11. The British aid programme

The Aid Budget

The amount available for spending annually on aid comprises two elements: the net aid programme provided for in the Public Expenditure Survey; and the repayments of past aid loans which can be recycled as new aid. For the current financial year 1986/87, the former is £1187 million, compared to £1130 million in 1985/86 and is at present planned to increase to £1270 million in 1988/89. On the basis of present forecasts of British inflation, the real value of the aid budget should be more than maintained in real terms at its 1985/86 level. Repayments of past aid loans amount to some £70 million annually.