To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009, Official Report, columns 229-30W, on remittances, what information he sought from offices of his Department in African countries on remittance flows in the last quarter of 2009-10. (316927)

The Department for International Development (DFID) does not independently compile data on remittances. We monitor trends in remittance flows using data compiled by the World Bank, which sources its information directly from Central Banks. Based on the information currently available, the World Bank is expecting remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2009 to have remained stable at 2008 figures of $21 billion.