§ Miss Richardsonasked the Minister of Overseas Development what policy she is proposing to adopt to assist the long-term reconstruction of both North and South Vietnam in view of problems facing both parts of the country after 30 years of war.
§ Mrs. HartI am keeping this matter under close review but am not yet in a position to make a statement.
§ Miss Richardsonasked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will give a detailed report on the allocation of funds provided by her for relief aid to Vietnam, in particular the items purchased and despatched to South Vietnam.
§ Mrs. HartOf the £1 million which I announced in the House on 9th April. £250,000 was given to the joint appeal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF for their Indo-China relief programmes which include work in both North and South Vietnam, and £250,000 to the International Red Cross for its work in both places.
£250,000 has been given to the British Disasters Emergency Committee, on which all the major British voluntary societies are represented. That committee has used this money to pay part of the cost of two aid freight consignments of medical supplies, one to Saigon and one to Hanoi. A further £75,000 is committed to the purchase of 500 tons of rice and its consignment to Da Nang. £10,000 was given to the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam towards the dispatch of medical supplies and £1,000 to the Unified Buddist Church through the Fellowship of Reconciliation in support of its work primarily with children.
The remaining £250,000 of the £1 million has not yet been committed and I am considering how best to use it.