§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the destination of the donation of biscuits from the strategic food stockpile; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SoamesDuring the past three years more than 30,000 tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been donated from the strategic food stockpile administered by my Department. The biscuits were subject to stringent quality testing prior to release for donation. They were donated to some 20 United Kingdom-based charities to help the starving and homeless victims of serious disasters in more than a dozen countries in Africa and eastern Europe, particularly to help relieve the plight of the civilian population in the former Yugoslavia.
The final 5,000 tonnes of biscuits will be donated to the United Nations World Food Programme through the Overseas Development Administration over the coming months. This is a step towards the liquidation of the strategic food stockpile by March 1996.
The biscuits would provide sufficient food for over 250,000 people for a year. To provide similar aid at today's prices would cost in excess of £20 million and represents a significant contribution to the United Kingdom's response to disaster relief.