The current national curriculum programmes of study for history, which have been taught since September 2014, set the framework for the teaching of the subject in maintained schools in terms of the broad time periods and themes to be taught. Academies may design and follow their own curricula.

The government does not specify what the content of lessons on particular topics should be or how teachers should present information. We trust teachers, as professionals, to plan their own lessons and select their own resources.

However, the curriculum does aim to make sure that pupils know and understand how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world. Therefore, Empire and colonialism is a significant theme, and a suggested topic within the ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’ theme is ‘Indian independence and end of Empire’.

Programmes of study also require at least one study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments. While not mandatory, a suggested topic is ‘China’s Qing dynasty 1644-1911’, which encompasses the period within which the Opium Wars took place.

The national curriculum programmes of study for history for key stages 1-3 are attached and are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study.

We have no current plans to change the history curriculum. In order to provide a period of stability to schools, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has committed to making no new changes to the national curriculum during this Parliament.

Defra does not hold any official statistics on the acreage of land under cultivation for the legal production of opium poppies in the UK. This information is collected under the category “crops for aromatic or medicinal use". This category includes plants such as poppies, lavender, chamomile, and plants or parts of plants used for pharmaceutical purposes, perfume manufacture or other aromatic products. As a consequence we are not able to distinguish the area of opium poppies from the other crops that fall into that category.

Estimates of opium cultivation in each of the last 10 years in Afghanistan are based on the Opium Survey carried out on a yearly basis by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The table below outlines the findings of the survey since 2005.

The Government works with the Afghan authorities and international partners to target action against opium trafficking networks, rather than provide funding for programmes specifically focussed on opium production. Figures specifically relating to funding to tackle opium production are therefore not available.

Is it still part of DFID’s strategy to try to reduce opium production in Helmand province, and if it is, can we have an update on the progress?

I share the hon. Gentleman’s passion for ensuring that our development work in Afghanistan is effective. He will be aware that we have done a significant amount of work in relation to livelihoods and economic development both in Kabul and, critically, out in Helmand. I am happy to write to him with further details on that.

In the early years of the intervention it is clear the International Community underestimated the complexity of the problem and the length of time needed to address the drugs trade and build up the capabilities of the Afghan Government after three decades of civil war. Achieving a permanent reduction in opium cultivation will take decades; it needs a strong Afghan lead supported by effective regional and international action. Despite falls in cultivation between 2007 and 2010, the narcotics trade in Helmand remains strong and entrenched in the political, social and economic fabric of the province. Ongoing challenges of poverty, insecurity and effective rule of law continue to create the conditions where some communities are dependent on opium cultivation to survive. Helmand is particularly susceptible to this problem due to its relatively porous border with Pakistan which is exploited by smugglers, and its history of opium production. This however should not detract from the progress made in security, political participation, improvements in education and health care that have been achieved in Helmand with the support of the UK.

Significantly reducing opium production in Helmand will require a generation of effort and Afghan will. The UK will continue to support efforts to provide a viable alternative to poppy cultivation in Helmand. We will do so through the Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development Facility (CARD-F), which promotes legal rural employment and income opportunities by increasing the profitability of local agriculture and small business.

The UK does not produce its own data on Afghan poppy cultivation, but contributes funding for the UN Office Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which conducts its own annual survey of opium production and cultivation across Afghanistan's 34 provinces. While UNODC opium cultivation figures do not specifically focus on the 10-mile radius around Camp Bastion, the 2013 UNODC Opium Survey reported 19,136 hectares of opium cultivation in the district of Nad' Ali, up from 8,038 in 2012 and 5,413 hectares in 2011. This is the closest district to Camp Bastion for which cultivation figures are available.

The 2013 UNODC Opium Survey reported that with 100,693 hectares in 2013 (48% of total cultivation in Afghanistan), Helmand remains Afghanistan's single largest opium-cultivating province. Cultivation in Helmand was estimated at 65,045 hectares and 63,307 hectares in 2010 and 2011, Ongoing challenges of poverty, insecurity and effective rule of law continue to create the conditions where some communities are dependent on opium cultivation to survive.