Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

I have today published and laid before Parliament the Department for International Development annual report for 2010-11 and accounts.

The report covers DFID’s activities in 2010-11 in line with the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 and includes a full set of accounts for 2010-11. The report has been placed in the Libraries of the House of Commons and House of Lords for the reference of Members and copies will be made available in the Vote Office. It is also available online on DFID’s website (www.dfid.gov.uk).

Horn of Africa

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 6th July 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The horn of Africa is currently experiencing a major humanitarian crisis: 10 million people are in need of emergency relief and the situation is likely to get worse, in places, before it improves when the next rains come. This is the horn of Africa’s most severe drought since 1995. In some areas, 2010-11 has been the driest period in 60 years, and soaring local and global food and fuel prices have made the situation worse. The ongoing conflict and insecurity in Somalia in particular is exacerbating the problem and driving over 10,000 people a week to flee into neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are the worst hit.

In the long term, people in the horn of Africa desperately need food security. The UK is a world leader in supporting countries to become more resilient to drought and famine, and has been working in the region for many years. Thanks to UK support, 7.8 million people in Ethiopia have access to cash and food in exchange for work through the productive safety net programme. DFID funding is also helping create 60,000 new jobs that are not dependant on rain-fed agriculture. A further 60,000 people are assisted through a “safety net” programme for the poorest households in Kenya.

These programmes that build long-term resilience are having an impact. In 1992, 71% of the population of Ethiopia were chronically malnourished (out of 53 million). Today, only 46% of a total population of 80 million are malnourished, so tens of millions more Ethiopians are able to feed themselves throughout the year. Those benefiting from UK-supported programmes have proved less vulnerable to the current drought. But long-term resilience takes many years to build up, and emergency relief is needed now to respond to the crisis before our eyes, and to make sure that the significant development gains of recent years are not eroded.

On 3 July the UK Government announced significant funding for the World Food Programme to help feed 1.3 million Ethiopians for three months and to help 329,000 malnourished children and pregnant women. Our commitment will allow the WFP to access food from the Government of Ethiopia’s emergency food reserve now, while also starting procurement to replenish the reserve in time to meet shortfalls expected during the peak period of need (September to November).

The UK has also provided strong support for Kenya and for Somalia in the last financial year, funding emergency nutrition, health, water and sanitation and livelihood support activities through UN agencies. Red Cross and non-governmental organisations. We are rapidly looking at what additional support the UK should give in Somalia and Kenya.

But other countries must also do more. We are vigorously pressing the rest of the international community and Governments in the region to join us in stepping up and taking action to prevent this disaster becoming a catastrophe. Intervening now is more cost-effective than waiting for the situation to get worse. I am in close touch with Baroness Amos, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, who I met on Tuesday 5 July to discuss how to galvanise a bigger and more effective response.

Humanitarian Emergency Response Review

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I appeal, as always on these occasions, to hon. and right hon. Members leaving the Chamber to do so quickly and quietly so that those remaining can listen uninterrupted to the Secretary of State’s statement.

[Mr Mitchell]

I should like to make a statement on the Government’s response, which I will publish in detail online later today, to the humanitarian and emergency response review carried out by Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon.

The Ashdown report is a deeply impressive document. It makes a compelling, clear and powerful case for reform. The Government agree with and endorse the review’s central thesis and will accept the vast majority of its specific recommendations. Indeed, in many areas we will go beyond its specific recommendations in order to drive faster improvement in the international response to disasters. I am extremely grateful to Lord Ashdown and his team for the work they have done to produce such a compelling and well-argued review. His formidable insight and experience shine through it. I am also grateful to all those who have taken the time and trouble to respond to the consultation and whose experience has added to the quality of the recommendations.

I pay tribute today to those Brits around the world who are working tirelessly in extreme circumstances to save lives during humanitarian crises. Their work, which is often unsung and undertaken at real personal risk, is truly heroic. I also pay tribute to the role of the British armed forces in responding to humanitarian emergencies. In Pakistan last year our armed forces provided swift and effective relief, flying in emergency bridges to reconnect families separated by the floods. In Haiti they brought life-saving equipment and supplies to those stricken by the earthquake.

The report sets a challenging agenda for the 21st century. It recognises that, although disasters are nothing new, we are experiencing a sudden increase in their intensity and frequency. It makes it clear that this trend will only grow with climate change, population growth and greater urbanisation. The review concluded that the Department for International Development has played a strong role in improving the quality of the wider international response. It is an area where Britain is well respected and well regarded, but there is no room for complacency, which is why I commissioned the review and why the Government will take action to implement it.

In the Government’s response to the review, I have set out how, in collaboration with others, we will rise to the challenges presented and how we will do even more to help people stricken by disasters and emergencies. There are some fundamental principles that will guide our response to humanitarian emergencies. First, we will continue to apply the core principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality to all Government humanitarian action. Secondly, we will respect, and promote respect for, international humanitarian law. Thirdly, and crucially, we will be motivated not by political, security or economic objectives, but by need and need alone.

We will deliver humanitarian assistance in three main ways. We will provide predictable support for our multilateral humanitarian partners, including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the United Nations. In humanitarian emergencies, where there is compelling and overwhelming need, we will provide additional resources to the international system, Governments, charities and non-governmental organisations. We will intervene directly where the UK can contribute in ways that others cannot or where there is substantial public interest in our doing so.

Let me turn to the detail of our response. Lord Ashdown’s report identifies seven specific themes: resilience, anticipation, leadership, innovation, accountability, partnership and humanitarian space. I will address each in turn. It is not enough for us simply to pick up the pieces once a disaster has struck. We need to help vulnerable communities to prepare for disasters and to become more resilient. That is where we can have most impact and where we can prevent lives from being lost. More resilient communities and countries will also recover faster from disaster. I commit DFID therefore to build resilience into all its country programmes.

We must anticipate and be prepared for disasters. We will work with Governments and the international system to become better at understanding where climate change, seismic activity, seasonal fluctuations and conflict will lead to humanitarian disasters. With others, we will set up a global risk register of those countries most at risk, so that the international effort can be more focused.

The review calls for stronger leadership by the international community. We strongly agree that the United Nations must be central to this, and I am extremely pleased that, under the leadership of the emergency relief co-ordinator, Baroness Amos, the UN has already made that a priority. Britain will specifically back her agenda for change, but I accept that significant challenges remain. Members from all parts of the House need only look back to the Haiti earthquake or the Pakistan floods to see examples of the United Nations failing to deliver the leadership that was badly needed, so we will work with other donors for much needed reforms.

The review highlights the role that innovation and science can play in every aspect of humanitarian response. We will establish an innovations team to embed humanitarian research and innovation in our core work.

We must always be accountable for and transparent about how we spend our development budget. It is taxpayers’ money. That duty of accountability extends not only to British citizens and taxpayers, but to those who depend upon our aid. We will therefore make accountability central to our humanitarian work and do more to measure our own impact and that of our partners.

Rarely is partnership more important than in the delivery of humanitarian aid. The strength and quality of that co-ordination can make the difference between life and death. We must therefore strive to develop stronger alliances, particularly with new donors, including the Gulf states, China and Brazil. We must improve the quality of our relationships with other key bilateral donors, making sure that our efforts are better co-ordinated and the burden of responsibility shared. I also want to involve fully charities, NGOs, faith groups, the diaspora and the private sector in our emergency response work.

The review calls for the protection and expansion of humanitarian space, including for people brutally affected by armed conflict. That is crucial to our aim of protecting civilians in conflict situations. We must make a consolidated effort throughout the Government, using all diplomatic, legal, humanitarian and military tools, to secure unfettered and immediate access for humanitarian relief wherever we can.

