HC Deb 03 June 1980 vol 985 c644W
Mr. Archie Hamilton

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the amount spent by the United Kingdom on official development assistance in 1978–79; and what proportion of the gross national product this amount represented.

Mr. Neil Marten

Net flows of official development assistance (oda) and their proportion of the gross national product in 1978 and 1979 were as follows:

1978
Official Development Assistance (£ million) 759
Ratio oda/GNP 0.47%
1979
Official Development Assistance (£ million) 974
Ratio oda/GNP 0.52%

These figures are net of capital repayments to the United Kingdom in respect of past aid loans. They have been compiled according to the development assistance committee's new basis of assessment which requires the inclusion of promissory notes deposited in respect of certain multilateral agencies instead of the cash drawn down by those agencies.