HC Deb 07 December 1964 vol 703 cc147-9W
Mr. R. Carr

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will publish a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT listing the independent Commonwealth countries and British dependencies in receipt of aid from the British Government, the amount of aid disbursed to each of them in 1963–64, and the amount per head of the population of each country represented by these amounts.

Mrs. Castle

The following table shows the estimated amounts of bilateral economic aid disbursed by the British Government to independent and dependent Commonwealth countries during the financial year 1963£64, and the figure per head of the population of each country represented by these amounts.

The table covers 85 per cent. of all grants and 95 per cent. of all loans made for the benefit of these countries. The remaining 15 per cent. of grants and 5 per cent. of loans were for services covering a number of countries collectively and cannot therefore be attributed to individual countries.

The figures for loans are shown gross of capital repayments, though these are not at present large. The figures for grants take account of certain refunds. The only significant effect is on the figure of grants to Nigeria which amounted to £842,000, the figure being reduced by recoveries of expenditure during 1963–64 in respect of certain expatriate officers, and of grants made earlier under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts. These together amounted to £554,000.

The figures shown do not of course give any weighting to such factors as the financial and economic circumstances of the recipient country, the nature of the aid and its role in the economy, and the rate of disbursement in relation to commitments.

FINANCIAL YEAR 1963–64
Independent Commonwealth Countries Net Grants* Loans Total Net Grants and Loans per Hand of the population
£'000 £'000 £
EUROPE
Cyprus 1,601 196 3.1
Malta 3,078 3,200 19.1
AFRICA West Africa
Ghana 190 737 0.1
Nigeria 288 1,162 0.03
Sierra Leone 589 2,060 1.2
East Africa
Kenya 8,146 7,147 1.7
Tanzania 4,372 3,021 0.7
Uganda 3,041 2,458 0.8
Central Africa
Malawi 6,812 2,072 2.2
Zambia 826 3,452 1.2
AMERICA (Central)
Jamaica 349 540 5.3
Trinidad and Tobago 1,024 931 2.1
ASIA
Ceylon 134 550 0.1
India 565 26,039 0.1
Pakistan 837 8,212 0.1
Maldive Islands 51 0.5
Malaya 214 275 0.1
Sabah 639 1.3
Sarawak 552 200 0.9
Singapore 237 0.1
* Including technical assistance in so far as it can be evaluated, but excluding expenditure on educational and training activities by the British Council.

FINANCIAL YEAR 1963–64
Dependent Commonwealth Countries Net Grants* Loans Total Net Grants and Loans per Head of the Population
EUROPE AND MIDDLE EAST £'000 £'000 £
Gibraltar 11 0.5
Aden 5,257 51 4.4
AFRICA West Africa
Gambia 1,351 33 4.4
Other African Area
Basutoland 1,860 40 2.6
Bechuanaland 2,129 4.2
Swaziland 1,243 331 5—6
Southern Rhodesia 21 3,855 1.0
Mauritius 591 954 2.1
St. Helena and Ascension 181 36—2
Seychelles 258 5—7
Tristan da Cunha 7 23.3
AMERICA (Central and Southern)
Antigua 184 6 3.3
Bahamas 6 489 4.1
Barbados 94 0.4
Cayman Islands 23 2.6
Dominica 578 5 9.3
Falkland Islands 13 6.5
Grenada 434 86 5.7
Honduras (British) 1,028 30 10.6
Guiana (British) 773 813 2.6
Montserrat 246 18.9
St. Kitts-Nevis 244 1 4.0
St. Lucia 450 4.7
St. Vincent 414 18 5.1
Turks and Caicos Islands 140 23.3
Virgin Islands (British) 186 23.3
ASIA
Brunei 1 0.01
Hong Kong 130 200 0.1
OCEANIA
Fiji 1,475 3.4
Gilbert and Ellice Islands 105 2.1
New Hebrides 129 2.0
Solomon Islands (British) 911 6.9
* Including technical assistance in so far as it can be evaluated, but excluding expenditure on educational and training activities by the British Council.