We recognise that to deliver this ambitious agenda, it is right that we change the way in which we fund the system, making it more effective and efficient, particularly in the first hours of an emergency. I have looked at the performance and efficiency that different humanitarian agencies offer. Many offer good value for money and have a sound track record in delivering results, saving lives and reducing suffering in some of the world’s most difficult places. Some, however, do not. I am therefore outlining today increased core support for the best performing humanitarian multilaterals. I have also commissioned detailed work to design a new facility that will enable prequalified charities and NGOs to respond to crises within the first 72 hours, and to design a new mechanism to support the strongest performing British charities to improve the timeliness and quality of responses to humanitarian causes. The Government will consult further on the details of those two instruments.

This country is a world leader in responding to humanitarian emergencies. By implementing Lord Ashdown’s recommendations, and by working alongside new partners, the private sector and other countries’ Governments, we can be even better. I want this House and this country to be proud of our efforts, knowing that we in Britain will be there when the disaster strikes.

Let me end with the words of a survivor of a cyclone in Haiti:

“The water started to rise, and it did not stop...the water was already so high and strong that I could not hold on to one of my children and the water swept her away. Luckily someone was there to grab her.”

I commend this statement to the House.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for advance sight of the Government’s response to Lord Ashdown’s report. May I advise the House that I am responding today because my right hon. and learned Friend the shadow Secretary of State is currently visiting Sierra Leone? We welcome Lord Ashdown’s important report. I pay tribute to him and to those who worked with him to produce an impressive and excellent set of proposals.

Over the past year, in Pakistan, Haiti, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and Indonesia, we have seen the terrible destruction caused by a range of natural disasters. In Libya and Ivory Coast, we have seen how humanitarian crises can develop incredibly rapidly, threatening the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people. Lord Ashdown’s report reminds us that the number of humanitarian crises is likely to increase, and we must be ready to respond rapidly and effectively. We welcome the report’s emphasis on working through multilateral organisations. Does the Secretary of State agree that working multilaterally is generally the best way to ensure greater co-ordination and coherence in response to disaster and to prevent it?

The report recognises that DFID has been widely praised for its leading role in the international humanitarian community. The Secretary of State will know that since 2005 the Department has been one of the leading voices in calling for reforms in the international humanitarian system. We welcome the fact that the Government’s response recognises the need to strengthen international leadership, but what specific steps will he take to bring about that change? Will the Government take the lead in initiating a new round of high-level talks at the UN to push for greater reform, as the Labour Government did back in 2005? Why have the Government rejected a recommendation in the report to encourage the convening of a UN high-level panel to look at ways of improving the international system to face future challenges?

Our efforts in government also led to an expansion of the important central emergency response fund, and the report says that the fund should be expanded further. We welcome the extra $40 million that the Government announced for the fund in December last year, but can the Secretary of State tell us what the UK is doing to push other donor countries to make a similar substantial contribution? Does he agree that, as well as improvements in its response to disaster, the international community must do more to help to prevent and predict disasters, as Lord Ashdown’s report underlines?

As we have recently seen in Libya, gaining access to deliver humanitarian relief can be extremely difficult. I pay tribute to the many organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, Islamic Relief, World Vision and Save the Children, which are often the first to reach those who need help. Will the Secretary of State assure us that he will do all he can to ensure that aid workers can operate in safety and that aid is delivered in a way that ensures its neutrality and impartiality?

DFID is indeed rightly recognised around the world for its leadership in responding at times of crisis, and I pay tribute to its expert staff. Does the Secretary of State agree that in anticipating and responding to humanitarian emergencies, it is essential to have expert and skilled people? As DFID is reducing its administration budget by a third, can he assure us the necessary investment in humanitarian skills will be made given the scale of such cuts?

Lord Ashdown’s report recognises that the international humanitarian system is poorly equipped to ensure an equitable response for the most vulnerable—for example, women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. I welcome what the Secretary of State said in that regard and what the Government say in response to the full report. Will he assure us, however, that the Government will ensure that across the areas identified in the report, women in particular will be fully involved in the response to disaster, wherever it occurs?

Lord Ashdown’s report underlines the important role that diaspora communities play in responding to disaster, both through remittances and by raising awareness. I am glad that the Secretary of State recognised that in his statement. Can he give us more information on what he will do to ensure that there is greater recognition of the money that hard-working people in people in the UK send home to help people in the developing world?

The Ashdown report is an important step forward. Labour provided a strong lead on this issue in government, which produced real reform, but we know that there is much more to do. As Lord Ashdown said, humanitarian work

“cannot be the sticking plaster for a lack of political action”,

but it can make an important contribution to alleviating suffering around the world. Today’s welcome words need to be transferred into concrete action to ensure that in times of crisis our aid helps those who need it most.

[Mr Mitchell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome and for his words about the team who constructed the Ashdown report under Lord Ashdown, and about the response from my team, particularly those in DFID’s conflict, humanitarian and security department.

The hon. Gentleman is right that there is a huge amount of common ground on this matter. In opposition, we long realised that there was a necessity not to be complacent, but to accept that we could do some things better. That is why my right hon. Friend the present Prime Minister, some two years before the election, called for a report such as this, and why we have carried it out.

The hon. Gentleman was right to underline that all serious research suggests that the number of disasters will increase by as much as 50% over the next 15 years. That adds additional urgency to the work that we are doing. He was right to make it clear that the right way to lead in these disasters is through the multilateral system. That is why we are determined to play our part in making that system better. The cluster system that operates within it, in which Britain takes a leading role, is the right approach and we will do everything we can to see that it improves.

The central emergency response fund was set up by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), who is sitting alongside the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz), and we supported it strongly in opposition. We think that it works extremely well and that it provides additional and immediate money in the event of a disaster. That is why we have significantly increased resources to the CERF. The additional fund that I announced today for help in the first 72 hours from pre-qualified charities and NGOs will enable us to carry on the principle of that work in, I believe, a more effective way.

The hon. Gentleman was right to make the point that building in resilience from day one is vital in all the work we do, and that is now happening. He was equally correct about the importance of gaining access for humanitarian relief, which we have called for consistently in Libya and will continue to call for in Syria and South Kordofan in Sudan. He was right that women should always be involved in such work. The role of women as people who suffer from humanitarian disasters on the front line is well understood. We give that issue our strong support through this work.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point about remittancing and that there must be transparency in all that we do. As he pointed out, the money that we spend is taxpayers’ money. We are committed to recognising that. That is why we published the transparency guarantee early in the lifetime of the Government. When taxpayers’ money was used to alleviate the results of the floods in Pakistan last year, we had a floods monitor online so that people could see how hard-earned British taxpayers’ money was being spent and what relief it was securing.

In respect of these proposals, I believe that the International Development Committee has announced that it will consider in about a year’s time whether we have enacted what we have said we will do.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and Lord Ashdown for his excellent report. On behalf of the International Development Committee, I thank Lord Ashdown for his active engagement with us on two separate occasions when we were preparing our report on the Pakistan floods. I note that the Secretary of State said that he will publish more detail than he could put in the statement on the steps that are being taken to improve the UK response.

Will the Secretary of State say what role the UK can play in getting UN leadership, not least to ensure that in the most vulnerable countries the UN co-ordinator has both the competence and the line-management authority to execute effective rescue operations? He spoke about the co-ordination of NGOs and lead NGOs. Will he ensure that that is not just a UK response, but that such co-ordination will happen internationally so that NGOs do not get in each other’s way and have the opposite effect to helping in the disaster?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend is entirely right about those dangers, which he and his Select Committee have identified in their work, not least on the crisis in Haiti and the international response to it, particularly in the early hours.

