§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the figures, the sources of the figures and the definition of "poorest" which formed the basis of his statement of 24 October,Official Report, column 680, in respect of the focus of bilateral aid.
§ Mr. BaldryIn 1992–93, £619 million was spent on aid to the poorest countries. This represents 80 per cent. of United Kingdom bilateral aid to developing countries which is allocable by income group.
This information is published in table A2 of "British Aid Statistics 1988–89 to 1992–93", a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.
"The poorest countries" are defined as low income group countries with a GNP per capita in 1991 of below %765.
§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to make a direct comparative assessment of how 1029W well British overseas aid expenditure is spent through (a) the United Kingdom bilateral programme and (b) multilateral agencies.
§ Mr. BaldryWe attach equal importance to the effectiveness of all projects whether in bilateral or multilateral programmes. A sample of projects financed under the bilateral programme are assessed to determine their effectiveness and the lessons are fed back into the design of future projects. Our approach towards improving the effectiveness of multilateral aid is set out in the speech which my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development gave to the Overseas Development Institute on 14 June 1994, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.