HL Deb 22 November 1979 vol 403 cc279-81

3.10 p.m.

Lord HATCH of LUSBY

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

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to organise development education after the Advisory Committee on Development Education is abolished.

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, the Government have no such plans, because they do not believe that it is for them to organise development education. It was never the function of the Advisory Committee on Development Education to do so. As the noble Lord knows, that committee advised the Minister for Overseas Development on grants from public funds to educational bodies, voluntary organisations and others working in this field. The Government believe that initiatives in development education should be left to such bodies.

Lord HATCH of LUSBY

My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord the Minister whether he is saying that it is not simply a question of economy, but that this Government are, in principle, opposed to Government support for development education in this country? If that is what he is saying, may I draw his attention to the letter that has been written from 15 major voluntary and church organizations, in which it is alleged that the withdrawal of Government money from development education will destroy many of the voluntary projects which have already been started?

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, the Government do not oppose the concept of development education. The point at issue is whether we should support it with public funds. Our aid budget being under extreme pressure, as it is, we had to take a number of decisions about economies. One of them was that expenditure of £9 million, no less, which was proposed by the previous Administration in this connection, was out of line with what we could afford and we therefore decided drastically to prune that programme. The purpose of the advisory committee was to decide what to do with those funds, and clearly once we had withdrawn the bulk of the funds the purpose of the committee disappeared also.

Lord HATCH of LUSBY

But with respect, my Lords, the noble Lord the Minister has not answered my question. I am asking specifically: Is this a matter of immediate economy, which we can all understand—whether we agree with it or not—or is it a matter of principle that this Government do not believe in putting Government money along with money raised by voluntary organisations for the purpose of development education in this country?

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, I do not believe that the Government's decision will stop development education. Voluntary groups, churches, and other organisations and individuals have shown their concern and initiative in this field for many years, before Government grants were available. I hope that they will continue to do so.