On co-ordination, I did not answer the question from the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) about the high-level panel. It is important to make it clear that Baroness Amos is leading an effective reform programme as the emergency relief co-ordinator. We back her strongly in that role, as do the heads of the UN agencies. I continue to talk to her and others at the UN about the findings of the multilateral aid review and the humanitarian emergency response review. That is the right way to take this agenda forward, so let us see how we get on with that.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and Lord Ashdown for a comprehensive report. On partnership, does the Secretary of State agree with Lord Ashdown’s very strong view that we should consult those who receive aid, civil society in developing countries, and NGOs in areas where there is an established need, because those are the people on the ground who are best placed to tell us what is going on?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman is extremely experienced in these matters and he is absolutely right. I am grateful for his comments about the Ashdown report. The issue of partnership, which Lord Ashdown identifies so clearly, and the issue of accountability are at the forefront of what we seek to do. For example, when we published the multilateral aid review, we did not keep it as an internal document, but put it online. We invited those we were assessing to comment on what we said and the recipients of the money to hold us to account. We will continue to do that. The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that in the poorest parts of the world, understanding the effect of what we do on those we are seeking to help is vital to making the whole operation more effective.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon) (Con)]

I welcome this report and the Government’s response to it. Will the Secretary of State confirm that he sees a significant role in the reshaped British humanitarian response to disasters for small, niche charities, such as the west country-based ShelterBox, which are often the first on the scene with important life-saving equipment such as tents, cooking facilities and water? I am sure that he does.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right about the absolute priority that the Government place on supporting such smaller charities. Many Members on both sides of the House will have seen them doing brilliant work overseas. There are a number of mechanisms through which they are supported. There is, of course, the global poverty action fund, which will have a fresh round for NGOs and charities in a month or two. ShelterBox, which my hon. Friend mentioned, will be known to many Members. It does a brilliant job and we support it strongly.

[Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s words today, in particular his praise for the contribution of British NGOs in responding to humanitarian disasters. I appreciate his continuing support for the central role of the UN, in particular the agency that Valerie Amos leads so well. I gently point out to him that it was disappointing that no British Minister attended the CERF annual meeting in December. Given that America and France, two of our leading allies in the development debate, do not contribute to the CERF, will he set out how his leadership on this issue will lead to the topic being placed on the agendas of the G8, European Development Ministers and perhaps a No. 10 summit, so that there is more investment in the CERF to help the UN give the leadership it so desperately needs to give?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman will understand that we consider attendance at such meetings on the basis of need. We consider whether our attendance or our work in advance of a meeting will have the most effect. I and my ministerial colleagues travel ferociously in pursuit of this agenda. We have contributed in a large number of ways to the shape of the international community’s handling of humanitarian emergencies. The multilateral aid review played a significant part in that and the Ashdown review has played an enormous part in it. The Ashdown review is being read avidly by most of those who are engaged in this important work. For the future, we will consider, as we always do, what is the most effective way in which Britain can intervene to ensure the overall effectiveness of this vital work.

[Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

The UN has been notoriously slow and unco-ordinated in the past in responding to certain disasters, as a result of the poor leadership that has been identified. Notwithstanding the report on the agenda for change by Baroness Amos, will the Secretary of State assure us that his Department will relentlessly keep up the pressure on the UN? The next disaster, God forbid, may come tomorrow, and we need to know that the UN is fit for purpose today.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to make that point. It is the quality of local leadership on the ground that determines how quickly we can respond. Inevitably, although the UN actors on the ground are extremely good at what they do in normal times, they are sometimes not the right people to respond to disasters. That is why it is essential to get people there who can provide the necessary quality of leadership. For example, it was very interesting that the presence of John Ging, the No. 2 to Valerie Amos, in Libya very shortly after the conflict started led to an immediate response of a much better quality than we had previously seen.

[Jon Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)]

Many communities in my constituency—particularly those from Pakistan and Bangladesh, although I could name many others—have a commendable record of contributing to relief when humanitarian disaster strikes. Given that, will the Secretary of State give us some more details of how he expects to involve diaspora communities in emergency relief work and ensure that their expertise is taken advantage of?

[Mr Mitchell]

It depends on the disaster, but the hon. Gentleman is entirely correct to point to the valuable work that diaspora communities do. In the case of the Pakistan floods last year, the Pakistani diaspora, not least in the midlands, made a tremendous contribution not only financially but through a number of different charities to which it gave strong support, not least Islamic Relief. That meant that it played a vital part in the overall British relief effort that was mobilised.

[Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury) (Con)]

I welcome this excellent report and the Government’s response to it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that many of the most deprived and threatened people are those in war zones? Does he further agree that the inter-agency working that he stressed so heavily, bringing together diplomatic, military and aid effort and the best of the non-governmental organisations, is in the very best interests of the criterion of need, and does not compromise it, as has occasionally been suggested?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. Of course, people who live in conflict areas lose out twice over, first because they are very poor and secondly because they are permanently frightened by the conflict that is going on around them. That is why the coalition Government have made an absolute priority of doing much more in conflicted areas to bring help to people who are doubly cursed in that way. He is also right to point out that although humanitarian relief should always be circumstance-blind and help those who are in great need, proper co-ordination among all those who can help is essential.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

As the Secretary of State knows, there is a continuing argument in the development community about whether it is appropriate for the military to deliver humanitarian aid. I should like to pay my own tribute to the British armed forces, whom I have seen in many parts of the world delivering humanitarian aid to people who would have died if they had not been there at the appropriate time.

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Lady makes a truly excellent point. Like her, I have seen how the military have delivered to desperate people at times of great need. We saw it, indeed, in Pakistan last year. We have not needed military support to deliver aid in Libya so far, although the military have been willing to provide it. I have discussed the matter frequently with Valerie Amos, who takes a sensible and pragmatic view in the interests, which we all serve, of trying to get aid and support through to people who are in great need.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

I welcome the excellent Secretary of State’s statement. One problem appears to be the loss of life in the early hours of a disaster. We have seen emergency response teams ready to go from this country but being stopped because they do not have clearance to land in the areas affected. What can be done about that problem?

[Mr Mitchell]

I think my hon. Friend is referring to a particular incident involving a Scottish charity. I have looked at that incident in detail, and I am happy that what he says about it is not actually correct. However, it is extremely important that there should be really good co-ordination. We should not have the situation that we saw all too frequently in Haiti, which was a huge number of people heading towards a disaster target without the co-ordination to ensure that they could be effective on the ground.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

May I add my own voice to the welcome for the report of the noble Lord Ashdown and the Government’s response to it? As part of its inquiry into the humanitarian response to the Pakistan floods, the International Development Committee found that some eight months after the disaster, and with millions still in need of assistance, only one third of the $2 billion UN appeal funds had been disbursed in Pakistan. The noble Lord’s report states that that was disappointing, maybe even inadequate, and adds that it cost money, opportunities and perhaps even lives. What leadership will the Government show at UN level to ensure that that does not happen again?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman identifies one of the problems with the relief effort that the international community mounted in Pakistan. Indeed, the Select Committee on which he serves has produced a most valuable report, from which the international system will learn relevant lessons. I think it would be fair to say that Britain was concerned, we were the first country to come in great scale to give strong support to the people of Pakistan in their hours of greatest need. Britain also continually pushed and prodded the international system to up its game. That was what we did at the time, and those are also the tactics that we are using now. The report will be helpful in achieving them.

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s positive response to my noble Friend’s report. Together with the Government’s pledge to fulfil the 40-year-old promise to spend 0.7% of our national income on development assistance, including the outstanding promise to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, that puts us in a potentially world-leading position in international development and humanitarian assistance. Will he reassure us, though, that the pre-qualification process that he described will not inadvertently disadvantage the smaller local NGOs that are obviously on the ground first and, as the review makes clear, often do an excellent job at very low cost?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. We are going to consult about the pre-qualification process, to ensure that that does not happen. The fund will be there to help those who are already on the ground, so that in the first 72 hours, when action is critical for reasons that the House will acknowledge, we can ensure that money is not a barrier to immediate and effective action. I therefore think I can reassure him on that point.

