To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the UK has spent on the Afghan Drug Programme in each year since 2003; what drug programmes his Department has funded in Afghanistan since 2003; and if he will make a statement. (197784)

In 2004-05 the UK spent £6.1 million on a counter narcotics programme in Afghanistan. In 2005 the Afghan Drugs Inter-Departmental Unit was created to manage the UK’s increased counter narcotics effort in Afghanistan. Since that time, the Government have developed a single, integrated counter narcotics programme for Afghanistan and spent the following sums:

UK spend has been directed towards supporting the Afghan National Drugs Control Strategy, which has eight pillars of activity: (1) raising public awareness, (2) promoting international and regional co-operation, (3) promoting alternative livelihoods, (4) reducing demand for drugs, (5) law enforcement, (6) establishing an effective criminal justice system, (7) targeted eradication of opium and (8) building effective Afghan government institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government spent on programmes to reduce opium production in Afghanistan in each year since 2001. (198016)

Before 2004, the UK did not have a dedicated counter narcotics programme in Afghanistan. In 2004-05, the UK spent £6.1 million on counter narcotics work in Afghanistan.

In 2005 the Afghan Drugs Inter-Departmental Unit was created to manage the UK’s increased counter narcotics effort. Since that time, the Government has directly spent the following on counter narcotics programmes in Afghanistan: