HL Deb 22 March 1977 vol 381 cc386-8

3 p.m.

Lord ELTON

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they had considered the use of an RAF aircraft to deliver a consignment of drugs available for despatch to Bucharest on 7th March for relief of the victims of the recent earthquake there; whether it is true, as reported in the Press, that this method of delivery was rejected as too costly; and, if so, how much time was lost and how much money was saved by the implementation of this decision.

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, the Government decided not to charter an RAF aircraft to deliver medical supplies to Romania on 7th March because British Airways and the Romanian State airline were able to take the available supplies on their flights to Bucharest on 8th and 9th March free of charge. The cost of an RAF aircraft would have been roughly £5,000.

Lord ELTON

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Do I understand that there was a delay of 24 hours before the consignment was sent and that the saving thereby was £5,000? Did the noble Lord say that an RAF plane could have taken off on 7th March and that a civilian plane took off on the 8th?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, there was a difference in the time of the first delivery of 24 hours, but I am advised that that delay was not effectively impactive on the situation in Romania. It was in part in response to a suggestion by the Romanian State airline. In those circumstances, we did not feel that we should reject the joint proposal of British Airways and the Romanian State airline when the delay was only a few hours, one day, and the saving of £5,000 was available to add to the donation we were contemplating making to the Romanian authorities.

Lord ELTON

My Lords, while accepting that the saving could be otherwise used, may I ask the noble Lord to accept that there are occasions when delay is critical? Will he bear that point in mind with every case, as with this case? Does he feel that there is any other way in which Her Majesty's Government can facilitate the recovery of people who, although they live under a political system with which we do not sympathise, deserve our sympathy all the more in their present physical hardship?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, I would instantly agree that there are occasions when a delay of only a few hours may be critical. No doubt the Romanian State airline would also have had that point in mind when they made the proposal to us, with British Airways, that a delay of a few hours was fully justifiable and would not have an effective impact on the operation of the aid. I am glad the noble Lord raised the point in the second part of his supplementary question because it gives me an opportunity to inform the House that, in addition to the governmental and considerable private subscriptions made from this country to the Romanian Government and people, the Export Credits Guarantee Department has decided in principle to make available to the Romanians a special credit line of£10 million on favourable conditions. The Romanians will be able to use this to place orders with British companies to replace equipment damaged during the earthquake.

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, may I ask the Minister to say whether the figure of £5,000 which he mentioned as the cost of the aeroplane included a provision for RAF overheads? If so, is not the real marginal cost of the operation substantially less than£5,000?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

That may or may not be so, my Lords, but I must repeat that this was a consensus decision which involved not only Her Majesty's Government and British Airways but also the Romanian State airline. In that context, I think the House can be assured that no undue delay was caused by this, I think, very sensible adjustment of costs. It adds £5,000 to the totality of what we are able to make available to the Romanian authorities and people, and, as I explained in reply to the noble Lord, Lord Elton, we are following up that extra £5,000 with an extra credit line of £10 million.

Lord GEORGE-BROWN

My Lords, may I put to the Minister in the form of a question what is really an assertion? May I suggest that we should protect the Government—if they need our protection—from any suggestion that they acted improperly in this matter? Those of us who know Communist States do not need to spell out in fine detail the embarrassment and tenderness they feel about having a British military aircraft landing in Romania. We can be certain that in this case it was a Romanian suggestion to which our Government had no choice but to adhere. I feel that in this matter the Opposition are not being altogether fair either to the Secretary of State or to the Government.