§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much of anticipated official overseas aid and development expenditure in each of the next five years will be earmarked for debt relief. [HL3540]
§ Baroness AmosThe UK Government are committed to writing off 100 per cent of the debts owed to them by Heavily Indebted Poor Countries—some £1.7 billion in all—as and when countries become eligible.
There is a high degree of uncertainty over the amount of debt relief which will be reportable to the OECD Development Assistance Committee as official development assistance over the next five years. On the assumption that the Public Service Agreement target published this week by DFID and HM Treasury is realised, and on current assumptions over which countries achieve HIPC eligibility and when they do so, the total benefit from the UK to debtor countries at the moment when debt relief is irrevocable—i.e. at completion point—will be approximately £140 million in 2001–02, £175 million 2002–03 and £300 million in 103WA 2003–04. No assumption has yet been made for the following two years.
The amount of DFID's development expenditure on debt relief for 2001–04 was given in reply to Lord Hylton (Official Report 27 July, col. WA 69).