§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs what cases are known to him where British subjects are being prevented by the operation of exchange control regulations from repatriating their assets from countries in receipt of British aid.
§ Miss Joan LestorUnited Kingdom citizens frequently seek advice from both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our posts overseas about the repatriation of their assets from countries in receipt of British aid. There is, however, no central record where all such inquiries are collated. It is thus not possible to give a comprehensive reply to the hon. Member's Question, but if he has any specific case in mind perhaps he will write to me about it.
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§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing, in the case of each of the countries currently receiving British aid, where claims in respect of nationalisation and expropriation affecting the property of British subjects remain outstanding, what sums are involved, when the claims first arose, and how much British aid has been made available to the country concerned since that time.
§ Miss Joan LestorThe following is a list of countries currently receiving British aid where claims in respect of nationalisation and expropriation affecting the property of British subjects remain outstanding, showing the year from which the various measures date and the total of British aid made available since that time. In the case of Brazil, which appeared in the list my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave in his reply on 23rd May 1974—[Vol. 874, c. 249]—I understand that negotiations are proceeding satisfactorily and it is expected that agreement will shortly be reached.
Year £ million Algeria 1962 0.475 Bangladesh 1972 2.668 Burma 1963 2.057 Congo 1970 0.003 Costa Rica 1972 0.165 El Salvador 1963 0.867 Ghana 1973 1.803* India 1967 286.007 Indonesia 1962 27.620 Malawi 1966 56.435 Pakistan 1973 4.390* Peru 1971 0.610 Somalia 1970 0.549 Sri Lanka 1972 2.092 Tanzania 1967 10.972 Uganda 1972 2.161 Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen 1967 1.665 Zaire 1973 0.106* Zambia 1969 11.074 * 1973 totals Insufficient information is available to enable the total of outstanding claims to be calculated since for the most part negotiations are being conducted by the claimants themselves. I am not in a position to make public details of individual claims which are known to us.