TNAG-0429-FCO40-494-Programme-Analysis-and-Review-(PAR)-Future-of-Dependent-Terr-1974 — Page 96

ENTIAL

policy should be directed towards achieving economic

independence at tolerable standards of living which

a territory can sustain.

There may however be territories

in which we felt it would be justifiable to raise stan-

dards higher than they can sustain unaided; this would

usually mean prolonging their dependence on development

aid and perhaps eyen budgetary aid. The country

of individual territorier

studies, which the Report recommends, would identify

these cases. The Treasury, we know, have doubts about

the desirability of a substantial increase in aid to the

dependencies, given the other pressures on the aid

programme. We recognize this competition for resources,

but the aid programme is growing, and it would take

time before new aid policies for particular territories

were translated into additional disbursements.

We do

not think it would be impossible on present plans to

ind the money to finance such cases where they are

hown on balance to be desirable.

CONCLUSION

HMG's policy towards the few and small remaining

dependencies should be determined by political rather

than financial considerations. We invite our

colleagues to agree with the political conclusions set

out in paragraph 2 above, and to endorse the

recommendations in paragraph 10.10 of the Review for

further studies of individual territories, as a basis

for eventual policy decision both on the future of each

political development and on the economic aid policy

appropriate to each.

CONFIDENTIAL

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