HC Deb 23 July 1996 vol 282 cc184-5W
Ms Roseanna Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what(a) tenurial, (b) land ownership, (c) land use and (d) land management conditions he has attached to foreign aid packages since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [38192]

Mr. Hanley

Where issues of rights and occupancy access to land are important, these are one of several key criteria we take into account when planning and implementing aid projects in both rural and urban areas. The conditions that ODA attaches to such projects vary depending on the nature of the project and the needs of the recipient country.

Ms Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much financial assistance has been given to foreign aid projects to assist with (a)alterations to rural land use, (b)alterations to rural land ownership patterns and (c)land management projects since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [38190]

Mr. Hanley

ODA does not maintain data covering expenditure on land issues in the form requested. It would therefore not be possible to provide a detailed answer without disproportionate cost. However, in the years 1989–90 to 1994–95, ODA support in the general area of land development/reclamation amounted to over £20 million; over £43 million was spent on rural development in the same period. A wide range of developing countries have benefited from such assistance, particularly the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia.