HC Deb 21 November 1995 vol 267 c89W
Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the general agreement on tariffs and trade on overseas aid to(a) sub-Saharan Africa, (b) Latin America and the Caribbean, (c) south and central Asia, (d) middle east and north Africa, (e) other Asia and Oceania and (f) eastern Europe. [1541]

Mr. Hanley

There is no direct linkage between trade liberalisation and the volume of overseas aid. However, many developing countries have taken advantage of successive general agreements on tariffs and trade to achieve export-led growth and so have reduced their need for aid.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of a shift from bilateral aid to multilateral aid on nations which receive overseas aid from the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [1549]

Mr. Hanley

As the share of multilateral aid, particularly that through the EC, rises it is all the more important to work to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of multilateral aid; to focus bilateral aid on activities where the United Kingdom has a comparative advantage; and to pursue the greatest possible complementarity between both forms of aid. Action is in hand on all these points.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to change the level of expenditure on overseas aid and development. [1545]

Mr. Hanley

We shall maintain an effective and substantial programme focused on the poorest countries. Future levels of aid will be announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on 28 November.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has had from business interests with regard to distribution of the overseas aid programme. [1539]

Mr. Hanley

None. But my noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development has regular discussions with the business community about the aid programme with the twin aims of explaining developments in aid policy, and exploring with them how expenditure through the aid programme can, as a secondary objective, lead to future United Kingdom commercial relations. The question of the distribution of the aid programme is one topic occasionally referred to.