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Mr. Tom Clarke (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): I welcome my right hon. Friend's comments about international development and I recognise that he is the first Chancellor in history to commit himself to a date on which the United Nations target will be achieved. Will he use his undoubted moral authority to appeal to British business and commerce to respond to a policy of fair trade so that the objectives that he wants to achieve are seen to be widely shared?

Mr. Brown: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, who has taken a great interest in those matters over the years and been active in work in Africa and other parts of the world in promoting development. We are one of half a dozen countries that have recently said that they are setting a date for achieving the objective of 0.7 per cent. That is part of a wave of opinion that, in 2005, will insist that the developed world does more for the developing world. That is why we have set up the Africa Commission, proposed the international finance facility, and increased aid so substantially in the last few years and as a result of our decisions today.

As far as business is concerned, I will meet many international businesses in the next few days to try to persuade them that they should also be involved in the development process, particularly in relation to our Africa Commission. As my right hon. Friend has suggested, I will tell them that they too must play a part in unlocking the trade talks that are now stalled. It is necessary that large companies take a far bigger interest in the development of the continents that we are talking about. I see a greater interest than there was a few years ago, and it is now time for us in Britain to bring together business, exactly as the United Nations has done in the business round table.
 
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Mr. Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con): The Chancellor promised a gross reduction of 80,000 posts in the civil service over coming years. Can he tell us what the net reduction, or increase, will be over that period, and how many posts will simply be outsourced? Of the 88,000 extra posts that he created in education last year, how many does he now propose to abolish?

Mr. Brown: First, the figures that I announced were 84,000—

Mr. Lilley: Gross.

Mr. Brown: The figures were 84,000 for the UK Administration and 20,000 for the devolved Administrations. I announced in the Budget—[Hon. Members: "Net."] Hon. Gentlemen do not want an answer; they want to provoke the House into not having a proper debate on these issues. I am going through the figures for the benefit of the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr. Lilley), who was, after all, the shadow Chancellor some years ago.

We announced in the Budget that as far as the Department for Work and Pensions was concerned, there would be a gross reduction of 40,000 and a net reduction of 30,000. I believe that the figures are 84,000 and 69,000 or 70,000, and on top of that, 20,000 from the devolved administrations and local government. Of course, we are relocating 20,000 jobs in total. That is why the administrative costs of the Government will fall to 3.7 per cent. I should have thought that the Conservative party—which has brought forward not one proposal about how to make those changes, despite all the talk of a so-called commission to examine the issue—would have welcomed the fact that we have done the serious and rigorous work that no previous Government have done, to make sure that we have the right civil service numbers for the future.

Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow) (Lab): The paragraph at the top of page 6 refers to the additional £4.4 billion in relation to Afghanistan and Iraq. What exactly are the figures for the costs, which none of us would grudge? What we ask, however, is whether extremely expensive projects that looked important 10 years ago, such as the Eurofighter, should not have their expenditure at least contained, when the military objectives of such projects are now open to question.

Mr. Brown: One of the recommendations of the Gershon report is to improve procurement, and of course, one of the major areas for savings is in the Ministry of Defence, which is one of the biggest procurers in the country. Sir Peter Gershon has recommended that £6 billion of savings could be achieved by a better system of procurement. As for my hon. Friend's other questions about Afghanistan and Iraq, I shall write to him on the different costs relating to those countries. As far as the Ministry of Defence and costs are concerned, I shall write to him about the savings that will be achieved in relation to procurement in that Department.
 
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Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire) (Con): Can the Chancellor confirm that he said that he hoped to raise £30 billion from the sale of assets? Can he tell the House what sort of assets he has in mind?

Mr. Brown: I think that I also said to the House that land and property sales would form the major part. A further piece of work is to be done by Sir Michael Lyons, who did the relocation inquiry for us, in which he will work with Departments to identify land and buildings that are no longer necessary, partly as a result of the changes that we are making in the structure of the civil service and the public services, and partly to examine whether they are being efficiently used. He will work with Departments to arrange whatever dispositions of those assets, both land and property, are required.

Mr. Martin O'Neill (Ochil) (Lab): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the expenditure on science, and particularly on the moves that he is making to facilitate technology transfer. Can he guarantee that any fiscal obstructions that might have appeared can be dealt with as soon as possible to enable those companies to be established? Can he also tell us what he proposes to do to let traditional manufacturing take more advantage of emergent technologies and incorporate those in its investment plans? I am not suggesting simply another handout, but I think there is a case for more imaginative thinking so that our manufacturing base can be enhanced to take advantage of emerging technologies.

Mr. Brown: My hon. Friend has worked hard with universities and business to build up the country's technological base. In answer to his recommendations about fiscal policy, let me assure him that we will look at the problems experienced by spin-off companies from universities, to which he was undoubtedly referring. As I have said, that is something for the pre-Budget report. We shall also consider the tax treatment of assets, and what is happening in such companies. I shall report to the House on that in due course.

As for science generally and its effect on manufacturing industry, the £1 billion of extra money that we are investing in science as a result of the review will be of great help to the industry. It is also benefiting from the research and development tax credit—indeed, it is the principal beneficiary—and from the permanent self-assessment allowances that we have created and built on over the last few years. It is benefiting, too, from the closer financial links that we are encouraging between universities and companies.

We hope that in all those areas, our new science and innovation investment will do more. Our future as an industrialised country in a restructured global economy depends on value-added companies—companies that are technology-driven, making precision and niche products. With high technology invested in them, those are the companies that will create both wealth and jobs in the future. It is our duty as a Government to support the pure and applied science that can make their development possible.

Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP): On behalf of the Scottish National party, I welcome the announcement of the 0.7 per cent. aid target. It is only a shame that it
 
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has taken us so long to emulate the small, independent European neighbours that have already undertaken that obligation.

Today's statement contained the biggest announcement of job losses since Margaret Thatcher closed down the coal industry. The Chancellor spoke repeatedly about front-line services. I hope that he had in mind our service personnel, who are of course in the firing line in the Prime Minister's war in Iraq. Can he assure us that none of Scotland's historic regiments will be amalgamated or disbanded?

Mr. Brown: We have just produced a defence settlement involving a larger real-terms rise than earlier rounds, which will give our defence forces the resources necessary for investment in the future. That includes Army personnel, both in Scotland and the rest of the country and elsewhere.

I must say that for the Scottish National party to tell us that its policies for the break-up of Britain and the complete separation of Scotland could ever defend the British armed forces is quite ludicrous.

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