Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Monday, 6 June 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 June 2005. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Monday, 27 June 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iraq

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken on unexploded ordnance in the region of Iraq where the UK has responsibility; how much has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date by the UK for this purpose; how much ordnance has been destroyed; what estimate has been made of unexploded ordnance still to be dealt with in the area; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The UK takes seriously its obligations to deal with unexploded ordnance in Iraq. Since the end of major combat operations, a UK Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (currently about 90 strong) has been deployed alongside other coalition forces, NGOs and contractors clearing sites containing unexploded ordnance. During the war fighting phase over 200,000 items of munitions were destroyed by coalition teams. Since then a further 860,000 items have been recovered or destroyed by UK teams. The UK has uncovered 67 formal ammunition depots in the region of Iraq where the UK has responsibility. The UK has currently cleared 64 of these depots; the final three are in the process of being cleared.The Department for International Development has provided further funding to this area through UN-related organisations and a UK-registered charity, Mines Advisory Group. £30 million has been provided to the United Nations Development Group International Trust Fund to support Explosive Ordnance Disposal capacity building and clearance. In addition, £4 million has been directed to the United Nations Mines Action Service to provide the UN's humanitarian agencies with a responsive and co-ordinated mine action capability to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Further funding of around £2 million has been directed through the Mines Advisory Group to facilitate a number of projects.

Secondary information