§ Mr. Dennis TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the departmental minute that the Overseas Development Administration laid before the House on 3 April 1997. [134]
§ Clare ShortThe Departmental Minute reported that the Department had entered into a contingent liability arising from a tax indemnity given to the commercial banks which are financing the Jiangyin Suspension Bridge Project in China. The estimated maximum liability is US$9,740,290 (approximately £6,087,680).
The Minute was placed in the Libraries of both Houses and copies were sent, under cover of explanatory letters, to the Chairman of the Public Accounts and Foreign Affairs Committees.