§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set up a departmental review of the criteria used in making decisions about funding of projects under the aid and trade provision.
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 23 November 1994]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Sir M. Lennox-Boyd) gave on 21 March 1994, Official Report, column24, to the hon. Member for Cyon Valley (Mrs Clwyd). As a result of the ATP review the decision-making processes for aid and trade provision projects have been brought into line with those applied for other bilateral aid projects.
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told the House on 17 November, the Overseas Development Administration is reviewing carefully all the projects and activities it funds, including those under the aid and trade provision, to see whether there are any others approved under our previous understanding of the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act 1980 which might also fall outside the interpretation of the Act given by the High Court recently. The Government have no plans for a further review of the criteria for decisions about funding of projects under the aid and trade provision.