§ 52. Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the Overseas Development Administration budget for 1983–84 and 1984–85 is applicable to expenditure in the Falkland islands.
§ Mr. RaisonIt would be premature to give precise forecasts of expenditure in the Falkland islands in 1983–84 and 1984–85, since details of activities to be supported have not yet been finalised. But I expect the balance of the rehabilitation grant of £15 million to be spent in the current year and a substantial proportion of the £31 million development grant in the next two or three years. Estimated expenditure in 1983–84 to dare is approximately £3 million.
§ Mr. FoulkesHow does the Minister justify the misappropriation of large parts of the development budget to the Falkland islands, while, at the same time, the Government are cutting British aid to some of the poorest countries in the world where people are starving to death?
§ Mr. RaisonIt is quite untrue to talk about misappropriation of my programme to help the Falkland islands. They are among our dependencies, to whom we have a prior obligation anyway, and events last year will undoubtedly have reinforced that in the minds of the overwhelming majority in this country.
§ Mr. John TownendDoes my right hon. Friend agree that there is much greater public support in this country for aid to the Falkland islands than there is for continued aid to Zimbabwe, where air force officers acquitted by the courts are still imprisoned?
§ Mr. RaisonI do not intend to draw such a comparison, but I reiterate that aid to the Falklands is justified and necessary.