To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide a breakdown of how the £9 million funding for education in Sierra Leone announced on 5 April is proposed to be spent; and what the timescale is for the release of the funding. (141063)

The £9 million funding for education in Sierra Leone is the proportion of our budget support over the next four years that can be attributed to the education sector, based on continued budget support to Sierra Leone at current levels. The amount is calculated based on the proportion of overall government of Sierra Leone expenditure that goes to the education sector. In 2006 the Government expenditure was divided up as follows:

The Government of Sierra Leone have recently approved a 10-year education sector plan, which the Fast Track Initiative Catalytic Fund Strategy Committee agreed to partly fund, in Bonn on 23 May 2007. DFID stands ready to support this plan, along with other donors, and to help ensure that any financing gap is filled.