asked Her Majesty's Government:

What has been the cost to public funds in each of the past five years of reconstruction and development in (a) Iraq, and (b) Afghanistan; and what financial provision has been made for this in 2006-07 and 2007-08. [HL782]

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is DfID's fifth largest programme. The UK is Afghanistan's second largest bilateral donor. At the London conference in January 2006, DfID committed to providing £330 million in development assistance over the next three years. This forms part of the UK's overall pledge of £500 million over the next three years to reduce poverty, improve security and governance and tackle the opium industry. The UK aid budget for Afghanistan is £102 million this year, rising to £113 million in 2007-08, and £115 million in 2008-09. In addition, DfID contributes 18 per cent—around £125 million—of the European Commission’s pledge of €1 billion over 2002-2007, and 10.4 per cent of the World Bank's spending in Afghanistan of $250-300 million a year. We also contribute to UN programmes and to the Asian Development Bank.

Iraq currently requires help from the UK and others to stem violence and build a stable society and economy. In 2003, the UK pledged £544 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Iraq. The UK has now fully disbursed this pledge and committed a further £100 million to be spent on reconstruction and development in Iraq over the next three years.

The table below shows the total spending in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past five years.