To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Disasters Emergency Committee and related United Kingdom rescue operations in Haiti are not delayed by administrative hurdles. [HL1336]

The UN is responsible for co-ordinating the international response to the earthquake in Haiti, and the British Government are doing whatever they can to support the UN in this role. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development has been in regular contact with Sir John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, to discuss international co-ordination of the relief effort, and has also spoken regularly to Dr Raj Shah, the USAID Administrator to discuss how the relief effort can be facilitated.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development held a meeting with NGOs on 10 January and I also held a subsequent meeting last Tuesday. Both meetings were an opportunity for the government to hear from NGOs what support they most needed. We have for example, already provided funding for and facilitated the arrival of a Merlin assessment team and surgical unit into Port-au-Prince. DfID will continue to work with NGO members of DEC and others to facilitate the delivery of rescue operations in Haiti.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to send military as well as civilian personnel to assist the rescue effort in Port-au-Prince. [HL1337]

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is working closely with the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in co-ordinating the British Government’s response to the earthquake in Haiti.

A 16-man MoD Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team arrived in Port-au-Prince on 24 January and a small deployment from the Joint-Stabilisation Unit arrived on 23 January to assist UK teams already working on the ground and to assess what further specialist requirements are needed in Haiti.

The UK will deploy the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, RFA Largs Bay, loaded with aid to help with the relief operation in Haiti at the request of the United Nations. It will sail from the UK carrying relief supplies that will be needed by the people of Haiti in the weeks and months ahead. Largs Bay has a crew of around 60 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel and a small team from 17 Port and Maritime RLC to operate a Mexefloat craft.

A Royal Military Police protection team will also be arriving in Haiti soon to provide security for the FCO’s consular rapid deployment team.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many emergency services personnel from the United Kingdom have been deployed to Haiti to assist the rescue there. [HL1387]

The UK sent a total of 64 emergency services personnel with heavy rescue equipment, drawn from the national Fire and Rescue Service.