§ The Minister for Overseas Development (Mr. Timothy Raison)With permission, Mr. Speaker, I should like to make a statement.
The House knows of the very deep concern felt throughout the country at the effects of famine in Ethiopia — and indeed in other countries. Last Wednesday my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced three important further measures designed to help tackle the problem. These follow the substantial steps that we and the European Community were already taking, embracing almost £10 million from the British aid programme in the last eighteen months, including our share of over £24 million from the European Community.
The new measures were, first, the dispatch by the United Kingdom of a further 6,000 tonnes of food aid; secondly, the allocation of a further £5 million for spending on famine relief in Ethiopia and other African countries; and, thirdly, a pledge to press the European Community for additional action.
The House will wish me to report on the action that we have put in hand. On Saturday night, my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Trefgarne, and I met in London Commissioner Dawit, Head of the Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.
I informed the commissioner of the additional 6,000 tonnes of grain, which will be shipped within the next few days. We discussed ways of speeding up the transport and distribution of supplies through the port. I agreed that we should draw on our £5 million offer to provide dump trucks to help with unloading at the port of Assab and Landrovers and spare parts for them to help with distribution. I also agreed to supply water drilling rigs and medical requirements.
In addition, we told the commissioner of our offer of a Royal Air Force detachment of two Hercules and the appropriate support to undertake internal relief operations within the famine areas. There was some discussion about this offer, but I can tell the House that it has been agreed that we will make the detachment available for three months. The initial deployment will involve several additional flights to Ethiopia to ensure that our detachment is self-sufficient and fully equipped for the task. So far as we are concerned, the first two aircraft are ready to leave tomorrow. Two RAF officers have now arrived in Addis Ababa to discuss urgently the practical arrangements. I am sure that those aircraft will make a valuable contribution to distributing food where it is most needed.
I have also agreed to make available two further civil aircraft — one of them a Hercules — to support the voluntary agencies which are doing such a fine job in Ethiopia. Both will take our relief supplies and the Hercules will stay in Ethiopia for some weeks for use by the international committee of the Red Cross. We are also paying for some of the supplies needed. I had this morning a constructive discussion of priorities and implementation with the Disasters Emergency Committee led by Lord Hunt. All that represents a significant British contribution. In addition, the European Community is taking valuable action.
1162 So far this year the European Community has already made direct allocations of 53,000 tonnes of cereals and 3,000 tonnes of other products to Ethiopia. But the needs of Ethiopia are so great that we have pressed the Community to do more. Following my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's message to Dr. FitzGerald, President of the European Council, the Council's budget committee has approved, and the European Parliament is to consider today, a special programme of food and transport assistance worth £20 million, of which the British share would be about £4.5 million.
The needs of Ethiopia and other parts of drought-stricken Africa will be further discussed by Community Foreign Ministers in Ireland at the end of the week and by the Development Council — which I shall attend — in Brussels next Tuesday.
We have been active in other international organisations. The Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes, the supervisory body of the World Food Programme, is currently meeting in Rome. On a British initiative the meeting is giving priority to the needs of Ethiopia. At the same time, other western donors have offered increased assistance.
The grave problem of drought in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa cannot be solved overnight or by one massive airlift. But the measures that we have announced are very valuable in themselves and have given an important lead.
§ Mr. George Robertson (Hamilton)The House is glad to hear of the Government's action to assist in the Ethiopian famine. All hon. Members believe that the images of the starving victims of the drought, which have electrified the British people into dramatic and spontaneous generosity in the past few days, matter much more than prodigal debate here. Therefore, we warmly welcome the Government's response so far in increasing both the emergency aid and, in the time available, the Hercules transport and other logistic support. However, are the Government satisfied that their aid response is yet sufficient and appropriate? Is it not still small compared with both the need and the relative generosity of countries such as Sweden and Holland?
Does the Minister agree with the British ambassador in Addis Ababa that long-term help is necessary if the same crisis is not to be repeated year after year? Is he satisfied that the aid offered—both the food on its way and that promised — will get through to the starving people, including the majority who are in rebel-held areas in Ethiopia?
§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield)How can my right hon. Friend guarantee that?
§ Mr. RobertsonWill the right hon. Gentleman arrange for the Hercules planes to take the food and logistic equipment, which I am glad to notice he mentioned, through Djibouti and Sudan, for instance, in order to get it to the people who need it?
What is the Government's response to War on Want's proposal for an independent commission to negotiate on the spot effective action—a proposal which so far has had the support of both Willy Brandt and Pierre Trudeau? Will the Government give that proposal their support too?
Will the Prime Minister and the Government bear in mind the fact that Ethiopia happens to be in today's 1163 headlines and on today's television screens, but that other people are starving too in famines in Chad, the Sudan and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa?
