§ Miss LestorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what(a) proportion and (b) value in pounds sterling of the overseas aid budget has been tied to the purchase of British goods or services in each year since 1979–80. [5120]
§ Mr. HanleyThe information is as follows:
Year Bilateral tied aid (£ million) Percentage of total bilateral aid 1979 525 77 1980 489 70 1981 563 67 1982 471 70 1983 460 66 1984 477 61 1985 523 63 1986 598 71 1987 529 69 1988 692 69 1989 787 71 1990 740 71 1991 933 73 1992 650 67 1993 703 65 1994 557 54
- 1. Tying status data is only available for the United Kingdom's bilateral aid programme. No reliable data are available for the tying status of technical cooperation so all of this aid is reported to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD as being tied and is included in the above figures.
- 2. The DAC definition of tied aid means that procurement is restricted to a specified number of countries. Data on aid specifically tied to the procurement of British goods and services are unavailable.
- 3. In addition, aid is given to multilateral agencies who also procure British goods and services.