European Community (Ministerial Meetings)

HC Deb 19 March 1979 vol 964 cc1092-4

35. Mr. Goodlad

asked the Minister of Overseas Development when she expects to meet her EEC counterparts.

Mrs. Hart

I expect to meet other Community Development Ministers at the next meeting of the Development Council. A date far this has not yet been settled.

Mr. Goodlad

When the right hon. Lady meets her EEC counterparts, will she discuss with them the progress, if any, that has been made towards charging the next European development fund to the Community budget, and whether this will end the absurd anomaly that the poorest members of the Community pay a larger proportion of their gross national product towards the fund than do the richer members?

Mrs. Hart

I fully appreciate the hon. Gentleman's general point about our contribution to the Community budget, but it works a little differently in relation to the European development fund. As I said in answer to an earlier question, the drawings on the fund relate very much to the commitments and progress of spending on the fund.

Certainly it is a question that one is continually concerned about, in that as we have an inescapable obligation to contribute towards the fund from our own aid programme it is a matter of some concern to us that that money should be spent effectively, efficiently and well.

Mrs. Dunwoody

Will my right hon. Friend draw to the attention of her EEC colleagues the fact that the new accounting procedure for the food aid programme is likely to be very deleterious from the point of view of the British budget for overseas aid, because refunds will be counted and the figures will be fudged in such a way that the true effect of aid will be lost?

Mrs. Hart

The whole question of food aid, and the programme for it, is likely to have been settled at official level before our next Development Council meeting, but I think it very likely that at working level we shall be discussing a new programme for managing it. I entirely take my hon. Friend's point. It is one that concerns me very much.

Mr. Emery

Will the Minister answer two questions? First, will she consider making available to the EEC Ministers a report on her very successful—on behalf of Britain, not on behalf of any party in the House—visit to West Africa about five weeks ago? Will she also make a report available to the House, perhaps placing it in the Library? That would be very useful.

Secondly, in dealing with aid from this country and the EEC, will the right hon. Lady try to ensure that where, particularly in Commonwealth countries, there is a shortfall because at the end of the year certain schemes are not paid in full, steps are taken to have standby schemes available? There is always a great bottleneck, and money could be paid to help some of the developing Commonwealth countries receive the greatest possible benefit.

Mrs. Hart

One could consider the hon. Gentleman's second point, but the problem is essentially that the European development fund seeks to identify projects. It tends to be not as fast a process as one would wish. One is always concerned to see that the money is spent correctly. If one tried to do things rapidly, at the end of the year the money might be wrongly spent, and that would not be good. However, it is a matter that could be considered.

I was glad to hear what the hon. Gentleman said about my visit to West Africa. I shall certainly put a report on that visit in the Library. There are plenty of opportunities at Development Council meetings to have the sort of informal discussions with one's colleagues in which one can report on such matters, and I have already reported to some of them.