The GAVI pledging conference that took place yesterday will have a direct effect on disaster relief, because it will prevent children from getting sick. We should all be enormously proud of the leadership of Britain and the Prime Minister. As a result of the replenishment conference exceeding its target yesterday by some $600 million, we will be able to vaccinate more than a quarter of a billion children over the next five years in the poorest parts of the world and save nearly 5 million lives.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s thinking on a standing faculty for emergency response, including NGOs. Will he assure us that there will be no tension in practice between the follow-through on the Ashdown review and the follow-through on the previous DFID reviews, which put particular emphasis on buying results? The Ashdown review particularly emphasises resilience, innovation and science, and humanitarian space in areas of conflict, the benefits of which are not always as quantifiable as those of some other measures. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the Ashdown recommendations are not casualties of the results-buying emphasis of previous reviews?

[Mr Mitchell]

All three reviews to which the hon. Gentleman refers focus directly on the results that we are achieving, not only in delivering real value for money to British taxpayers, whose money we are deploying, but for those whom we are trying to help. Whereas the Ashdown review was a review given to the Government, to which I am responding today, the first two were reviews by the Government. If the hon. Gentleman looks carefully at all three, he will find that they are seamlessly joined by the common interest of ensuring that international development work from Britain is more effective and buys yet greater results.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

I cannot think of anyone better than Lord Ashdown to have produced such a report, and I congratulate the Secretary of State on commissioning it. The real lead on humanitarian responses is, properly, the United Nations. We have a first-class person for emergency co-ordination in the UN, in Baroness Amos. However, above her in the UN is the Security Council, which too often makes decisions at the speed of a striking slug. Is there any way in which we, as a permanent member of the Security Council, can encourage other members and ourselves to make a special case for emergency responses, so that we are not constrained by the requirements of veto, unanimity or majority voting?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend, who knows a great deal about these issues, tempts me to stray beyond my areas of competence. However, I can tell him that the Foreign Secretary has been ceaselessly engaged over the last week in precisely that way in respect of a new resolution on Syria.

I am conscious of my hon. Friend’s point, and I agree that it was absolutely right to appoint Lord Ashdown, whose peculiar combination of talent and experience has led to this extremely good, wise and sensible report. I also agree with my hon. Friend that it is important to prioritise the UN, and to understand that at the end of the day, only the UN can be the chief co-ordinator. The UN is essential if we are to have an effective response on the ground.

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the Secretary of State—there clearly isn’t a dry eye in the House.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State says that he wishes to put women and girls at the heart of his development policy. He will be aware that violence against women and girls is a feature in such crises. How do we deal with that problem better?

[Mr Mitchell]

It is an absolute priority of the Government to try to stop violence against women—we have some 15 country programmes for which that is an absolute priority. I attended the Home Secretary’s meeting of Ministers yesterday on that very subject, and spoke about the international dimension of it. The hon. Lady may rest assured that it remains right at the top of our agenda. Of course, women and girls suffer most in such crises. We have provided protection for children and displaced women, not least in respect of the Ivory Coast-Liberian border, on which my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State leads. That is the most important aspect of the work that we do there.

[Laura Sandys (South Thanet) (Con)]

I welcome both the Ashdown report and the Government response. DFID is a world-class organisation with a world-class reputation.

It is particularly important to focus on anticipation. The risk register is a great addition to the tools that DFID can use. On that basis, will we also develop strategies to mitigate that risk and that can ensure that we push and help countries to move along a pathway to reduce the risk that they face from, for example, climate change?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend identifies entirely accurately one of the seven key points made by Lord Ashdown and his advisory committee in their report. Anticipating disaster and ensuring that we develop a comprehensive risk register, and working on disaster reduction, which is one thing that the Minister of State has focused on in Nepal, are essential if we are to take that agenda forward.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

Even though the Secretary of State has been in office for only a year, he is turning out to be outstanding at his job, supported by a very fine team of Ministers. Will he confirm that nothing in his statement will affect the Government’s ability to deliver relief to the people of Yemen? It is one of the poorest countries in the world, and it is on the brink of civil war. Will he confirm that we can still help the Yemeni people?

[Mr Mitchell]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks. We understand the importance of Yemen, which remains on a humanitarian knife edge. With the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, we are looking specifically at needs mapping within Yemen for when we can get back there. We continue to give very strong support to the agencies that conduct humanitarian relief in Yemen, and to bear in mind at all times whether we can do more to assist.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I warmly welcome the Ashdown report and the Government’s response. May I urge the Government to take an integrated, cross-departmental approach to this that includes the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence as well as DFID, in order to anticipate better how different risk factors can combine to threaten human life? For example, water shortage in a politically volatile area could trigger conflict, turning a humanitarian problem into a humanitarian disaster.

[Mr Mitchell]

I thank my hon. Friend for her comments, which are extremely helpful. She is right to talk about the absolute importance of integration. I can reassure her to this extent: proposals on climate change, on which we are involved in much work, come to a cross-ministerial board, which includes DECC, DFID, the Treasury and other Departments that have a direct interest. As I indicated in my statement, we will not forget the importance of strong, cross-Whitehall collaboration.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

I welcome what the Secretary of State says about resilience and enabling countries to respond better if a crisis strikes, but does he recognise that some humanitarian crises can be avoided? If we did more work on food security and pre-positioning food stocks—in the horn of Africa, say—on climate change or on regional integration, such as by getting an upstream country to warn a downstream country when a flood is coming, we could avoid crises. Work must be done by DFID and the UN on that.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely correct. That is why we have, for example, consistently sought to pre-position food and shelter in respect of Sudan, which until very recently has not been required. In respect of Pakistan, we are trying to ensure that we understand the monsoon pattern and whether any flooding will take place this year. The review and the Government’s response rightly recognise his point on encouraging resilience and anticipation.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

May I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement? He will know that there was an earthquake in Nepal 70 or so years ago and that another is predicted imminently. What steps are his Department taking to plan for that and to assist if that need arises?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend accurately recognises a serious threat within Nepal. That is one reason why the Minister of State has taken a close interest, including by visiting Nepal and talking to all those who are involved there about the role of disaster reduction. We take very strong account in our planning of the points that my hon. Friend rightly makes, not only in respect of Nepal, but in other areas of stress and vulnerability.

[Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

May I, too, welcome Lord Ashdown’s report and the Secretary of State’s statement? Does he agree that there are particular dangers for those involved when a humanitarian emergency results from a political crisis? He will remember the kidnapping of the head of Caritas earlier this year during the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. Soldiers will continue to play an important role in providing humanitarian relief, but will he ensure that assistance is always given on its merits, and that it is not conditional on political strategy or military engagement?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point on which I sought to be absolutely clear in my opening remarks. Humanitarian relief must be needs-based, and must not take account of such extraneous factors. That is the commitment of the British Government —it has long been a commitment of Governments of all parties, and it continues just as strongly today.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Whenever disaster strikes, and in almost whatever form it takes, there always seems to be a shortage of helicopters. What can we do to improve international co-ordination to ensure a quicker and better helicopter lift capacity in emergency zones?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. He rightly identifies that problem as one of the critical pinch points, as it was particularly in Pakistan last summer. We are considering that and a number of similar issues, and I hope to have more to say in due course.

[Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)]

In his introduction, the Secretary of State said that “we will intervene directly where the UK can contribute in ways that others cannot”. I welcome that, but will he clarify whether that means intervening for the sake of the responsibility to protect agenda? If so, does he agree that often humanitarian disasters occur in areas of conflict or failed states, and that we therefore have a responsibility to recognise that we must sometimes act quickly and without the agreement of the relevant Government?

[Mr Mitchell]

In respect of the responsibility to protect, the hon. Gentleman will know that that is a technical UN term that triggers certain other actions. The point that I was making was narrower and it was that if Britain has a unique skill or the capacity to intervene in a humanitarian situation, we should always consider whether it is right to do so. That was my point and it is narrower than the basis on which he seeks to get me to proceed.

[Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance)]

I warmly welcome both Lord Ashdown’s report and the Government’s response. In a humanitarian crisis, securing access to clean water and sanitation is often one of the key challenges. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is hugely important that engineering charities such as RedR and WaterAid are given the support they need to provide technical assistance in an emergency and upskill local people to make that sustainable?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady makes a very good point. She identifies two of Britain’s brilliant NGOs, RedR and WaterAid, which both do such good work in some of the most challenging places anywhere in the world. She also identifies the importance of clean water and sanitation. Britain is doing this in terms of steady state development, with a commitment to get more clean water and sanitation to people in the poor world than the total population of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in terms of our work through the cluster system, giving strong support on water and sanitation, not least to Oxfam. That is an absolute priority in almost all humanitarian disasters.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

The objectives set out in Lord Ashdown’s report will require what he calls “transformational change” across the Department to give greater prominence to the humanitarian agenda. In the Government’s response, will the Secretary of State set out in more detail how he intends to bring forward that transformational change, in particular with regard to staffing and programming of DFID projects?

[Mr Mitchell]

The answer is that I will and I have. I commend to the hon. Lady the 35-page report, which should now be on the internet, and I urge her to have a look at it and respond if she has any additional comments—as I urge all hon. Members to do.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

All the humanitarian aid we give for natural disasters, such as that in Pakistan, or to countries with civil unrest, such as Syria, Egypt and Sudan, is good news. However, the feedback from some of those countries is that those of a Christian faith and in evangelical Churches are at the back of the queue and ignored when it comes to humanitarian aid. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that that two-tier system of assistance will not continue to disadvantage those of that faith in those countries?

[Mr Mitchell]

I hear those allegations from time to time and I always ensure that they are investigated with the seriousness and rigour that such allegations obviously deserve. We have set up a working party with all the faith communities, which will commence work shortly. That will be quite a good issue for the faith communities to address and advise on. On the hon. Gentleman’s specific point, we take all such matters extremely seriously and investigate them immediately.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

1. By what means he plans to assess levels of fraudulent use of aid in fragile and conflict-affected states.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The Government are committed to spending 30% of UK aid on conflict-affected and fragile states where the millennium development goals are most off track. We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and other abuse and all our programmes include safeguards to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent properly.

[John Cryer]

A very high proportion of that taxpayers’ money flows through the EU. Is the Secretary of State satisfied that that EU money is being properly used and accounted for?

[Mr Mitchell]

About a third of that money goes to the European development fund, which scored highly in the multilateral aid review, and that suits Britain’s interests because around 40% of it goes to Commonwealth countries and we contribute only 17%. The money spent through the budget is £800 million, over which we have much less control, and we are seeking to ensure that it is better deployed.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

The Secretary of State will of course acknowledge that the Government have committed additional funding to post-conflict states because that is where the greatest poverty and the greatest risk of falling back into conflict lies. Nevertheless, does he accept that, although we must do everything we can to stamp out corruption, it is precisely in those difficult climates that risks must be taken if achievements in poverty reduction and conflict prevention are to be secured?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that there are greater risks when operating in conflict states, but in such states the very poorest in the world lose out twice over, once because they are poor and again because they are living in frightening and conflicted circumstances.

[Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to a zero-tolerance attitude to fraud. Will he encourage the World Bank to continue to have its regular survey of 32,000 small businesses across different developing countries, which shows that although fraud is a problem, it by no means absorbs all the aid entering those countries, as bar-room gossip would have it, and that it is more prevalent in south Asia than in Africa?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend’s analysis is absolutely right. He will have seen the world development report, produced by the World Bank, on working in conflict states, which focuses on security and development. It is a very good report, produced at Britain’s request, which focuses specifically on the points he has made.

[Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

2. What steps he is taking to improve the transparency of bilateral and multilateral aid.

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[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

3. When he plans to bring forward legislation enacting the commitment to spend at least 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The coalition Government have set out how we will meet our commitment to spend 0.7% of national income as overseas aid from 2013. As the Prime Minister has made clear, we will enshrine that commitment in law as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

[Catherine McKinnell]

Tomorrow I will meet several of my constituents as part of the “Tea Time for Change” event to discuss their and my support for the 0.7% commitment. Has the Secretary of State had any recent discussions with the Defence Secretary on that important issue?

[Mr Mitchell]

I have discussions on those matters with all my colleagues, not least the business managers for the reasons that I set out in my original answer, but the hon. Lady is right to point out the importance of proceeding with the commitment, and that is why we have made it clear that we will.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

The Secretary of State recently described Britain as an aid superstate. Can he tell us what an aid superstate is—and do we really want to be one?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend refers to a comment that I made on Monday, when I said that just as America is a military superpower, so Britain is a development superpower. I was referring to the fact that throughout the world brilliant work is being done with Britain in the lead on development, and we do so because it is not only morally right but, as my hon. Friend will understand, absolutely in our national interest.

[Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab)]

4. What steps he plans to take to reduce levels of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho.

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[Sheila Gilmore]

One of the key priority areas for UN Women will be political empowerment of women. What plans does the Secretary of State’s Department have for backing up this work in Governments and legislatures around the world?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. It is incredibly important to put girls and women at the centre of everything we do in development, which is what empowerment is. We are watching very carefully how the agency is developing. We have given nearly £660,000 as transitional funding to the agency and offered support staff on secondment. I am confident that once the plan is produced we will be able to fund it. I am sure that she will understand, however, that it is right to commit taxpayers’ money only when we can see what it is being spent on.

[Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)]

Evidence is coming from Egypt that the position of women is not advancing as a result of the Arab spring; indeed, there are concerns that it is going backwards. Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that he is using all the influence that comes with the additional money that we are investing in that part of the world to ensure that women get their fair share of that resource?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is a feeling that the role of women in the Arab spring in Egypt was very significant, and it is extremely important that their role should now be advanced. We will try to do that in a number of ways, not least through know-how funds and the Arab Partnership money that we are deploying.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

To follow up the point so ably made by the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), while there is no doubt that the Arab spring offers huge possibilities for democracy and human rights in Egypt, it will not be progress if women’s rights are set back. Will the Secretary of State ensure that out of the generous funding that we are providing, funds will go to the Alliance for Arab Women in Cairo to make a reality of the demands set out in the Egyptian national women’s statement of 4 June?

[Mr Mitchell]

I am considering the right hon. Lady’s suggestion. We have exchanged correspondence on this, and I will look very carefully at the proposition that she puts. During my visit to Benghazi at the weekend, I had the opportunity to meet representatives of Arab women’s organisations, who made a similar point. I am sure that we will be able to assist.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

6. What his policy is on tackling HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

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[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

9. What estimate he has made of the proportion of gross national income to be spent on official development assistance in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

British official development assistance as a proportion of gross national income will be 0.56% in 2011 and 2012. The Government are fully committed to delivering 0.7% of GNI as ODA from 2013 and will enshrine that commitment in law, in line with the coalition agreement.

[Julie Hilling]

The Government have frozen aid for two years and propose to spend money through multinational institutions, which have more expensive bureaucracy. Is it not nonsensical for DFID to cut its admin costs only to spend money through institutions with higher costs?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is not correct. The way in which we judge multilateral institutions was set out clearly in the multilateral aid review. The whole point of the two big reviews that the coalition Government commissioned on coming to power was to ensure that we deliver best value for money. It is our aim to ensure that for every pound of hard-earned taxpayers’ money that we spend, we get 100p of development results on the ground.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The brave men and women of our armed forces put their lives at risk every day to protect civilians and rebuild societies in far-off lands. That is real overseas aid. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is surprising that his budget is increasing by £4 billion when the defence budget is being cut by billions and billions of pounds?

[Mr Mitchell]

Having served in the armed forces, I yield to no one in my respect for them. However, I point out to my hon. Friend, who I know takes a close interest in these matters, that Britain’s security is maintained not only by tanks and guns, but by training police in Afghanistan, getting kids into school in the horn of Africa, and building up governance structures in the middle east.

[Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Last weekend I visited Benghazi with the Foreign Secretary to meet the national transitional council and discuss its plans for the future of Libya. I also announced new British support for the clearance of mines in Misrata, Benghazi and other affected areas, to help ensure the safety of 200,000 people.

On Monday, Britain will host the replenishment of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, to secure global pledges to vaccinate a quarter of a billion children and prevent the deaths of millions of children in some of the poorest countries in the world over the next five years.

[Jake Berry]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. On behalf of the whole House, may I express a great welcome to those coming to London for the GAVI pledge drive next week? What is the Secretary of State doing to encourage people who are coming to make generous pledges for the vaccination of children in the developing world?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is quite right that we are bending every sinew to ensure that we have the biggest possible replenishment. Our ambition is to be able to vaccinate 250 million children and save 4 million lives, and replenishment progress is going well. We are not there yet, but I am reasonably confident that we will get there by Monday. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There are far too many private conversations taking place in the Chamber. I want to hear Ministers’ answers, and I want now to hear Catherine McKinnell.

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[Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con)]

T2. During the Secretary of State’s visit to Benghazi this weekend, what discussions did he have with the national transitional council regarding its plans for the immediate and longer-term future?

[Mr Andrew Mitchell]

The stabilisation response team is working flat out, together with our international allies in Benghazi, to work out what action should be taken when the conflict is over and early recovery is taking place. That work is going well, and I hope that we will have a plan within the next 10 days. It will of course be owned by the Libyan people under the umbrella of the United Nations, and it will involve all the relevant organisations in helping the Libyans to implement it.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

T8. More than 1,000 supporters of international development charities, including some of my constituents, are coming to Westminster tomorrow to show their support for protection of the aid budget and for further action to tackle global poverty. Given that poor countries lose more money to tax-dodging each year than they receive in aid, what action is the Secretary of State taking to address that issue?

[Mr Mitchell]

I am very glad that the hon. Lady’s constituents are coming tomorrow, and Members of all parties will want to support that important lobby. The issue that she raises, which was discussed in earlier questions, is very important, and I expect that we will make progress on it in the coming years, not least because of the emphasis that has been put on it in the G8 and the European Council.

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[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

T5. Can my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State tell the House what progress is being made on encouraging other Arab nations to provide much-needed humanitarian aid in Libya?

[Mr Andrew Mitchell]

In the last two weeks, the humanitarian position in Libya has eased, particularly on the border, which some 950,000 migrant workers have left. Today, under 6,000 people are stuck on the border, so a humanitarian crisis has been avoided.

In general, we encourage all countries to play their roles in providing humanitarian support and to put their taxpayers’ money into those funds. Progress on that is good.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

Given the sensitive time line for change in Sudan, what commitments can the Secretary of State give to people there, and particularly to those in Abyei?

[Mr Mitchell]

I visited South Sudan and north Sudan recently with troika Ministers from Norway and the US. The position in Abyei is extremely tense at the moment, and we call on all parties to desist from taking aggressive action and to approach the negotiations in a spirit of good will and compromise. That is the way to reach the birth of the new state on 9 July and the full completion of the comprehensive peace agreement.

The Prime Minister was asked—

CDC Group plc

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 7th June 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

In October 2010 I informed the House of the Government’s decision to reconfigure CDC in order radically to increase its development impact.

In my previous statement I set out the objectives of this reform and announced a public consultation, as well as the commissioning of a number of independent studies. The results of that consultation and the four studies have been published on the DFID website. The International Development Committee of this House has since conducted an inquiry into the future of CDC. Its report was published on 3 March 2011, and the Government’s response was given on 4 May.

I can now inform the House that the Government and the CDC board have agreed a new high-level business plan, published during the Whitsun recess on 31 May, which sets out how CDC will carry through the reforms I proposed last October.

CDC will be more focused on the poor than any other development finance institution, building further on its strong concentration on the poorer countries in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In future, all CDC’s new investment commitments will be for the benefit of these two regions, where over 70% of the world’s poorest people live. In India, CDC will move to a concentration on the eight poorest Indian states.

CDC will not invest in regions or sectors which are already well served by private investors, such as large-scale mining in many countries. Otherwise, it will be responsible for selecting, on the basis of the strongest anticipated development outcomes, investments from across a wide range of sectors.

CDC will aim to reduce the proportion of its portfolio held in other countries outside the new focus regions over time, to 15-20% by 2015. It will not invest in the better-off developing countries, unless for the benefit of poorer countries in the relevant region.

There will be a new performance framework for CDC, focused on development impact rather than CDC’s own profitability. It will be a development-maximising, not a profit-maximising, enterprise. CDC will measure the impact of its investments on generation of incomes and tax revenues, broader private sector development, mobilising private capital, and improving socially and environmentally responsible management in beneficiary companies. Stretching targets will be set for these indicators for CDC to meet and they will be reviewed annually.

CDC will become bolder and more pioneering in its approach to innovation and risk: being more creative and accepting higher financial risks where these are justified by greater development benefits. It will reach the parts that other emerging market investors too often do not. But it will still ensure that it remains sufficiently profitable to offset the cost of the taxpayers’ money invested in it, as defined by Her Majesty’s Treasury. While development impact will be the driver, CDC will also look to build the companies in which it invests into commercially sustainable enterprises.

CDC will no longer exclusively operate indirectly, through private equity funds managed by others, but will work through a wider range of intermediaries—and importantly, build up its own direct investments. It will do this gradually and initially only through co-financing with other lead investors, as it redevelops its capacity to seek out and manage direct investments. Likewise, it will offer lending as well as equity financing, with the aim of increasing the share of loan instruments in its portfolio.

CDC will continue to make new commitments to private equity fund managers, and to support and develop suitable local investment management firms, but with the aim of reducing the fund of funds share of its assets to some 60% by 2015. In running down this part of its portfolio, the realisation of full value for money for the taxpayer will remain the primary consideration.

The remuneration framework agreed for CDC by the previous Government, which aimed to align CDC remuneration with private equity fund of funds firms in the City of London, has led to inflated remuneration. A study by independent consultants has indicated that in comparison with other publicly owned development finance institutions, and with private foundations doing similar work, CDC remuneration has risen far above the median levels elsewhere.

We must bring pay and bonuses down to a level that is fair and appropriate, but not excessive, for a publicly owned body whose very purpose is to reduce poverty. The CDC board will take immediate action to cut bonus levels by 50% for this year. Once a new CDC chief executive is in place, the Government will agree with CDC’s board how to restructure pay to attract, motivate and retain people with the attitude and skills necessary to take part in this exciting new phase of CDC’s existence. The new remuneration framework will prioritise development results rather than profitability and any performance-related pay will be largely deferred and based on long-term performance.

In response to the public consultation on CDC, CDC will publish a new disclosure policy aimed at making its work as transparent as possible. While observing the constraints of commercial confidentiality and the Data Protection Act, CDC will publish more information on the businesses using its capital, the funds investing it, and the economic impact of investments; and on CDC’s remuneration and operating costs. More of CDC’s evaluations will be conducted independently, going beyond the current 50%, and as much evaluation material as possible will be published that does not jeopardise commercial confidentiality. CDC’s investment policy, agreed with DFID, will also be published.

CDC will update its investment code to reflect the latest international standards and best practice and will continue to ensure, by means of independent external audit, that its compliance and implementation are properly monitored.

CDC has strengthened its policy on taxation: where it is within CDC’s discretion as originating or sole investor, CDC will not make new investments in or through harmful tax regimes, or regimes which do not comply with international tax transparency and exchange of information standards (as defined by the OECD and Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes). Where CDC does not have such discretion, CDC will make a judgment on the merits of the proposed new investment against the nature of the tax regime—and be transparent about that judgment. CDC will also be transparent in its dealings from a tax perspective. Information will be published on taxes paid within CDC’s portfolio and, if specific information cannot be published, CDC will explain why.

DFID will work more closely with CDC, both at country level and at the centre. CDC’s business plan will be reviewed annually and CDC will report annually to the Secretary of State on achievement against its targets, which we will publish.

The board of CDC has responded willingly and constructively to the recent scrutiny of its work and to the changes that the Government have proposed. There is now the opportunity to strengthen CDC’s role as a leading instrument in the UK’s policy for accelerating poverty reduction in the poorer countries through enterprise and economic growth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 30th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

1. What criteria he plans to use to assess the strategic plan for UN Women when determining the funding to be allocated to it.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

We recently reviewed the value for money of British taxpayers’ funding to all multilateral agencies through the multilateral aid review. We will use the same broad criteria to assess UN Women’s strategic plan.

[Lisa Nandy]

Currently, new funding pledges to UN Women for 2011 amount to just $55 million, less than 10% of the target set by member states in 2010. In order for this important initiative to succeed—and so that the UK can say it played its part in its success—will the Minister heed the calls of Voluntary Service Overseas and others to provide adequate funding urgently?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to flag up the importance of this new agency and the fact that it has strong cross-party support. The United Kingdom played a key role in its establishment. We have provided transitional funding, and when we see the strategic plan in June, we will then fund it. I have no doubt at all that, in consultation with other funding bodies, we will be able to play a very full part.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

UN Women’s strategic plan is guided in part by millennium development goals 4 and 5. The Secretary of State has kindly just received from me Bradford-on-Avon Oxfam’s Mothers Matter card for mother’s day. Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to restate to the House his Government’s commitment to working internationally to achieve MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health?

[Mr Mitchell]

Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. At the first international summit the Prime Minister attended after taking office following the election of the coalition Government, he flagged up the importance of MDGs 4 and 5 very directly. Oxfam’s campaign is an outstanding success. It is extremely important, and we will be following through on many of the aspects Oxfam has specifically mentioned when we have the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation replenishment conference in London on 13 June.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

2. What support his Department plans to give to development of the infrastructure of South Sudan in 2011-12.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Our main infrastructure investments in 2011-12 in southern Sudan are expected to be in roads in rural areas, primary and secondary schools, teacher training centres, health care centres and other facilities to reduce insecurity and increase access to basic services.

[John Mann]

Here we have a brand new country about to form—it will do so on 9 July—that wants to join the Commonwealth. Its people speak English, and it has great links with the United Kingdom. Should we not shift part of our budget in order to allow this new country to get developing fast?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. That is why we have focused very specifically on our support for the referendum. We are working very closely with President Mbeki on the issues of the border. We have had many discussions about the very points the hon. Gentleman mentions, most recently when I saw Salva Kiir on my visit just before Christmas, and we will be strongly supporting the new state in a whole series of different ways once it is set up.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

What engagement does the Secretary of State have with the African Development Bank and the World Bank on infrastructure development for southern Sudan—which, as he says, is desperately needed—given that the UK is a major contributor to both those organisations? What will their commitment be, and how will the Department for International Development co-ordinate with them?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Chairman of the departmental Select Committee is absolutely right to identify the crucial role that will be played by both the World Bank and the ADB. I recently had discussions on this very subject with Donald Kaberuka, the head of the ADB, in Addis Ababa at the African Union summit, and we will ensure that strong priority is given to infrastructure development. After all, this is a country with less than 28 km of tarmac roads.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is the Secretary of State aware that there has recently been a big increase in land purchase by foreign investors in South Sudan? Although foreign investment can, of course, be very beneficial in the right circumstances, land speculation threatens food supplies and price stability not just in South Sudan but globally. What will the Secretary of State do to ensure that people in countries such as South Sudan do not become victims of land grabs by speculators?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman rightly recognises one of the challenges for South Sudan. There is an array of challenges, on all of which Britain and the international community will seek to assist Salva Kiir and his new Government. I should make it clear to the hon. Gentleman that that country’s oil revenue gives it the opportunity between now and 2015 to make more progress on all these millennium development goals than any other country on earth. Britain will be playing its full part in trying to bring that about.

[Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)]

At a meeting yesterday, a former Foreign Secretary of Sudan said that when the new Government take over in July the desperate need will be for government advice and training, as well as infrastructure. What plans do my right hon. Friend and his Department have to provide that advice and training?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: supporting democratic and accountable government will be at the heart of what we are trying to do in South Sudan. When I was in Juba to open the new British Government office there before Christmas, I was able to see some direct technical assistance that Britain is giving. As he says, we will need more of that.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

3. What estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of official development assistance to Lesotho following the closure of his Department’s bilateral aid programme in that country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

8. What plans he has for future levels of development aid to India.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

I have frozen the India programme at current levels until 2015. Working closely with the Government of India, we will target our support on three of the poorest states. Our programme will change to reflect the importance of the role of the private sector.

[Caroline Dinenage]

Despite the undoubted poverty in India, the Indian Government have nuclear weapons, a space programme and their own programme for foreign aid. What can we do to encourage the Indian Government to spend more money on the things that they should spend money on, rather than on the things that they want?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to ask whether India has reached the point where we should end our development programme. Our judgment is that we are not there yet. As she said, India has more poor people than the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. It also has the biggest Government-led pro-poor, anti-poverty programme anywhere in the world, and through our programme, we are strongly encouraging more of the same.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State outline what representations he has received from the Indian Government about his plans to spend 50% of DFID money on the private sector? Is that an aspiration only for India, or is it for other developing countries too?

[Mr Mitchell]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the nature of development is to try to move countries off welfare development on to pro-poor, private sector investment, as that is something that helps poor people to lift themselves out of poverty. The decisions on the Indian programme were made in close consultation with the Indian Government, and take account of our priorities and theirs as well.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

9. How many organisations have (a) applied for and (b) been granted funds from his Department's global action poverty fund.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

10. What humanitarian aid his Department is providing to the people of Libya.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

We have provided funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has sent in three medical teams, medical supplies to treat 3,000 people affected by fighting, and essential relief items for up to 100,000 of the most vulnerable.

[Ann Clwyd]

As the Minister knows, a team from Amnesty International has been in Libya for the past month, and it has found evidence of hundreds of missing and detained people. Given Gaddafi’s track record of extreme cruelty and torture, will he try to ensure that, at the very least, the ICRC has access to those detained people, so that news can be given to their families and they can have some contact with them?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Lady, who rightly always champions these issues, is entirely correct, which is why we and the United Nations have called strongly for unfettered access for humanitarian agencies. We continue to call for that access to be given throughout Libya.

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

The potential humanitarian crisis in Libya is one of those that should be influenced by the important report by Lord Ashdown on our response to humanitarian crises. I know that the Secretary of State welcomed the publication of that review. Can he give us some idea of the time scale for a Government response to this important piece of work?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right. Lord Ashdown’s review of the way Britain conducts its humanitarian and emergency relief is outstanding. The Government will now consult and take six weeks to consider all the implications of that, and then report back to the House.

[Naomi Long (Belfast East) (Alliance)]

Many sub-Saharan Africans work as migrant workers in Libya and do not have the resources or the opportunity to be repatriated. One of my constituents, who works with the Somali community in Belfast, has contacted me as members of that community are very concerned about their relatives. What are the international community and our Government doing to try to stem that aspect of the humanitarian crisis?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is right to identify the migrant communities leaving Libya, especially through Tunisia, as particularly vulnerable. That is why Britain, along with others, has flown tens of thousands of them home to their countries and families. Britain has been involved in repatriating more than 12,500.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

11. What recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation on Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Egypt.

[Joseph Johnson (Orpington) (Con)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation on Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Egypt.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

More than 350,000 people have crossed the Libyan borders since the crisis began. Early action by Britain and others has ensured that a logistical crisis has not, so far at least, developed into a humanitarian emergency.

[David Morris]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the work that he has done so far on the issue. Obviously, it is not for me to remind him that the eyes of the world are on that region, and that we must get it right for the people there.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is entirely correct. Britain was one of the first countries to provide blankets and tents for those who were caught out in the open on the borders. Following that, as I said in answer to the previous question, we were at the forefront of the international community in providing flights to repatriate migrant workers from both borders.

