HC Deb 18 October 1971 vol 823 c54W
Mr. Douglas-Mann

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why special defence aid for Malaysia and Singapore is listed under the heading of Overseas Aid and not Defence in public expenditure estimates.

Mr. Wood

Special aid is provided for both economic development and defence purposes and it has been convenient to include the total in one heading when the division was not known in advance. The defence element has been carried on Foreign and Commonwealth Office Votes, and is not counted as part of the aid programme or as an aid flow for U.N.C.T.A.D. purposes. To avoid any risk of confusion, the defence element will in future not be included under the Overseas Aid heading.