§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate what percentage of the overseas development budget is spent in(a) each of the EC nations' currencies and (b) United States dollars; and if he will make a statement on the impact on his Department's budget of the change in the value of the pound sterling in relation to those currencies.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydAbout 0.04 per cent. of the gross external assistance programme is spent in other EC nations' currencies and about 3.6 per cent. in United States dollars. Given that exchange rates move up as well as down during the course of a year, it is not possible to say what impact recent changes in the value of sterling will have.