§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conveniently available figures in(a) one year terms and (b) percentage terms he has available to him, demonstrating the amounts of money lent by British consulates to British citizens abroad which have not been repaid as promised; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarFigures for the amount of money lent to British nationals in distress abroad, and the amounts repaid, for the years 1975–87 are shown in the table.
Repayment is often made by instalments over a period of months or years and does not necessarily relate to the year when expenditure occurred. Under a new scheme introduced on 1 January 1987 for on-the-spot small advances from public funds, £9,851 was lent in 1987 by British Consulates. Only £3,480 has so far been repaid.
The continuing reduction in the amount of public money lent and the number of persons assisted reflects a general policy of self-help and the application of stricter criteria to British nationals requesting public funds for repatriation or financial assistance. They are required to demonstrate genuine destitution and a lack of other available sources of funds.
495W
Financial assistance for repatriation Year Number of persons assisted1 Expenditure Recoveries Percentage recovered £ £ 1975–76 4,808 458,000 256,034 56 1976–77 2,550 362,811 270,303 75 1977–78 2,178 311,150 233,549 75 1978–79 2,132 261,892 231,630 88 1979–80 1,936 187,176 191,101 102 1980–81 1,696 190,406 198,187 104 1981–82 1,650 202,276 168,882 83 1982–83 1,001 210,276 146,231 70 1983–84 527 92,807 126,504 136 1984–85 468 83,720 92,660 111 1985–86 443 2189,225 126,911 67 1986–87 432 72,662 71,925 99 Totals 19,821 2,622,407 2,113,977 81 1 It is not clear from the records but in some years this figure may include those for whom the FCO acted as a channel for private funds but not repatriation. 2 Including funds for Aden evacuation.