§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What response they have made to the second report of the Brandt Commission on the gulf between the standards of life of the richer and poorer nations.
§ Lord BelsteadThe Government have welcomed the Brandt Commission's timely and valuable memorandum, and are studying it carefully and seriously. We accept the memorandum's principal message, that we live in an interdependent world, and we share the Commission's concern about the economic difficulties facing developing countries.
Some important steps have already been taken. For example, the recent meeting of the International Monetary Fund's Interim Committee under the chairmanship of the Chancellor of the Exchequer set the seal on an impressive package of measures 1451WA virtually doubling the effective resources available to the fund. They will be of major practical benefit in developing countries.
The United Kingdom is also actively involved in other areas covered by the memorandum. We support the Integrated Programme for Commodities. We share the view of the commission on the importance of resisting protectionism and maintaining the open trading system. We support the proposal for a World Bank Energy Affiliate, provided that it can attract additional funds. We maintain a substantial and effective aid programme. The United Kingdom has traditionally been a stalwart member of the World Bank. We support appropriate new measures to help developing countries in the present recession, such as the World Bank Special Assistance Programme.
The international community will be discussing action in the areas covered by the Brandt Commission's memorandum at a number of meetings during 1983. These include the OECD Ministerial Meeting, the Williamsburg Economic Summit and UNCTAD VI. Britain will approach these meetings in a constructive spirit, with the aim of agreeing practical action wherever possible.