Sub-Saharan Africa: Diplomatic Relationships

Earl of Courtown Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I do not want to spend ODA here in the UK. That money is being spent on housing people who have come here in hotels, and it is costing a fortune to do so. That money ought to be spent on education and humanitarian assistance in countries where it is needed the most. That is how this should be, and that is the situation that the FCDO and the Home Office are working hard to get to. We have committed so far to the 0.5%. What 0.5% equals depends entirely on the size of the economy and, as the economy grows, that 0.5% will be worth an awful lot more. As I said earlier, we want to get to back to 0.7% spend, which we never should have left.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, notwithstanding what the Minister has said concerning His Majesty’s Government’s aims and ambitions in sub-Saharan Africa, how are they ensuring that their foreign aid there delivers measurable outcomes and aligns with the Government’s priorities, such as supporting good governance, supporting economic development and tackling corruption?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The Foreign Secretary’s priorities for this are around growth, security, government and climate. These are things that we are working hard on through our engagement not just with sub-Saharan Africa but in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere. The noble Earl is absolutely right that every penny we spend on official development assistance must be the very best value for money that we can secure—yes, because of fairness to the UK taxpayer, but also because a bad programme funded by ODA means that a good programme somewhere else does not get to take place. The Foreign Secretary is very keen that we make sure that happens. He is reviewing our spend and the effectiveness of programmes, and he is right to do that.