To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the schools in Afghanistan that were re-opened following the deployment of UK armed forces in the country have since been temporarily or permanently closed. (100571)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has made an estimate of the number of schools that have closed in Afghanistan due to violence since January. (101962)

Since UK forces deployed to Afghanistan as part of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), school attendance in Afghanistan (including for girls) has risen significantly. According to UNICEF, the number of children in school increased from 1.2 million in March 2002, to 5.1 million in December 2005.

The recent school closures due to security related incidents are worrying. The latest information we have from the Afghanistan Ministry of Education records:

between April to July 2006 a total of 208 schools in Zabul, Helmand, Kandahar, Ghazni, Khost and Paktika provinces had to close due to direct threats to the safety of children, teachers and school property, denying access to education for nearly 125,000 children;

a total of 144 schools have been destroyed in arson attacks between July 2005 and July 2006 disrupting the education of nearly 100,000 children.

We have had no further data from the Ministry of Education updating these figures.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many refugee camps there are in Helmand Province; how many people are in each; and how long each camp has existed. (100927)

In Helmand there are reported to be two refugee camps near Lashkar Gah. The exact population of these is currently not known, but UN estimates suggest that about 2,800 families in Helmand have been displaced. The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) community is thought to comprise of: semi nomads (Kuchis); those displaced by drought; and those displaced as a result of violence. A number of the IDPs are not living in camps but with host families; and families from rural areas are moving to the main town of Lashkar Gar to buy supplies and sell crops as they would any year. This confuses the picture.

UK officials have been monitoring the IDP situation in Helmand. In August the Governor asked the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to assist in the provision of food and non-food items to 3,000 IDP families. The PRT provided $60,000 to help with this. The assistance was distributed by the Government and we have had no request for further assistance. The UN has reassured us that in Helmand the basic needs of the 2,800 families are being met. Assistance from the World Food Programme, United Nations High Commission of Refugees and the Afghan Red Crescent has been made available to Helmand.

Mukhtar Camp was established in 1995-06. The second camp, outside Lashkar Gar, was established this year and is hosting newly arrived IDPs.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what resources his Department has committed to post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan. (101866)

Over the last five years DFID has spent over £390 million on reconstruction and development in Afghanistan. At the London Conference in January 2006, the UK signed a 10-year development partnership agreement with the Government of Afghanistan. This agreement commits DFID to provide £330 million for reconstruction and development over the subsequent three years. This forms part of the UK’s overall pledge at the London Conference of £500 million over three years. DFID’s budget for Afghanistan is £102 million in 2006-07. This will rise to £113 million in 2007-08, and £115 million in 2008-09.

In addition, DFID contributes 18 per cent. of the European Commission’s pledge of €1 billion over 2002-07. And over 10 per cent. of the World Bank’s spending in Afghanistan of $250-300 million a year. We also contribute financially to UN programmes and to the Asian Development Bank.