asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the criteria used in deciding whether or not to provide financial or other assistance to Third World countries from the Disaster Relief Fund; the amounts allocated in 1988 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Disaster Relief Fund.
16.
The Disaster Relief Fund was established in 1976 to enable the Government to provide assistance quickly and flexibly to the victims of emergency situations, whether natural or man-made. In deciding whether or not to provide assistance from the fund the Government takes account of the scale of the disaster, the numbers of people affected and the extent to which they are affected, the relative poverty of the country concerned, and whether an appeal has been received by the Government for assistance.
A total of £800,000 has been allocated by the Government to date in 1988 to disaster relief in third world countries, of which £515,000 was provided for assistance to the victims of flooding in Sudan, £175,000 for relief to flood victims in Bangladesh, £70,000 in support of the United Nations co-ordinated relief programme for Afghanistan and £40,000 for assistance to the victims of conflict in Mozambique.
The Government has also just allocated £100,000 for assistance to the victims of the Armenian earthquake.