§ 86. Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total British bilateral aid given to the whole of sub-Saharan Africa in 1979, and in the latest year for which figures are available, in constant prices.
§ Mr. Chris PattenBritish bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa was £386 million in 1979 and £284 million in 1987 22 in constant 1987 prices. On the same basis British aid to sub-Saharan Africa channelled through multilateral institutions rose from £161 million in 1980 to £209 million in 1986.
§ Mr. LloydDoes the Minister accept that, given the scale of problems in sub-Saharan Africa—where the position deteriorated considerably over those years—the reduction in real terms in aid—and that is what we are talking about—from the British Government is absolutely outrageous? What does the Minister intend to do about that?
§ Mr. PattenThere are more than two views on whether the problems have increased in severity in sub-Saharan Africa over that period. Happily, more and more sub-Saharan African countries are embarking on economic reform programmes, with substantial assistance from this country. We have contributed £2.25 billion to aid programmes in sub-Saharan Africa over the past five years. I would envisage an increasing part of our growing aid programme going to support economic reform in sub-Saharan Africa.