OVERSEAS AID BILL (Hansard, 19 July 1966)

§ LORD BESWICK
My Lords, the substitution of the word "represents" for "respects" bring the phraseology of paragraph 3(b) into line with that in paragraph 3(a). I have a note here which says that the Amendment is purely a drafting one and has no ulterior intention. I think the truth of the matter is that it is a typing error, and I hope that noble Lords will accept the Amendment.

THE EARL OF BESSBOROUGH
My Lords, I entirely accept that this is a typing error and is perfectly genuine, and I agree that there is nothing sinister in it. I do not know how it escaped what someone described as my "astute analytical gaze" and that of my noble friend Lord Colville of Culross. At all events, it is perfectly in order.

§ LORD BESWICK
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill do now pass.

THE EARL OF BESSBOROUGH
My Lords, I only want to say, very briefly, that we are happy about this Bill, but I wish to ask the noble Lord whether, in the country's present grave economic crisis, he expects that our aid for 1966–67 is likely to be cut, and, if so, will it involve the Government in defaulting on our pledge to the United Nations to give 1 per cent. of our gross national product in aid? Will this be yet another in a long series of broken pledges? All I can add, therefore, to what I said on Second Reading and in Committee, is that I hope that our aid will go through intact. I fear I cannot agree with the 387 noble Lord, Lord Barnby, about this matter, although I saw the point of my noble friend Lord Balfour of Inch rye with regard to our attitude towards unfriendly countries. As I understand it, all our aid is tied in the sense that the noble Lord, Lord Barnby, meant, even if it is not known as "tied project aid", which I personally think can be overdone.
At all events, I hope that the Government will not draw in its horns over this matter and thus disappoint our valued friends in many parts of the world and further weaken the Commonwealth in this way. Apart from that, I am glad that we in this House were able to help to improve the Bill by including the reference in Clause 1(4) to the Government of the Federation of South Arabia and those island territories. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Beswick, for having done this, and we are happy that this Bill is now to pass.

§ LORD BESWICK
My Lords, I much appreciate what the noble Earl said about aid generally, and the purpose of aid. I hope that what he has said will be read carefully by his noble friend Lord Barnby. I am sorry he introduced the phrase about broken pledges, because if he insists on that phrase I shall have to challenge him to say what pledges it is that we have broken; and I should be prepared to discuss with him, or debate with him at great length, the question of whether or not this country has broken pledges. I do not believe that it has. So far as total aid is concerned, with the present review that is going on obviously I am not in a position to say anything at all, one way or the other, about that. All I can say is that, so far as the general philosophy is concerned, we are much more closely in line with what the noble Earl, Lord Bessborough, said, than with what was said by the noble Lord, Lord Barnby. I hope very much that it will be found that we can, as I said a little earlier, solve our economic difficulties without hitting too hard those less well off than we are.