HC Deb 03 June 1998 vol 313 cc355-6
6. Mr. Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside)

What extra moneys she has earmarked to combat drought and famine since 1 May; and if she will make a statement. [42502]

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

We have a contingency reserve that is set aside for emergencies and funds can also be allocated from country programme budgets. I assure my hon. Friend that we give the highest priority to ensuring that adequate resources are made available very quickly for humanitarian emergencies. Since 1 May this year, we have pledged £6.23 million for the emergency in the Sudan.

Mr. Jones

I thank my hon. Friend for that information and for his efforts as a Minister. Is it his view that, in the Sudan, there is a shortage of food for people who are hungry, or that the hungry cannot get access to the food that is there? Has he any further advice to the Red Cross as to how it conducts its campaigns for money for people who are hungry and poor?

Mr. Foulkes

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has said, we have already agreed more than £10 million to the Sudan. The problem is not money. Even the Disasters Emergency Committee was divided when it considered whether to have an appeal for the Sudan. My right hon. Friend has done the country and this issue a service by opening up the debate. The media sometimes seem obsessed with disasters. If it bleeds, it leads, in some media. That means that we do not get the positive message over of some of the success of the development work that we and other countries have been doing.

Mr. Shaun Woodward (Witney)

Given the Minister's undoubted commitment to the principle of humanitarian aid, will he tell the House whether his Department was consulted about clause 63 of the Finance Bill, and what effects he and his Department believe clause 63 will have on the provision of overseas aid by British charities?

Mr. Foulkes

Departments are consulted regularly about matters that affect them. I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would congratulate the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the arrangements he has made for tax relief for people who are willing to give money to charities, which has been a great boost for them. That is the kind of issue he should be raising, rather than quibbling about that particular clause.