The Earl of Carlisleasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much aid they have given to (a) Estonia; (b) Latvia; (c) Lithuania; and (d) the Russian Federation since 1991; and whether they have received value for money for such aid. [HL1198]
§ Lord WhittyThe UK Government have provided technical assistance worth £3,210,000 to Estonia, £3,234,000 to Latvia, £4,400,000 to Lithuania and £153,834,000 to the Russian Federation since 1991.
In addition to this, the Military Assistance Fund provides approximately £500,000 a year for the Baltic States. The majority of this is spent supporting the joint Baltic military projects (Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion BALTBAT, Baltic Mine Squadron BALTRON, etc). The remainder covers smaller bilateral activities. Expenditure is roughly equal in each of the three states. The UK Military Training Assistance Scheme (UKMTAS) has spent almost £1 million on the Baltic States since 1995.
Our programmes of assistance have supported priorities identified by the governments concerned, and we have had frequent indications from them that our support has been well targeted and effective. Our contracting procedures ensure that the consultants who implement our projects provide good value for money.