§ 21. Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the level of public and private sector resource transfers from the UK to del, eloping countries in the last financial year, expressed as percentage of GNP. [152229]
§ Clare ShortFigures on levels of public and private sector transfers to developing countries as a percentage of GNP are collated in calendar years and the latest data available are for 1999. In that year, public sector transfers represented 0.23 per cent. of GNP. This figure shows a drop from recent years, caused by some one-off anomalies in the timing of commitments and expenditure. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) on 3 May 2000,Official Report, column 127W, which further details the reasons for this anomalous drop. The level of private sector transfers as a percentage of GNP in 1999 was 0.46 per cent.