§ Mr. Brocklebank-Fowlerasked the Lord Privy Seal on what dates between May 1979 and the present he has announced reductions in the aid budget below previously announced levels of disbursement; and what was the amount of the reduction on each occasion.
§ Mr. Neil MartenOn 12 June 1979 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced, as part of wider public expenditure reductions, that the overseas aid programme for 1979–80 would be reduced by £50 million.
This reduction was reflected in the March 1980 public expenditure White Paper—Cmnd. 7841—which also set out plans for the succeeding years, as follows:
£ million in (constant) 1979 Survey prices 1979–80 794 1980–81 779 1981–82 730 1982–83 680 1983–84 60 The differences between these figures and the plans of the last Government for the period up to 1982–83 are shown in table 5.8 of Cmnd. 7841. These plans were unrealistic in the light of our general economic circumstances.
On 24 November 1980 the Chancellor announced a 2 per cent. cut for 1981–82 on the plans—that is Cmnd. 7841—for that year in most cash-limited programmes, including aid.
This reduction was reflected in the March 1981 public expenditure White Paper—Cmnd. 8175—which also applied the reduction to previous plans for 1982–83 and 1983–84.
As part of the general reductions announced by the Chancellor on 2 December 1981, the Minister for Overseas Development told Parliament on 14 December 1981—[Vol. 15, c. 181—that the net aid programme for 1982–83 would be £950 million in cash. This is a reduction of just under £20 million below the previously planned figure for the year plus a further reduction of £6 million to compensate for an overspend of the same amount in 1980–81.