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Afghanistan

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenditure his Department has incurred in (a) Helmand Province and (b) elsewhere in Afghanistan in 2009-10 to date. [286922] [Official Report, 15 July 2009, Vol. 496, c. 508W.] Letter of correction from Michael Foster: An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) on 15 July 2009. The full question and answer given were as follows: Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenditure his Department has incurred in (a) Helmand Province and (b) elsewhere in Afghanistan in 2009-10 to date. [286922] Mr. Douglas Alexander: The budget for Helmand province in 2009-10 is £18 million and the rest of Afghanistan is £109.5 million. We anticipate spending our full combined budget of £127.5 million by the end of 2009-10. The Department for International Development (DFID) publishes expenditure in its annual report and the Statistics in International Development publication. These are available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk The approved aid framework for DFID Afghanistan in 2009-10 is recorded in the 2009 annual report is £123.5 million. As noted in the annual report, this is only an indicative planning figure and we anticipate spending £127.5 million in 2009-10. The figure in the annual report creates the potential for confusion and so we would like to amend the previous answer and replace it with the following: Mr. Michael Foster: The current indicative budget for Helmand province in 2009-10 is £18 million and the rest of Afghanistan is £109.5 million. We anticipate spending a total of £127.5 million by the end of 2009-10. The Department for International Development (DFID) publishes previous and planned expenditure in its annual report and the Statistics in International Development publication. These are available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk