§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the amount of support from public funds to the Falkland Islanders in each of the last 10 years. [175206]
§ Mr. RammellThe Falkland Islands are now economically self-sufficient in all areas, except defence. The economy of the Falkland Islands has grown rapidly since 1982 and the Falkland Hands Government continue to look to ensure that the economy remains diverse and sustainable for the future.
The Ministry of Defence retains responsibility for defence of the Falkland Islands while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) offers some programme assistance towards small-scale projects. Examples of FCO funding towards such projects for the Financial Year 2003–04 were £64,800 towards good governance, £45,000 to assist with economic diversification projects and £48,000 towards environmental projects.
Given that many Government Departments have provided financial support to the Falkland Islands over the past 10 years, to provide the in formation requested would incur disproportionate cost.