§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for development in St. Helena.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)My Lords, our assistance to St. Helena this year will total about £9.5 million of which almost £4 million will go on development projects. Over the next few years the emphasis will be on natural resources and improving the infrastructure.
Lord InglewoodMy Lords, can the noble Baroness tell me whether any fraction of this sum of money has gone towards supporting the ship which calls frequently at the island? Can the noble Baroness say generally that communications must be very important to us, both surface and air? Would she also bear in mind that there may not be a large number of people on this island but they are very loyal, and I should like to think that they are given a fair share of what is available? It is not the same as giving to many of those to whom we heavily subscribe and who have little feeling for us at all.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I hope that I can assure my noble friend on the points that he raises. Yes, some money does go towards the ship, the RMS "St. Helena", and we have been considering the options for maintaining a shipping service to the island. In the light of the report by consultants, we concluded that a detailed appraisal should be carried out for a replacement vessel of similar size to RMS "St. Helena".
§ Lord ShackletonMy Lords, is the noble Baroness—
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, regarding the airfield, proposals are currently being examined. On the question of the support which is given to St. Helena, with the exception of the Falkland Islands, St. Helena receives twice as much aid per head as any other dependency.
§ Lord ShackletonMy Lords, perhaps I may apologise to the noble Baroness for interrupting her—I am still suffering from jet lag. Is the noble Baroness aware—she is, I take it—that the 5,000 inhabitants are literally trapped within the island? It is difficult for them to go to any other country. Would she facilitate, 206 if possible, the inquiries that I believe are going on about the possibility of the development of an airfield, which it is hoped would not be as expensive as the one in the Falklands?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I can understand the enthusiasm of the noble Lord, Lord Shackleton, for asking a supplementary question. I am of course aware of the point that he raises about communications. As I indicated to my noble friend Lord Inglewood, the feasibility of constructing an airstrip for emergency use has been under review, but I must tell him that the indications are that the cost, even for a limited use facility, would be very considerable.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, is my noble friend saying that the intention is only to consider an airfield for emergency use? Surely in the modern world if a community is to survive it must have a regular means of access by air.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, there is the possibility of consideration of an airfield for emergency use, and the cost of an airfield which is described as a low-cost airfield. But we are of course considering the whole question, as I have already indicated, of the replacement of RMS "St. Helena".
§ Lord HarvingtonMy Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether, concerning the sum of money that she has announced will be spent on St. Helena, she will go a little further and say if some of that money will be spent on what seems to me, as one who knows the island, to be of the utmost importance; namely, that there should be a suitable quay for unloading vessels? She did not touch upon that. Can she enlarge upon that aspect?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, at the present time we are financing a new power station at the cost of £1.5 million; a new secondary school at the cost of some £3.5 million; another £1.5 million is being allocated to fisheries; over £1 million to irrigation; and three quarters of a million pounds to forestry. I have not, I think, any specific information about the quay but I shall write to my noble friend on that point.
§ Lord GlenamaraMy Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that another method of helping St. Helena would be to develop the island of Ascension for tourist purposes? Ascension is the nearest neighbour to St. Helena. It has a delightful climate and many attractions for ornithologists and others, including a golf course; but it has no indigenous population. All the workforce for Cable and Wireless and the other users come from the island of St. Helena. If this island could be developed for tourism it would help the island of St. Helena considerably.
§ Baroness YoungYes, my Lords, I note what the noble Lord says, and thank him.
§ Lord McNairMy Lords, can the noble Baroness assure us that in principle the Government will be as generous to the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island, who are no less loyal than the St. Helenans?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I hope that there is no doubt that the Government are fair to all these people.