Will they be remembered when the publicity dies away? The famine has alerted many people throughout the world to the dreadful imbalance of life and wealth in the world. We all feel the message in a letter that I received today from an 11-year-old constituent. She wrote:
Some people have diseases and some people die of starvation. I feel as if it was me who caused that because of all the food I get in one day. I would give them all the food I get but I can't because I don't stay there. Can you help the situation?We can help the situation and the Government must help it. The whole House will give them full support and assistance when they do that.
§ Mr. RaisonI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his response. I entirely agree with what he said about the profound sense of involvement of people throughout the country. He asked whether what we are doing is enough. I believe that our effort has been substantial and that our new measures make it extremely important. I also believe that the lead that we have given in the past few days has had a considerable impact in encouraging other donors to step up their efforts considerably. We shall of course continue to keep the problem under the closest review and take further steps as we feel them to be necessary.
The hon. Gentleman asked whether the aid will get through, especially to rebel-held areas. In the past few years, many people have asked whether aid is getting through in Ethiopia. Many bodies, especially the European Commission, have been involved in trying to check whether it gets through. I believe that the great bulk of it reaches the destination for which it is intended. As the House knows, our work in rebel-held areas is done essentially through the medium of the voluntary agencies. I have talked to them and they are satisfied that they are literally able to deliver the goods.
The hon. Gentleman asked whether the Hercules might take food through Djibouti and Sudan. I am not sure whether they might go through Djibouti. Two Royal Air Force officers are out there at the moment establishing the most effective way of delivering food to Ethiopia. The voluntary agencies are operating in other areas. We shall ensure that the food and resources that we make available to them reach their destination.
The hon. Gentleman asked about a proposal advanced by War on Want for an independent commission. I understand War on Want's anxiety but believe that in present circumstances it is better to use existing mechanisms than to think that the response to the crisis is to set up a new body. The hon. Gentleman properly reminded the House that Ethiopia is not alone in suffering and mentioned other countries. I have recently authorised relief for Chad. We are well aware that there are other parts of the world in which we might face substantial problems. I assure the House that I shall do all that I can, within the limit of what we can provide, to give the most effective assistance possible.
§ Sir Bernard Braine (Castle Point)May I express satisfaction at the Government's swift response to an appalling and pressing need at the diplomatic success in difficult circumstances in securing the co-operation of the Ethiopian authorities and at the decision to reinforce the splendid charities in famine areas as my right hon. Friend 1164 outlined? Might not the problem get worse rather than better in the year ahead? Will the Government direct their attention to the possibility of calling the international community together to consider a longer-term strategy to deal with famine, not merely in Ethiopia but in many other parts of the world and, above all, devising an early warning system, which was lacking in this case?
§ Mr. RaisonAgain, I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind words. It is difficult to give categorical answers about whether the problem will get worse or better. The important thing is that we get on with the immediate relief job. Long-term issues of development and how to prevent such problems recurring, as they have repeatedly done in the past, will have to be faced. The House will understand what my hon. Friend has said about the international community working together. We have the World Food Programme and there are other bodies in Rome which operate on the same basis. I am not sure whether new bodies are the right answer. It is vital that the existing international forums should tackle the problem, which is one of enormous scope and gravity.
§ Mr. Roy Jenkins (Glasgow, Hillhead)Will the Minister give an undertaking that as much grain as he believes can be distributed effectively will be made available from United Kingdom and European surplus stocks, and that budgetary restraints will not be allowed to prevent this?
§ Mr. RaisonWe are determined to make use of the reserves and the stores which the right hon. Gentleman has rightly mentioned. It will be our task at the Development Council meeting in a few days' time, and in the other Community councils, to ensure that we do all that we can to meet this terrible problem.
§ Mr. Michael Latham (Rutland and Melton)Will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that he will do everything possible to tackle the Brussels red tape when dealing with this matter? Nothing is more offensive to our constituents than the nightly sight on their television screens of barns full of grain while millions starve.
§ Mr. RaisonI well understand the feeling which has been relayed by my hon. Friend. However, if it were not for the grain surpluses, the so-called grain mountains, our ability to get hold of food in the short term would be much more difficult.
§ Dame Judith Hart (Clydesdale)While one appreciates what the Government are now doing, does the Minister agree that it might have been better if there had been a reaction several weeks ago, when everything was known about the forthcoming famine in Ethiopia, rather than waiting for television programmes and public pressure?
The Minister has had something to say about his discussions with the voluntary agencies this morning. There is a real problem, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson) has mentioned, of delivery to the rebel areas in Ethiopia. How much of the transport and food aid that we are now providing will go directly through Addis Ababa, or possibly Djibouti, for distribution in the Government-held areas? How much is the Minister proposing to allocate to the voluntary agencies which, as he says, are the most effective bodies to distribute supplies in the Eritrean and Tigré areas, which are rebel-held? Lastly, will he undertake to report to the 1165 House on what development assistance he proposes to make available for agriculture and education assistance to sub-Saharan Africa for the sake of future prevention of famine?
