Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

HC Deb 26 March 2002 vol 382 c855W

Ms Drown

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the pledged UK contribution to the HIPC Trust Fund has been paid. [45187]

Clare Short

I have been asked to reply. The UK's pledge to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative Trust Fund is US$221 million; in addition, our share of the EC contribution is a further US$85 million. So far, we have paid half of our contribution (US$110 million) into the Trust Fund to help the Regional Development Banks meet their share of HIPC costs. The UK contribution is paid on an as-needed basis, on request by the International Development Association (IDA), which is administering the Fund. As more countries complete the HIPC process in the coming year, we would expect to see further disbursement of our funds.