§ Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Minister of Overseas Development what estimate her Department has made of the benefits in trade terms that flow to the United Kingdom from United Kingdom contributions to, first, multilateral aid and, second, bilateral aid.
§ Mrs. Judith HartAid given through multilateral organisations is not tied, and in 1976 amounted to £141 million or 27 per cent. of gross British aid. But our membership of these organisations makes British firms eligible to compete for procurement from such funds, and we estimate that orders they are now winning are broadly equivalent in value to our contributions. In 1976 some 67 per cent. of British bilateral aid was effectively tied to the procurement of British goods and services. Our total bilateral aid amounted to £381 million.