§ Mr. RaisonThe right hon. Lady has asked me why we did not react earlier. She knows that we have been reacting for a considerable time, and I have given the relevant figures. A shipment would not have arrived in Assab yesterday, which takes a bit of time to arrange, unless it had been dispatched well before recent television programmes. We have been reacting and we shall continue to react.
The right hon. Lady knows that the allocation of food to rebel-held areas is a sensitive matter. There is enormous need to be met in the rebel areas. We are working closely with the voluntary agencies that are operating in the areas. I shall ensure that they receive a substantial slice of our resources but I cannot give an exact figure. I have no intention of forgetting that a great measure of the starvation exists in rebel areas.
s I shall be happy to respond to the House on the longer-term issue of development assistance. The House will have a chance to raise the matter on other occasions and I shall do all that I can to meet its requests for a debate.
§ Mr. Charles Morrison (Devizes)The Government are to be warmly congratulated on the manner on which they have responded to the crisis. My right hon. Friend is correct to emphasise that the problem will not be solved overnight. Will he say specifically whether the Government are proposing to give any assistance in the construction of wells, which may help in the short term? To take the point of the right hon. Member for Clydesdale (Dame J. Hart) a little further, and given the fact that the scale of the disaster is infinitely worse because of the enormous population expansion in Africa, will the Government undertake to consider once again the assistance that they are giving towards population control?
§ Mr. RaisonOn the point about water, I said in my statement that drilling rigs were one form of supply that we were sending out. We all recognise that that is of great importance. I agree with my hon. Friend that there is no doubt that one of Africa's major problems is the rapid expansion of population in some parts of the continent. My Department will certainly contribute in efforts to bring that expansion under control.
§ Mr. David Steel (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale)I thank the Minister for his positive statement and for what he is now doing. I shall pursue previous questions, in view of the Minister's last statement that this problem cannot be solved overnight. Does the right hon. Gentleman recall that during his last Question Time before the summer recess, he rejected a suggestion by my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) that he should visit the area during the summer recess? Does the Minister accept that what has really outraged public opinion is the knowledge that massive grain surpluses were sitting uselessly in Europe throughout the summer while the position was worsening? It was only a television programme that prodded the European Governments into action. Why did they not act sooner?
§ Mr. RaisonIt really is not true that we have been doing nothing to provide grain surpluses to the area. The 1166 European Community has a good record in providing food from those surpluses to Ethiopia and other parts of the world. I am not, of course, saying that what has been provided is sufficient. We must press on with that provision. Well before last week's television programmes — I do not deny that they were important — the Community was heavily involved in the business of shipping grain to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the largest single recipient of aid under the Lomé convention. I shall visit Ethiopia if that seems appropriate and necessary. I do not wish to do so in a spirit of gimmickry, but if my visit serves a purpose I shall visit Ethiopia.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I remind the House that an important debate will follow in which more than 40 right hon. and hon. Members seek to take part. I shall allow questions on this important matter to continue until 4 pm, when we shall consider the ten-minute Bill.
§ Mr. Robert Rhodes James (Cambridge)Is my right hon. Friend aware that the performance of the British voluntary organisations in Ethiopia — my right hon. Friend knows my connection with the Save the Children Fund—has been beyond all praise and has been going on for years, not just a few recent weeks? None of that assistance would have been possible without the strong support given by the Government and volunteers amounting to about £30 million spent in Ethiopia alone and 40,000 tonnes of grain sent to Ethiopia. Although it is important to look at the current crisis and the Government's response, which has been admirable, surely after this tragedy has been resolved, or at least alleviated, we can look again at the long-term problems of how to resolve the problems and assist in areas of the world that are affected in such ways.
§ Mr. RaisonI am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he says about the Government's contribution. I am happy to endorse what he said about the magnificent work done by the voluntary agencies. There can be no doubt that they are doing a tremendous job.
We shall, of course, have to cast our attention to the long term. It is difficult to work with Ethiopia—nobody can doubt that. There are many problems, and they have affected our policy towards that country. As I said, I think that everyone is aware that something is happening in Africa as a whole. We must find an adequate response to what is occurring and that is what my Department will do.
§ Mr. Max Madden (Bradford, West)In tackling starvation and malnutrition, does the Minister understand that the overwhelming majority of the British people would like to see the mobilisation of political will and resources that we saw in the defence of the Falklands? Does the right hon. Gentleman understand that the overwhelming majority of the British people would like the £3 million a day that we are spending on the Falklands to be diverted towards combating starvation and malnutrition? Does the right hon. Gentleman understand that the overwhelming majority of the British people would like the British Government to declare war on poverty and to mobilise the resources that are necessary to combat it effectively?
