HC Deb 22 January 1970 vol 794 cc678-9
23. Mr. Prentice

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will publish a White Paper in due course setting out the Government's views on the recommendations in the Pearson Report.

Mrs. Hart

I have nothing to add to my written reply of 19th December last to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd).—[Vol. 793, c. 462.]

Mr. Prentice

Does my right hon. Friend recall that when she announced the aid figures in November she said that they were not a Government response to the Pearson recommendations, which would require more time? After the time that has elapsed, should not we have a definitive statement in the near future, preferably in the form of a White Paper, on the whole range of the Pearson recommendations, and could not that include a fresh look at the aid figures?

Mrs. Hart

It may be that my Ministry and I will want to publish something not just on Pearson but on the whole aid policy that we are implementing and considering in the future. The difficulty about making an immediate statement on the Pearson Report is that it covers the whole subject of international development policy, and, in advance of the international discussions which will be taking place in the next few months, it would not be helpful to those discussions or the objectives of the Pearson Report for there to be ex parte statements by the United Kingdom or any other major donor country.

Mr. Fisher

Will the right hon. Lady consider the possibility of including in the official aid figures the aid given to sugar producing countries of the Commonwealth under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement? In my view, that would, quite legitimately, greatly improve the official aid figures and percentages and would be more accurate as to the aid that we give to the Commonwealth.

Mrs. Hart

I agree that the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement makes a most valuable contribution to a number of developing countries. The difficulty about including it in any figures is that it cannot be quantified at any point in time. It has varying effects according to the varying price of sugar. This is the real difficulty. Otherwise, we would gladly include it. I realise that it would make our aid figures more realistic.