International Development: Budget

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale Excerpts

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Empey, for raising this subject this evening and for giving us an opportunity not just to seek clarification but to express what is clearly a strongly held view among most Members of your Lordships’ House. I refer to the inference that the expenditure pattern on development might change to assist the Ministry of Defence in what may be perceived as current difficulties with its budget, and the real strategy at the heart of what successive Governments have been trying to achieve, which was damaged by that intervention, or at least the public description of it.

I associate myself wholeheartedly with the content of the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Bates, and his analysis of the importance of this issue and of conflict in fragile states. I also wholeheartedly endorse the speech of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester.

The Government have done remarkably well on the agenda for international development over these past three years. Many who were, perhaps in advance of the 2010 election, slightly suspicious of the Government’s commitment to international development, have been proven wrong. The consistency with which they have applied the comprehensive approach initially begun by the previous Government, by improving and expanding upon some of the procedures that were put in place, such as the Building Stability Overseas strategy, the extension of the Conflict Pool following its review, the establishment of a National Security Council, and the implementation this year of the 0.7% of gross national income of our national budget for international development, have all been important steps on the right road.

It is not just in their individual actions that the Government have been right. Having watched this closely and been pleased at what has happened over the past three years, even I was surprised to see the Chancellor on television at the time that this issue was raised, presumably by one of the Prime Minister’s aides, back in February or March, whenever it was first in the news. The Chancellor said that it was in this area of our expenditure, where we commit to an international agreement and we implement that commitment, that we give ourselves influence around the world in ways that are almost impossible through other means. To hear that coming now on a cross-party basis from these Houses of Parliament should give us all great pride.

In that context it was with dismay that I watched the debate on this issue emerge in the early months of this year. The suggestion that money could be transferred from international development to help out with the defence budget was wrong on four grounds.

First, it is against the rules. So it was a silly thing to say in the first place—it cannot be done. The idea that the international development budget could be used for non-international development purposes was never going to have any traction, and therefore to suggest that for public consumption was frankly silly. Secondly, and allied to that, it is dangerous. It puts in danger those in the field who are trying to work in the most difficult of countries and situations—those states referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Bates. It therefore makes the lives of those who take on the most difficult challenges in our world today more difficult.

Thirdly, such a suggestion reverses the strategy begun by the previous Government, built upon by this Government, on the comprehensive approach that says that, in today’s 21st-century modern world, defence, development and foreign relations cannot exist independently of each other. They will be successful only if they work together.

Fourthly, the suggestion reduces our influence internationally. Not only has the UK been implementing this strategy at home for most of the last decade, it has been leading the international strategy on this debate as well. When I was the previous Prime Minister’s special representative for peacebuilding between 2008 and 2010, I had the fascinating privilege to visit United Nations missions around the world, with both peacebuilding and peacekeeping missions. People consistently said to me—particularly local people, or those involved in national government in countries around the world where these missions exist—that the lack of co-ordination between defence, development, peacebuilding and peacekeeping, between a national strategy and the international intervention of agencies and donors, and the lack of a comprehensive strategy were the biggest blocks to building peace and ensuring that development is able to take place effectively.

If we have learnt that lesson anywhere over the past decade, we have learnt it in Somalia, where we have seen remarkable progress over the past two or three years. We should never be complacent about the situation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, certainly not in the short or medium term. The European Union, the United Nations, the World Bank, individual donors, those involved in development and those involved in military training and expertise are all coming together in one strategy, and making a difference in trying to build a new democratic parliament and some opportunity for Somalia to build its way out of the horrors of the past 20 or 30 years. To reverse that strategy now and to play games with this issue is a dangerous thing to do.

I hope that there will be further clarification. The Minister has clarified this matter in your Lordships’ House before, but I hope tonight she will be able to do so once more. I also hope that in seeking this clarification we will say clearly to the Government that it is essential that they not only implement this strategy here in the UK, but continue to lead on it internationally, and ensure that the United Nations, the World Bank and others work together in a truly comprehensive approach across every continent.