International Development

Monday 10th June 2019 Ministerial Corrections

Topical Questions

The following is an extract from International Development questions on 6 June 2019.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

T3. For the past 25 years, the UK has rightly been committed to ensuring that aid spending is untied from commercial interests. How does the Secretary of State explain the ONE Campaign’s research that found that almost £475 million of UK aid was still effectively tied?

[Rory Stewart]

We are very clear that we do not tie aid spending. There may be situations in which it is beneficial. For example, we have just put £70 million into British universities to find a universal cure for snake bites. That is a very good example of how we can solve a global public health problem through investment in British universities, but that is not tied aid; it is because British research and development, particularly the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, is the leader in this area.

[Official Report, 6 June 2019, Vol. 661, c. 268.]

Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for International Development:

Errors have been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist).

The correct response should have been:

[Rory Stewart]

We are very clear that we do not tie aid spending. There may be situations in which it is beneficial. For example, we have put more than £70 million into research, including with British universities, to develop new drugs, such as a universal cure for snake bites. That is a very good example of how we can solve a global public health problem through investment in British universities, but that is not tied aid; it is because British research and development, such as at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, is a leader in this area.