (a) terrorism and (b) Chechnya. [196774]

The Prime Minister: I regularly discuss a wide range of issues with President Putin. As with previous Administrations, it is not the practice of this Government to make public details of discussions I have with foreign Governments.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Advocate-General what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers in relation to potential overlap with reserved matters in the establishment of a Scottish Human Rights Commission. [196313]

The Advocate-General for Scotland: I have had no discussions with the Scottish Ministers regarding potential overlap with reserved matters in the establishment of a Scottish Human Rights Commission. My role is to give legal advice when appropriate.

Policy discussions on reserved matters relating to the creation of a Scottish Human Rights Commission are for the Scottish Executive Ministers, the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Department of Trade and Industry.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Staff

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the staff of the Department in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 were people with disabilities. [196129]

Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on 9 November 2004, Official Report, column 619W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Iraq

7. Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. [197146]

Hilary Benn: Iraqi ministries, United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and Iraqi NGOs and citizens are providing emergency
 
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humanitarian assistance where people are affected by fighting. An Emergency Working Group has been established to coordinate these efforts.

DFID has committed £333 million to humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Iraq since March 2003, contributing towards the progress that has been made in restoring essential services, delivering food rations, reopening hospitals and schools and beginning the process of longer-term reconstruction.

8. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK spending on Iraqi reconstruction has been incurred to date; and how much is planned for the remainder of the current financial year. [197147]

Hilary Benn: Since March 2003 DFID has spent £113 million on humanitarian assistance and £127 million on reconstruction in Iraq. An additional £17 million had been allocated for Iraq from the joint DFID, FCO and MOD Global Conflict Prevention Pool (the GCPP). The MOD has spent around £20 million on Quick Impact Projects in Iraq. These projects, intended for immediate local effect, are primarily used as a means of creating an environment in troops can operate safely.

Present plans are to spend a further £67 million this financial year on reconstruction and £7 million from the GCPP.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of households in Iraq have clean potable water supplied to them. [195843]

Hilary Benn: Estimates suggest that immediately after the 2003 conflict, 60 per cent. of urban and 30 per cent. of rural populations had access to safe water. Considerable work has taken place since May 2003 to improve the quality, quantity and reliability of water supplies.

In Basra the water supply system is now better than before the 2003 conflict. Informal estimates by the former Coalition Provisional Authority indicated that in southern Iraq water supply coverage increased by 10–15 per cent. from May 2003 to July 2004. Further work on restoring water treatment plants has continued since July. In Baghdad, specialists from the USA are working with local government officials to improve water treatment throughout the city. Drinking water is also supplied by bottle and from tankers.

Afghanistan

9. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on independent research on Afghanistan since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [197148]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has spent £2,222,905 on research undertaken by independent organisations in Afghanistan since September 2001. This has included research into food security, alternatives to poppy production, private sector development and analysis of the budget and budgetary process.
 
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The results of this research have been shared with the Afghan Government, international donor community and non-governmental organisations working in Afghanistan and is helping to shape development policy and practice.

12. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development he will make a statement on humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. [197151]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In common with many donors, DFID is now focusing the majority of it's support to Afghanistan on reconstruction efforts, however we continue to make funds available for humanitarian assistance. In the current financial year DFID has made £3 million specifically available for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Our main focus is assistance to refugees and Internally Displaced Persons; both in their temporary accommodation and to assist them in their return home, and to this end we will be providing £2.5 million to the UNHCR and £0.5 million to the International Organisation for Migration.

In addition to planned assistance, we continue to monitor the on-going humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. DFID have recently made a further £3 million available for drought-affected areas in the south and west of the country, following the recent appeal from the Afghan Government and UN agencies.

Nigeria

10. Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the level of aid given to Nigeria in 2003–04. [197149]

Hilary Benn: In 2003–04, DFID's aid to Nigeria was around £32 million. The EC (to which DFID contributes) gave about £9 million.

Nigeria is making good progress: The economic team put in place by President Obasanjo is vigorously pursuing reform: Nigeria recently launched a strategy for poverty reduction; is fighting corruption; and it has implemented sound macro-economic policies.

Support is critical to sustain this momentum, and Nigeria is severely under-aided. It receives only $1–2 per capita in aid compared with a Sub-Saharan average of $21. We are therefore doubling our aid to £70 million in 2005–06, and supporting a sustainable solution to Nigeria's debt problems.

European Constitution

11. David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the consequences of the proposed European Constitution on the executive powers and responsibilities of his Department. [197150]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The new Constitutional Treaty does not have any direct impact on DFID's role and responsibilities in the field of development cooperation. The Treaty reconfirms development cooperation as an area of shared competence between the Union and its member states.
 
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We welcome the fact that the new Treaty gives strong prominence to poverty reduction as the main aim of its development actions, and to the principle of better coherence between the Union's external policies and its development policies.

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