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Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on aid to Afghanistan in 2008-09; and what proportion of such aid was delivered directly in Helmand province. [289143] [Official Report, 21 July 2009, Vol. 496, c. 1241W.] 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 21 July 2009. The full question and answer given were as follows: Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on aid to Afghanistan in 2008-09; and what proportion of such aid was delivered directly in Helmand province. [289143] Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided £143 million of support to Afghanistan in 2008-09 through its bilateral programme. Of this, we spent £21.9 million on growth, livelihoods and governance programmes directly in Helmand province. 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 We stated that the amount of aid delivered directly in Helmand Province in 2008-09 was £21.9 million pounds. The quoted figure includes a £1.3 million project which was accidentally counted twice. The amount of aid delivered directly in Helmand Province in 2008-09 was therefore £20.6 million. The correct answer should have been: Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided £143 million of support to Afghanistan in 2008-09 through its bilateral programme. Of this, we spent £20.6 million on growth, livelihoods and governance programmes directly in Helmand province. 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