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Asian Tsunami: Emergency Relief

My Lords, my noble friend is quite correct. I meant 100 metres. I beg the House’s pardon. One hundred kilometres would be obscene. One hundred metres is slightly obscene but not very obscene. As the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, pointed out so eloquently both today and last week in a Question to my noble friend the Leader of the House, people’s livelihoods often depend upon where they live. It is clear that many displaced people are struggling to find places to build because they do not have land rights elsewhere. More information is also needed for the people affected. I am glad that my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development is in Sri Lanka this week, and this is one of the issues he will be raising with the Government of Sri Lanka. He is also going to Indonesia to see what is happening on the ground, the effect of DfID spending, where problems lie and how they should be addressed. I understand the many frustrations expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Eden, on behalf of people working on the ground in Sri Lanka. I cannot comment at the moment on the allegation about the Sri Lankan Government swiping 15 per cent of the budget, but I shall ensure that the allegation is looked into. I shall   write to the noble Lord and place a copy of the letter in the Library. The noble Lord asked that representations should be made to the government of Sri Lanka. I am sure that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary will do so this week. The noble Baroness, Lady Rawlings, asked what steps Her Majesty’s Government are taking to advise governments to help them improve governance. There are various programmes. The Government are working very hard to build administrative capacity with the governments of the countries which were hit by the tsunami as well as governments who are in conflicts or in developing parts of the world. I turn to the Maldives. Although the death toll was lower in the Maldives than in other affected Asian countries, more than one-third of the population were severely affected and 10 per cent of the islands were totally destroyed. Despite the extensive destruction, the Government of the Maldives responded quickly and immediate relief programmes have been implemented. The government of the Maldives have launched, and are making good progress with, a national recovery and reconstruction plan designed to rebuild damaged infrastructure and restore livelihoods. On tourism, I am glad to say that the government of the Maldives say that the hotel occupancy is increasing, and they are keen to increase that. I understand the desire of the noble Lord, Lord   Naseby, to ensure that adequate money for reconstruction is available in the Maldives. However, it seems that, notwithstanding the devastation wreaked by the tsunami, the Maldives will remain a middle income country. Therefore, further relief will not be possible.