§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the sum total of UNESCO expenditure in the United Kingdom(a) during 1991 and (b) since 1985 to date.
§ Mr. GoodladAccording to UNESCO statistics, the total of the organisation's expenditure—to the nearest thousand pounds—in the United Kingdom in 1991 was £4,780,000, and from 1985 to 1991 inclusive was £30,626,000. No figures are available for 1992. They include UNESCO coupons redeemed in the United Kingdom, but not payments to United Kingdom nationals employed by UNESCO.
§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he has taken of the report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, "An Agenda for Peace", in considering when to put forward the United Kingdom's application to rejoin UNESCO.
§ Mr. GoodladWe do not believe there is any direct link between the Secretary-Generals report and our consideration of UNESCO membership. It has, therefore, not figured in our thinking on any resumption of United Kingdom membership.
§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which of the nine objections put forward in the United Kingdom's notice of withdrawal from UNESCO in 1984 by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs are still held by the British Government.
§ Mr. GoodladWe acknowledge progress made by UNESCO towards reform. However, we believe that scope262W remains for further programme concentration—point (i) of the then Secretary of State's letter of 5 December 1984 to the then director-general of UNESCO.
We continue to be concerned at weaknesses in UNESCOs evaluation of programmes—point viii. Much remains to be achieved on decentralisation—point ix.