§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much British aid was spent in the least developed countries in(a) 1992 and (b) 1993; how much this was as a proportion of gross national product; and by how much British official development assistance to the least developed countries would have needed to increase in cash terms in those years in order to meet the level recommended by the 1990 United Nations programme of action for the least developed countries.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydFigures for official development assistance for 1993 are not yet available. In 1992, the United Kingdom gave £610.7 million to the least developed countries. This amounted to 0.10 per cent. of gross national product. To meet the 1990 United Nations programme of action for the least developed countries target, an increase of £278 million would have been needed. It should be noted however that the United Nations' category of least developed countries excludes states such as India and Pakistan, which are as poor as many least developed countries and are major recipients of United Kingdom aid.