§ 51. Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid Her Majesty's Government are giving to Grenada.
§ 54. Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask his Department to prepare a report on the priority development needs of Grenada.
§ The Minister for Overseas Development (Mr. Timothy Raison)The Government have already announced their intention to make available capital assistance and technical co-operation for reconstruction and economic development in Grenada.
A team of advisers from the British development division in the Caribbean has visited the country to assess priority development needs. Their report has only just arrived, and I shall be studying it promptly.
§ Mr. WelshI thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that when this escapade is over the kiddies in Grenada will have to pick up all the pieces and put them together, and that one would therefore expect the people of Grenada to request further aid from this Government? Will the Minister assure us that, if that call for further aid comes, it will be looked at and given, and that it will come from the reserve funds and not from the small amount that is at present available under overseas aid?
§ Mr. RaisonThe aid, of course, will come out of our budget. As I have already said, we are prepared to consider priority needs for development. In doing so, we also have to take into account other donors and their potential contributions.
§ Mr. SpearingAlthough the prospect of renewed Government aid to Grenada is welcome, is the Minister aware that Sir Paul Scoon told my hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Mr. Evans) and myself the other day that, in his view, one of the most urgent needs now in Grenada is the maintenance of Government services and provision of the wherewithal for the Government to pay their servants so that services continue to be available to the people of Grenada? Will he look at the matter and see what the Government can do?
§ Mr. RaisonI am aware that there is an immediate cash problem in Grenada, but I repeat that there are other major aid donors, notably the United States, who are also prepared to help. We must judge what is the most effective way of using any assistance that we can give.
§ Mr. MaplesWhen my right hon. Friend is considering Grenada, will he also consider our aid policy in general in the Caribbean, and ensure that one of the objectives of that policy is to ensure that the Marxist takeover that took place in Grenada does not happen elsewhere?
§ Mr. RaisonI have sympathy with what my hon. Friend says. We do consider carefully and regularly our aid policy in that part of the world.
§ Mr. Ioan EvansAs the civilian airport at Port Salines is now 85 per cent. completed, and as British firms such as Plessey are involved in the contract, will the Minister see what can be done by the Government to ensure that the airport is completed, because it is essential for future tourism on the island?
§ Mr. RaisonI accept that the airport needs to go ahead. The Department of Trade and Industry is in close touch with Plessey on the matter.
§ Mr. Robert BanksDoes my right hon. Friend agree that any upward revision of aid to Grenada will not entail any cutback in aid to other islands in the Caribbean?
§ Mr. RaisonYes, Sir, in the immediate future. However, every year we have to look at our aid programme as a whole and make judgments about priorities.