Oral Answers to Questions — Overseas Development – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 November 1969.
asked the Minister of Overseas Development what was the total value of United Kingdom overseas aid, both official and private, in the past five fears together; and if she will estimate how many new jobs this created.
Net official aid and private flows of resources in the years 1964 and 1968 together totalled £1, 667 million. I cannot estimate how many new jobs have been created in recipient countries as a result.
In view of the importance of the aid programme in creating new jobs, is it not time the Government made an investigation into its success in doing this?
I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the essential need to concentrate our aid to a considerable extent on creating employment, because of the great difficulty that as one has rural development one often creates rural unemployment. But many other factors affect this, and it is not possible to find a precise relationship between our aid and the number of jobs created. If other factors were not involved, I would be very happy to do the investigation that the hon. Gentleman would like.