§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the changes in the administrative arrangements to be made in the aid and trade provision in respect of expenditure in current Estimates; what changes he expects to be made in respect of the disbursement of these funds; what are the criteria for accepting any application on the basis of its developmental desirability; and in what form these criteria are publicly available.
§ Mr. RaisonSteps have been taken to streamline interdepartmental scrutiny of aid and trade provision proposals.
Consideration of a proposed new soft loan mechanism, including discussions with the financial community, is almost complete. Criteria for the use of aid and trade provision in support of particular projects are the same as those applicable to other aid-funded activities. This is set out in the "Guidance rules for British exporters applying for support from the Aid and Trade Provision", which will shortly be revised, and placed in the Library of the House.