§ Mr. RaisonI believe, of course, that what we are doing in the Falklands is essential. However, I can see similarities between the spirit shown by our people, 1167 perhaps particularly in the voluntary sector and their sense of deep involvement in and commitment to the problem, and the way in which people threw themselves into support of our policy on the Falklands.
§ Mr. Norman Buchan (Paisley, South)Do it now.
§ Mr. RaisonThey show that this country contains the skill, enthusiasm and human understanding that are vital if the problem is to be tackled effectively.
§ Mr. Tony Baldry (Banbury)Is my right hon. Friend now satisfied that the food pledges from the international community as a whole will meet the estimated need of some 60,000 tonnes of grain for Ethiopia for each month between now and next year's harvest? Of course, Ethiopia is not alone—Sudan, Chad, Somalia and other African countries face famine and food shortages. Is not it time to run a sustained and co-ordinated campaign in order to assist agriculture in Africa and thus enable those countries to grow food with which to tackle hunger?
§ Mr. RaisonI do not think that we can possibly say that we have yet got enough food committed to solving the problem. However, there has been a substantial international response and we are making very good progress in that respect. I note that even the Communist countries seem to have been shamed into providing some sort of food aid for Ethiopia. My hon. Friend's comments on long-term agriculture are correct, and I should stress that within the Overseas Development Administration I attach great importance to the development of natural resources in Africa, and believe that we have an enormous amount to contribute. I regard that as one of my real priorities.
§ Mr. Donald Stewart (Western Isles)Although I welcome the aid that the Minister has outlined, is he aware that there is widespread feeling in the country that Government aid was minimal and lethargic until the Government were galvanised into action by public opinion? Is he further aware that the public are concerned about the EEC's grain surplus on the one hand and the starvation in Ethiopia on the other? In that respect, I welcome the Minister's assurance that he will put pressure on the EEC to release grain. Is he aware that people are now looking towards the wealthier nations of the West to assist in the long term in raising the standard of living in Third world countries permanently, and not only when there is famine or crisis?
§ Mr. RaisonPeople may accuse us of being lethargic, but the facts that I have tried to set out show very clearly that we have been involved in, and committed to, providing aid for a long time. I can only repeat that we are in a sense fortunate to have grain surpluses in the EC. At least there is a substantial supply of food available and through the EC's institutions we are doing much to ensure that that supply is available.
We all know that once we have got to grips with the short-term problem of the famine there is still an important 1168 long-term problem. That is why we put a very high priority on the long-term development of agriculture and natural resources in Africa and other parts of the world that may face famine.
§ Sir Peter Emery (Honiton)Although I accept that the Government are doing a considerable amount, will my right hon. Friend make it clear that the problem of starvation in Africa is much larger than any one country can cope with? There is thus a considerable need for this Government to play a major role, along with Europe and the United Nations, in helping to resolve the problem? Will he look at the great difficulty of dispersing food when it reaches Ethiopia? This summer, I flew over the country and saw that it is almost impossible to get lorries and transport into the areas in greatest need. Does my right hon. Friend realise that this summer there were more than 24 helicopters on the airfield at Asmara, which had been provided for the Marxist regime by the Russians? Will he work on the possibility of getting the Ethiopian Government—in co-operation with the Russians—to use those helicopters to distribute food throughout the most dispersed areas of Ethiopia?
§ Mr. RaisonI agree that working together internationally is the only way of providing the quantities necessary. We have given a lead in that respect, but others are bound to be involved. The distribution of food in Ethiopia is very difficult. I believe that several aircraft that belong to the Ethiopian Government, but which have been supplied from Russian or Communist sources, have not been fully used in helping to resolve the food aid problem. I understand that they are changing their policy and that they will make the aircraft available, and I certainly hope that that is so.
With regard to the exact airfields from which our Hercules aircraft should operate, that is exactly what the RAF officers at present in Ethiopia are finding out, and will be reporting on immediately.
§ Mr. Guy Barnett (Greenwich)Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that what is happening in Ethiopia today is a devastating indictment of this country and of rich countries in general in not taking seriously the objectives of the 1974 world food conference? Is he aware that, during the last decade, the number of hungry people in the world has doubled, to 500 million? Will the Government do everything they can, through the United Nations and the EC, to get the problem properly tackled on an international scale?
§ Mr. RaisonWe have been doing many things, but it is true that there is still an enormous problem to be faced. As I hope I have made completely clear already, my Department is dedicated to doing all it can to develop the proper functioning of agriculture throughout the countries which are at risk. That is our prime objective. It is shared, I think, by the World Bank and many other international and national organisations, and we must accelerate our efforts in that regard.