asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proposals they have regarding the provision of aid to Ethiopia.

My Lords, over 30 million people in Ethiopia live in extreme poverty, of whom more than 6 million are dependent on emergency food aid. The Department for International Development expects to spend £130 million this year on improving governance and accountability, promoting human development, supporting sustainable growth and providing humanitarian assistance, as well as an additional £35 million in response to the humanitarian crisis.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer. Ethiopia has received £4.7 billion in aid between 2001 and 2005 and the £130 million from DfID, but that mainly contributes to the protection of basic-services programmes, to help the Ethiopian Government implement their own poverty reduction plan. Does the Minister agree that it is disgraceful that aid agencies are unable to conduct surveys into the scale of need in the region because they require government permission and military escorts which the Government are failing to provide? How are HMG monitoring this situation and the very worthy projects that are, after all, funded by taxpayers' money?

My Lords, the issue raised by the noble Baroness was one of the key concerns raised with the Ethiopian Government by the Secretary of State at recent talks. Whether it is related or not, in the past few weeks we have seen encouraging signs that humanitarian access and delivery in the Somali region, in particular, is improving. The military has begun discussions, the UN World Food Programme has begun to operate, and, key to the process, the Government have agreed to nutritional surveys and needs assessment to ensure that a humanitarian response is based on the most up-to-date numbers.

My Lords, a few weeks ago, when the Secretary of State visited Ethiopia, did he not threaten to cut aid to Ethiopia because he found on his visit that children seemed to have been thrown out of a hospital on the border with Somalia because it would have looked bad if he had discovered as many children in difficulty as there were? Is that what happened? Did he threaten to cut aid? What happened to those children, and how was the episode resolved?

My Lords, I do not have the specifics of the incident, but I can assure your Lordships that the Secretary of State was not driven by that incident. He visited Ethiopia on 16 and 17 October and, at the end of his visit, he raised two particular UK concerns: the humanitarian situation in the Somali region, which we have already discussed, and the likely impact of the proposed legislation to regulate civil society funding and activities. Mr Alexander explained that because of those concerns, he was unable to announce multiyear DfID funding for Ethiopia at the current time. He indicated that he would follow progress on those issues closely. Forthcoming DfID programme decisions will be informed by developments on the ground and consultation with international partners.

My Lords, arising from that answer, will my noble friend confirm that it remains the position of Her Majesty's Government that development assistance will be provided only to democracies or to countries that are seen to be moving towards democracy, and that we give no funds whatever to dictatorships?

My Lords, I wish the world were that simple. The simple DfID commitment is to reduce poverty. We of course then caveat that in a series of ways. We caveat against the effectiveness of the Government, whether they are straight and honest and what is their attitude to issues such as human rights. Ethiopia is a poor country trying to make good in a very tough neighbourhood. The case for aid is extremely strong. Comparatively speaking, Ethiopia is stable and has a capable Government who have demonstrated commitment to addressing poverty with an impressive record of pro-poor spending, sound financial management and low levels of corruption.

My Lords, as Ethiopia is such a poor country, do we know where it is getting the money to purchase the weapons and other armaments to pursue battles in Somalia and Eritrea?

My Lords, I did not entirely hear the question, but in our aid programmes, we have withdrawn from budget aid—five years ago, I believe. The money targeted for Ethiopia goes through a programme of budget support tied to local government delivery. It is checked all the way. We make sure that the money goes into those programmes and we believe that we are having a positive impact on poverty in Ethiopia as a result.

My Lords, my noble friend Lady Northover raised an important issue about aid agency reports of children being thrown out of hospital. If the Minister does not have the answer, will he look into the matter and place a reply in the Library so that she can have a proper reply to the question?

I am sorry, my Lords, but I feel that I have answered the question. We strongly audit all our programmes. Ethiopia, of all the countries that we give to, has some of the strongest governance systems. We have high levels of confidence that aid going to Ethiopia goes to the purposes for which we have agreed it. We have strong co-operation with other donors; hence, right across the board, we believe that the aid is going to the hospitals, the educational establishments and the programmes. I do not believe that there is any doubt that the aid is going where we intend it or that it is properly monitored.

My Lords, perhaps I may follow on from the question asked by the noble Countess, Lady Mar. Ethiopia is currently engaged in military operations in Somalia and in Eritrea. Its operations in Somalia have, as I understand it, been substantially funded by the US Administration of President Bush. Does the Minister join me in hoping that the change in Administration in the United States may change some of the priorities of the Ethiopian Government in this respect?

My Lords, my understanding is that there is no military activity in Eritrea and that the Ethiopian operations in Somalia were intended to achieve a particular objective which has largely been de-scaled. We keep pressing the Ethiopian Government to withdraw their troops from those operations. They want to do so but need an appropriate African force to fill the vacuum. It is not a simple matter of "these are the bad guys"; these people are trying to do their best. We do not approve of the original incursion, but we see that there is a real problem of just how quickly they can withdraw.

My Lords, while the Ethiopians may not be engaged in any military activities in Eritrea, would it not be possible for Britain and the European Union to increase aid to Ethiopia if it would finally settle its dispute with Eritrea on the frontier, on the lines of the recommendations made by the Lauterpacht commission?

My Lords, we in this country pride ourselves on drawing a strong distinction between providing aid and seeking to use it for political influence. That is enshrined in our law. The case for providing aid to a country depends on its level of poverty, and whether we provide money for that aid depends on whether it will be spent effectively through organisations such as NGOs or by the country itself. We also check against factors such as the level of corruption and so on. We do not use our aid in a quid pro quo for political decisions.