COLOMBO PLAN TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION SCHEME (EXPENDITURE)

HC Deb 25 November 1953 vol 521 cc62-4W

126. Mr. Sorensen

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the £8 million allocated under the Colombo Plan Technical Co-operation Scheme has been used; and what are the causes of the slow employment of those funds.

Mr. Maudling

On 30th June, 1953, £894,000 had been spent and a further sum of £1,606,000 had been committed to specific projects. The rate of expenditure was slow initially because of the time naturally taken by the Governments of South and South-East Asian countries in the formulation of requests for technical assistance to fit in with their own development plans.

Requests are now coming in at an increasing rate and the latest figures show that the Scheme is well under way. In relation to the extended period of the Scheme the present rate of spending is not unsatisfactory.