To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy not to allocate aid and assistance to countries which operate space programmes. (233098)

The Department for International Development's (DFID) policy on providing aid is set out in the UK Government's 2006 White Paper. This is available online:

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/wp2006/default.asp

DFID concentrates its development assistance on countries with the largest numbers of poor people and on fragile states. When then deciding whether to use aid to support a country's Government, DFID undertakes a detailed assessment of that Government's commitment to: reducing poverty; upholding human rights; and improving public financial management.

When assessing a Government's commitment to reducing poverty the composition of their public expenditure programme is viewed as a whole. It would not be appropriate to make that assessment based solely on whether they include or exclude specific expenditures.