Pakistan Floods

Mark Durkan Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I believe I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that he rightly seeks. All of the taxpayers’ money is allocated through my officials in Islamabad, after careful discussion of what results will be delivered by the spending of that British taxpayers’ money. Sometimes it takes a little longer to allocate the funds precisely, but we do so with the confidence that it will have the effect that those who have provided the money would rightly insist on seeing.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

If the international community’s initial response was so woefully inadequate, can the Secretary of State tell us that he is now confident that it will be better geared in response to the secondary humanitarian public health crisis that he anticipates; and will others be there for the long-term reconstruction needs, in the way that he has underlined in the commitments that he has given today?

[Mr Mitchell]

The answer to the hon. Gentleman can only be that time will tell, but I am confident that we are all focused on trying to ensure that is indeed the case, and that focus will continue throughout not only the emergency phase but the subsequent two phases, which I have described.