The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)
I wish to inform the House that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, together with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, is today publishing the forty second progress report on developments in Afghanistan since November 2010.
On 27 October the final UK personnel were flown from Camp Bastion to Kandahar airfield. This followed the formal handover of responsibility for Camp Bastion to the Afghan military the previous day.
The Independent Election Commission announced the final, certified results of the provincial council elections on 25 October. 458 candidates were elected to the provincial councils, with 21 % of seats going to women.
In response to the serious fiscal crisis faced by the new Afghan Government, the UK agreed to make £15.6 million of previously committed funding available more quickly to the Government of Afghanistan. This is not new money. It will be delivered through the World Bank managed Afghanistan reconstruction trust fund and will allow basic services to continue to be delivered to the people of Afghanistan.
The UK and the Afghan Government agreed the London conference on Afghanistan will take place on 3-4 December. This is a key opportunity for the international community to signal its continued support for the Government of Afghanistan and their vision for reform, underpinned by the principle of mutual accountability and aid effectiveness.
I am placing the report in the Libraries of both Houses. It will also be published on the gov.uk website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-progress-reports