§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress being made in transferring British and multilateral development funds to the Palestinian national authority while securing the proper
30Waccountability for the appropriate expenditure of those funds.
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 19 January 1995]: British bilateral aid to the Palestinians in the current financial year is expected to amount to £6.5 million. Some £3.5 million comprises bilateral know-how projects and support for projects managed by British non-governmental organisations. These are subject to our normal monitoring and accounting procedures. The remaining £3 million was a contribution towards the net salaries of the Palestinian civilian police. The payment mechanism used, which included monitoring and audit of disbursements by the Crown Agents, ensured full accountability for our funds.
In addition, we contribute to multilateral programmes including those of the World bank, the European Community and United Nations agencies. These funds are subject to the accountability requirements of the institutions concerned. Full details of multilateral assistance to the Palestinian authority are not available. The World bank estimates that since the Israeli-Palestinian declaration of principles in September 1993 it has disbursed $61 million from funds under its management. The European Community expects to have disbursed some 56 million ecu—£44 million—by the end of February.