§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the items in the aid budget which have been reduced in order to increase the amount of aid given to Ethiopia.
§ Mr. RaisonThe measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 24 October will be met from the aid programme's contingency reserve which exists to deal with just such situations. Existing commitments will not be affected.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the level of the contingency fund within the aid budget at the beginning of the financial year and at present.
§ Mr. RaisonIt is not the practice to reveal the contingency element within the aid budget, for reasons indicated in the reply to the first report from the Foreign Affairs Committee (1983–84)—Cmnd. 9367, page 8.