To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the availability of supply of (a) electricity and (b) water in Kosovo; what assessment he has made of such availability in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. (192247)

There is near-universal access to electricity, and the proportion of the population with an indoor water tap has risen from 64 per cent. in 2002-03 to 84 per cent. in 2005-06. However, power is frequently interrupted and water quality is uneven.

Donors who are working to improve the quality of power and water supplies in Kosovo include the World Bank, the European Commission and the USA.

The Kosovo Poverty Update 2007, prepared by the World Bank and Statistics Office of Kosovo gives detailed figures for access to water and electricity going back to 2002-03. These are the earliest readily available figures. It is available at:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTKOSOVO/Country% 20Home/21541686/KosovoPAvol1.pdf