Belize
House of Lords
Written answers and statements, 5 May 2009
Lord Ashcroft (Conservative)
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 30 March (WA 178), (a) what is the breakdown of the €11.8 million from the European Development Fund allocated to Belize for 2008—13, (b) what is the breakdown of the €48.2 million from the European Union that Belize is expected to receive between 2006 and 2010; and (c) what steps have been or are being taken to ensure that this funding is or was spent according to the purpose for which it was allocated.
Lord Malloch-Brown (Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Labour)
Belize's allocation from the European Development Fund (EDF) for 2008-13 includes €10 million for integrated rural development; €1.2 million for technical and material support for the national authorising officer of the Minister of Economic Development; with the remaining €0.6 million allocated to trade related assistance, improvement of public expenditure and financial accountability and technical training on issues such as tax reform.
The €48.2 million that Belize, as a sugar protocol country, receives is allocated on an annual basis as follows (2006: €3 million, 2007: €6 million, 2008: €9 million, 2009: €13.l million, 2010: €17.1 million). There is no separate breakdown available for amounts allocated according to activity. These allocations are decided on a yearly basis in annual action plans.
Overall, activities aim to improve the efficiency of sugar cane production, processing and economic diversification, with a strong emphasis on developing rural infrastructure in sugar producing areas e.g. roads and bridges. The European Commission (EC) disburses, manages and monitors this funding. Monitoring takes place through regular visits from the supervising EC delegation based in Jamaica and regular reviews.