HC Deb 01 July 1998 vol 315 c342
3. Barbara Follett (Stevenage)

If she will make a statement on her Department' s response to the European Court's freezing of some of the aid budget lines. [46866]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. George Foulkes)

My Treasury colleagues, who lead on this issue, have upheld the previous Government's decision to challenge European Union spending that had no legal base. The United Kingdom did not object to any budget line for assistance to developing countries, but the EU Commission decided to suspend future grants for those lines, while also reviewing the implications of the court's judgment. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury agreed with the Commission and the European Parliament on 23 June that all new grants not disbarred by the judgment will proceed by mid-July.

Barbara Follett

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he do all that he can to ensure that such matters are resolved with the minimum of delay, particularly as regards budget lines relating to land mines and human rights? Will he also ensure that the European Parliament has some discretion over awarding sums to smaller bodies?

Mr. Foulkes

It was for that reason that my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary had her meeting. She wanted to ensure that those budget lines were reinstated, and that the money should be spent as quickly as possible. My hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Barbara Follett) will agree that the Government are right to ensure that effective control of public expenditure is treated as importantly in the European Union as it is in the United Kingdom.

Mr. John Townend (East Yorkshire)

Have there been any proposals to freeze European or British aid to India and Pakistan on the basis that, as they can afford to develop nuclear weapons, they do not need aid?

Mr. Foulkes

We have given that point careful consideration. The Government have condemned the testing of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan, but we are concerned that some of the poorest people in the world live in those two countries. We are working with non-governmental organisations, international organisations and state governments, as well as the two international Governments. Stopping our programmes would harm some of the poorest people in the world, and that is why we have decided to continue with bilateral assistance.