§ Lord BROCKWAYMy 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 what proportion of the aid to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries authorised by the 1975 Lomé Convention has been distributed by the EEC.
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEMy Lords, up to 1st August 1978 some £260 million out of £2,000 million was spent; that is about 13 per cent.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, in view of our hopes for the Lomé Convention, is not this a very disappointing result? Could the Minister tell us the reason why less than one-fifth of the 2 allotted amount has been distributed to the relevant countries? Would she agree with Mr. Cheysson, the Commissioner for Development at the EEC, that this is due to cumbersome structure, and, if so, will Her Majesty's Government seek to put it right?
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEMy Lords, it is certainly disappointing: Her Majesty's Government are disappointed and do not disguise that fact. I read in the Observer the article to which I am sure my noble friend is referring. We are glad that Commissioner Cheysson has himself drawn attention to this fact, but he did say that, as well as delays occurring sometimes in the machinery in Brussels, there are also delays in the ACP countries themselves, probably due to unfamiliarity with the new Lomé techniques. I should also like to point out that in fact the Lomé Convention has only been in operation since 1976, so the position is not quite as bad as it looks. But Her Majesty's Government are pursuing this and doing everything we can to iron out the difficulties.
§ Lord BROCKWAYYes, my Lords; but is not the Convention expiring at the end of this year? In view of the fact that less is being received now by the developing countries than before the Convention, will Her Majesty's Government seek to put this right?
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEMy Lords, we have had an extremely helpful conference on extending the Convention. We are in the middle of these negotiations and they are proceeding satisfactorily. As for the second part of my noble friend's Question, I have not got the figures, though I saw the figures in the Observer article. I am in touch with the Commission and I will let him know. I rather doubt whether it is as high as was stated in the newspaper.
§ Lord O'HAGANMy Lords, the noble Baroness has said that this situation is disappointing. Could she say, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, what she and her colleagues are doing to improve things so that in the renegotiated Convention what has been found to be wanting can be put right, and thus the situation can be remedied?
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEYes, my Lords; we are in constant contact with our fellow member States. We are trying to get greater cooperation between the Commission and the countries in question. As the noble Lord will know, the Commission delegates are now in every ACP country and they are doing yeoman service, but we must still continue to improve. The more people become familiar with it, the more British firms, for instance, become aware of the possibilities open to them, and the more the ACP countries themselves are familiar with the techniques, the more, I am quite sure, it will improve.
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARY-LEBONEMy Lords, in order to maintain confidence in the whole scheme, is it not important that this money should be effectively spent and properly administered? Is not that in the interests of the recipient countries as well?
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEYes, indeed, my Lords; that is the primary concern of Her Majesty's Government.
§ Lord SEGALMy Lords, could my noble friend break down this meagre amount of £260 million into how much has been spent on African, Caribbean and Pacific aid respectively?
§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOEMy Lords, I regret I could not do that without notice. What I think we can detect is that because the Francophone countries were used to the Yaoundé Conventions they were used to the procedures and were therefore off the mark quicker. We very much hope that the ACP countries will equal that soon.