asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will make a statement on the extent to which the Crown Agents have been able to mitigate their investment losses and on what steps have been taken to prevent a repetition of the loss situation disclosed recently.

The new Board of Crown Agents is following policies agreed with me, following my statement last July, which will result in an orderly withdrawal from investment in the property and secondary banking sectors which gave rise to the need for Government support. I am confident that it is generally managing its investments in such a way as to minimise the risk of losses in future operations.