To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding the Government have paid to (a) Mohammed Daud, former Governor of Helmand Province and (b) other Afghan politicians in each financial year since 2001-02. (113105)

Since the appointment of former Governor Daud in December 2005, the Government have committed over £1 million in support of good governance activity in Helmand Province. In addition, the UK has provided £253,000 for counter narcotics activity (including a public awareness campaign, prison upgrade and vehicle support) in financial year 2006-07. In 2006 a sum of £151,000 was paid to the Governors of Nangahar and Kandahar for governor-led eradication.

The UK contributes to the Government of Afghanistan’s (GOA) core budget and has committed £355 million between 2002-09. The UK also remains a major contributor to the Law and Order Trust Fund of Afghanistan established in 2002, and the Counter Narcotics Trust Fund established in 2006, both through the European Commission and bilaterally. The UK also contributes funds to the GOA through a number of ongoing projects aimed at building capacity in the Afghan Government.

Since 2001, the UK has contributed over £1 billion to assisting Afghanistan and is the second largest bilateral donor to Afghanistan after the US.