HC Deb 11 April 1968 vol 762 cc1562-5
10. Mr. Onslow

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what has been the total gross cost to public funds of British overseas aid since October, 1964.

Mr. Prentice

£654 million to 30th December, 1967.

Mr. Onslow

Does the Minister not agree that it is high time that the Government gave half a day for a full debate on this large expenditure of the taxpayers-money?

Mr. Prentice

I should welcome a debate on the subject and I hope that the hon. Member will have a word with his right hon. Friend on his own Front Bench about the use of a Supply Day for this purpose. I should welcome any chance to debate this matter and to justify what we are doing.

Mr. Lipton

Is not some of this aid spent on the purchase of goods made in this country?

Mr. Prentice

A great deal of it is and. therefore, I would welcome the chance to have a debate to explain at some length a case for the aid programme, both in terms of the good it does for developing countries and also in terms of the good it does in the long-term interests of the economy of this country.

Mr. James Davidson

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that we on the Liberal bench welcome expenditure on overseas aid up to the limit that has been announced? However, is he aware that there has been a tremendous change of emphasis in the disbursement of overseas aid from Communist countries in the last year or two in favour of South America and Africa as opposed to Asia and the Middle East? Will he bear this in mind in the disbursement of British overseas aid?

Mr. Prentice

In the disbursement of British overseas aid we are obviously concerned with the pattern of aid from other countries in considering the total effect of the flow of aid from the developed to the developing countries.

Mr. John Lee

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that many hon. Members on this side of the House would deprecate any diminution in the amount of overseas aid that is given and that we, too, would like to have a debate to discuss the way in which the overseas aid programme is carried out?

Mr. Prentice

I am glad to have that expression of support, which I think reflects the feeling of the majority of hon. Members. I very much welcome the recent initiative taken by the youth organisations of the three main political parties in issuing a joint manifesto on this subject, and that deserves wide support.

Sir D. Renton

Surely, when the Government wish to spend large sums of the taxpayer's money, however well spent it may be—or, as some may think, not so well spent—we should have a debate in Government time?

Mr. Prentice

I would welcome a debate on this subject in anybody's time.

Mr. Whitaker

Does my right hon. Friend agree that this country has spent less in total on aid since the war than on defence in one year? Is he aware that many people feel that a more effective way of combating Communism and keeping world peace would be to work towards a reversal of that proportion?

Mr. Prentice

I have a great deal of sympathy with that view—[HON MEMBERS: "Oh."]—and I hope that it will become the situation in years to come, when countries generally, and not just Britain, will spend more of their resources on development aid and not on armaments.

Mr. Wall

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that however valuable aid is, trade is even more valuable?

Mr. Prentice

We must see the two together. The development of these countries depends on the flow of aid and on proper trade conditions.

Mr. James Johnson

Is it not time that the Government thought of reaching the 1 per cent. of our national income target which was set a long time ago?

Mr. Prentice

When the target was defined by the first U.N.C.T.A.D. Conference, we were surpassing it and had done for some years. The target has been revised by the recent U.N.C.T.A.D. Conference to mean 1 per cent. of G.N.P. rather than of national income. In that respect we are not reaching it, and nor are most other countries. I agree that we should take the new target seriously and use our best endeavours to reach it in the years ahead.

Mr. Tilney

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that about 5 per cent. of the annual aid which we give goes to developing countries to meet their pension obligations to our former overseas civil servants? Would it not be better if Her Majesty's Government took over this liability, as has every other ex-colonial Power, and so relieve the worries of these pensioners?

Mr. Prentice

No, Sir. I think that, on balance, it is better that we should continue as we are doing at present; that we should make development loans which take into account the liability the hon. Gentleman mentioned and which also take into account their general circumstances.

Mr. William Hamilton

Reverting to the question of a debate on this matter, would my right hon. Friend agree that it might be desirable to await the report from the Sub-Committee of the Estimates Committee which is dealing with these very points, since that would enable the House to be apprised of all the information?

Mr. Prentice

The presentation of that report might be a convenient moment for a debate. In view of the number of hon. Members on both sides of the House who have asked for a debate on this matter, I will draw these expressions of opinion to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.