HKG
02512
t
27 MAR 1981
TRY
(32)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
nb
ее
25 March 1981
Nigel Forman Esq MP
House of Commons
LONDON SW1
Dear the Forman,
Thank you for your letter of 19 March. I am now able to provide the additional information which you requested for background purposes when giving your talk to the Focus Group. I attach notes on the following:
a)
amounts of aid given to Dependent Territories;
b)
Diego Garcia (BIOT);
c)
two Commonwealth Secretariat papers on the problems of the small member states.
The term 'micro states' does not have any acquired definition for UN purposes but I attach a list denoting the percentage of, the UN budget paid by each UN member. The minimum contribution is 0.01% but the UN Secretariat does not disclose the formula which determines the scale
of contribution.
The latest figures available for the aid programme are those of 1979. It is not therefore yet possible to see the effects of the cutbacks in the aid programme either for Dependent Territories or more widely.
It is not the Government's practice to publish figures for planned aid; however, we can be sure that the reasonable needs of the Dependent Territories will continue to have a first claim on the resources available under the aid programme.
You will appreciate from the information in the enclosed notes, that it i very difficult to give a rounded-up total figure for aid to the Dependent Territories since the various programmes span different periods.
The defense costs for Gibraltar and Hong Kong are in the attached notes. I hope to be able to telephone you tomorrow with the figures for the Falkland Islands and Belize.
Youm ered
Chichte More.
P Morrice
Hong Kong & General Department