HC Deb 01 March 1988 vol 128 c500W
Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his practice to inquire before committing public money by way of aid to Cyprus what proportion of it will be applied for the benefit of(a) Greek Cypriots and (b) Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. Chris Patten

When allocating aid funds for specific purposes for Cyprus we now check whether the intended beneficiaries are from the Greek or Turkish communities.

Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether aid given to Cyprus by Her Majesty's Government in the last three financial years has been applied predominantly for the benefit of Greek Cypriots.

Mr. Chris Patten

Both communities have benefited, but the larger share has gone to the Greek Cypriot community.

Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the £222,000 proposed to be allocated to Cyprus by way of bilateral aid in 1987–88 will be applied for the benefit of Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. Chris Patten

The exact proportion will not be known until the 1987–88 accounts close later this year, but it is provisionally estimated that 42 per cent. of aid funds for Cyprus will benefit Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to paragraph 9 of Cm. 232, what he regards as an appropriate proportion of aid for training Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. Chris Patten

Our general view is that the proportion of aid for training Turkish Cypriots should be rather less than half the total, bearing in mind the ratio of Greek to Turkish Cypriots. But this will vary from year to year, depending on the quality of the candidates coming forward and on other factors.