§ 20. Mr. T. Reidasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the total amount of free grants promised or given to Colonies by Britain from January, 194.3, to the end of 1950–51; and of this what amount has been given or promised in the way of food subsidies.
§ Mr. J. GriffithsThe total amount of free grants promised or given during the
- (a) £120,000,000 made available for the period 1st April, 1946 to 31st March, 1956, under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act of 1945.
- (b) £11,957,499 grants-in-aid of administration.
- (c) £34,918,963 for defence and reconstruction in the Far East.
- (d) £13,500,000 for claims waived by His Majesty's Government chiefly in the Far East.
- (e) £2,534,944 for food subsidies.
- (f) £308,119 for other subsidies.
Items (c), (d) and (f) are made up in detail as follows:—
Item (c) £ (i) Malaya (and Singapore)— Defence Expenditure 12,000,000 War Damage Compensation 20,000,000 (ii) North Borneo— Reconstruction 1,600,000 Redemption of Chartered Co.'s Currency 502,296 War Damage Compensation 816,667 Item (d) Claims Waived: (i) Malaya, Hong Kong and Borneo: Military Administration 10,000,000 (ii) North Borneo: Purchase price of Chartered Company 1,400,000 (iii) Fiji: Defence Expenditure 2,000,000 (iv) British Honduras: Huricane Loan (outstanding part of principal converted to grant) 100,418 Item (e) Subsidies other than food: (i) British Guiana: Compensation to sugar growers 117,669 (ii) Trinidad: Subsidies for sugar replanting 190,450 Item (d) Food subsidies, is made up as follows: (i) Malta 1,650,000 (ii) Jamaica 418,415 (iii) Turks and Caicos Islands 79,865 (iv) British Guiana 366,667 (v) Antigua 19,997