§ 32. Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to avoid a repetition of the in correct charging to the Overseas Aid Programme of £424,000 of expenditure on the Department of the Environment Votes, Class VI, 5, A, for 1972–73.
§ Mr. WoodNone. The mistake has already been corrected by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.
§ Mr. CunninghamHow did it happen that the right hon. Gentleman's Department allowed nearly £½ million of expenditure to be improperly booked to the Minister's own aid programme? Surely this is not just a matter for the Department of the Environment but one for his own defences.
§ Mr. WoodThe hon. Gentleman is making heavy weather of this, and he knows the answer to that question since it was contained in my right hon. Friend's original answer. The hon. Gentleman knows that there were certain items included in the £545,000 which could not be charged to the aid programme and the reasons for it.