[Joseph Johnson]

One of the biggest challenges facing Egypt’s transition to democracy is the fragile state of its economy, with capital rapidly leaving the country. Can the Secretary of State please say what he will do to stop the additional pressure on the Egyptian economy from the influx of refugees from Libya, which is draining it of remittances and pushing up already high unemployment?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to identify a most important issue. I have made clear Britain’s significant contribution to ensuring that migrants are flown home. On the other points that he mentioned, some of that is a matter for the Paris Club of creditors, the other international financial institutions and the significant funding available from the European Union through the neighbourhood funds.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

12. What discussions he has had with his EU and UN counterparts on the development implications of the state of emergency in Yemen.

Aid Reviews

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 1st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I should like to make a statement about the Government’s bilateral and multilateral aid reviews, which are published today.

The coalition Government’s decision to increase the UK’s aid budget to 0.7% of national income from 2013 reflects the values we hold as a nation. It is also firmly in Britain’s national interest, but this decision imposes on us a double duty to spend this money well. On my first day in office, I took immediate steps to make our aid as focused and effective as possible. I commissioned reviews of the Department for International Development’s bilateral programmes in developing countries and of the UK’s aid funding to international organisations. These reviews have been thorough, rigorous, evidence-based and scrutinised by independent development experts. They will fundamentally change the way in which aid is allocated.

Recent events in north Africa and the wider middle east have demonstrated why it is critical that the UK increases its focus on helping countries to build open and responsive political systems, tackle the root causes of fragility, and empower citizens to hold their Governments to account. It is the best investment we can make to avoid violence and protect the poorest and most vulnerable. In the middle east and north Africa, we are monitoring events closely and will respond as appropriate.

The bilateral aid review considered where and how we should spend UK aid. Each DFID country team was asked to develop a “results offer” setting out what they could achieve for poor people over the next four years. Each offer was underpinned by evidence, analysis of value for money, and a focus on girls and women. The results offers were scrutinised by more than 100 internal technical reviewers and a panel of independent experts. Ministers then considered the whole picture, deciding which results should be prioritised in each country. Consultation with civil society and other Government Departments was undertaken throughout.

As a result of the bilateral aid review, we will dramatically increase our focus on tackling ill health and killer diseases in poor countries, with a particular emphasis on immunisation, malaria, maternal and newborn health, extending choice to girls and women over when and whether they have children; and polio eradication. We will do more to tackle malnutrition, which stunts children’s development and destroys their life chances, and do more to get children, particularly girls, into school. We will put wealth creation at the heart of our efforts, with far more emphasis on giving poor people property rights and encouraging investment and trade in the poorest countries. We will deal with the root causes of conflict and help to build more stable societies, as people who live amidst violence have no chance of lifting themselves out of poverty. And we will help the poorest, who will be hit first and hardest by floods, drought and extreme weather—the effects of climate change.

As a result of this review, we have decided to focus British aid more tightly on the countries where Britain is well placed to have a significant long-term impact on poverty. By 2016, DFID will have closed significant bilateral programmes in 16 countries. This will be a phased process, honouring our existing commitments and exiting responsibly. These countries are China, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Moldova, Bosnia, Cameroon, Lesotho, Niger, Kosovo, Angola, Burundi, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq and Serbia. This will allow us to focus our bilateral resources in the following 27 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, the occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Together, those countries account for three quarters of global maternal mortality, nearly three quarters of global malaria deaths and almost two thirds of children out of school. Many of them are affected by fragility and conflict, so we will meet the commitment made through the strategic defence and security review to spend 30% of British aid on supporting fragile and conflict-affected states, and to help some of the poorest countries in the world to address the root causes of their problems.

We will have three regional programmes in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, and an ongoing aid relationship with three aid-dependent overseas territories, namely St Helena, the Pitcairn Islands and Montserrat.

The multilateral aid review took a hard look at the value for money offered by 43 international funds and organisations through which the UK spends aid. It considered how effective each organisation was at tackling poverty. It provides a detailed evidence base on which Ministers can take decisions about where to increase funding, where to press for reforms and improvements, and in some cases where to withdraw taxpayer funding altogether. The 43 multilateral agencies fall into four broad categories.

First, I am delighted to tell the House that nine organisations have been assessed as providing very good value for the British taxpayer. They include UNICEF, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, or GAVI, the Private Infrastructure Development Group, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We will increase funding to those organisations, because they have a proven track record of delivering excellent results for poor people. Of course there is always room for improvement and we will still require strong commitments to continued reform and even better performance.

Funding for the next group of agencies—those rated as good or adequate value for money, such as the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation—will be accompanied by specific pressure from the UK for a series of reforms and improvements that we expect to see in the coming years.

We are placing four organisations in special measures and demanding that they improve their performance as a matter of urgency. Those organisations are UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the development programmes of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the International Organisation for Migration. Those organisations offer poor value for money for UK aid, but they have a potentially critical niche development or humanitarian role that is not well covered elsewhere in the international system, or they contribute to broader UK Government objectives. We expect to see serious reforms and improvements in performance. We will take stock within two years and DFID’s core funding may be reconsidered if improvements are not made.

Finally, the review found that four agencies performed poorly or failed to demonstrate relevance to Britain’s development objectives. The review therefore concluded that it is no longer acceptable for taxpayers’ money from my Department to continue to fund them centrally. I can therefore tell the House today that the British Government will withdraw their membership of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, and that DFID will stop voluntary core funding to UN-Habitat, the International Labour Organisation and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. That will allow more than £50 million of taxpayers’ money to be redirected immediately to better performing agencies. We are working closely with other countries to build a coalition for ambitious reform and improvement of all multilateral agencies.

As a result of the reviews, over the next four years British aid will secure schooling for 11 million children, which is more than we educate throughout the UK, but at 2.5% of the cost; vaccinate more children against preventable diseases than there are people in England; provide access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation to more people than there are in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined; save the lives of 50,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth; stop 250,000 newborn babies dying needlessly; support 13 countries to hold freer and fairer elections; and help 10 million women to access modern family planning.

I believe that those results, which will transform the lives of millions of people across the world, will make everyone in the House and this country proud. They reflect our values as a nation—generosity, compassion and humanity. However, those results are not only delivered from the British people; they are for the British people. They contribute to building a safer, more stable and more prosperous world, which in turn helps to keep our country safe from instability, infectious disease and organised crime.

Aid can perform miracles, but it must be well spent and properly targeted. The UK’s development programme has now been reshaped and refocused so that it can meet that challenge. I commend this statement to the House.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for giving me advance copies of it.

I welcome the Secretary of State’s declaration that our aid programme is both morally right and in our national interest. As he argues against those who decry aid, he will have our strong support. This is not just about charity; it is about justice, tackling global inequality and fulfilling our responsibilities to the world. We put development at the heart of our agenda because we believe we must struggle for a fairer and more equal world.

As things change in the world, as we are seeing in north Africa and the middle east, it is right to review our aid programme, but what should not and must not change is the commitment to spend 0.7% of our national income on aid by 2013. There must be no slipping back on that. Will the Secretary of State tell the House when he will bring forward the Bill to put that promise into law?

Will the Secretary of State campaign vigorously to show that our aid matters and saves lives? The girls and boys sitting in classrooms in Nepal, the Nigerian women who no longer have to walk miles to fetch water and the millions of children who no longer die from preventable disease are proof of that. Is not that the way to build support for aid, rather than by announcing as “new” decisions that we had already made? Will the Secretary of State admit that there is nothing new about ending significant bilateral aid to Russia? We ended it in 2007. Grand gestures of shutting down already closed programmes create a misleading picture of aid and undermine rather than support it. He should know better. As tackling poverty depends greatly on trade as well as aid, will he implement the Bribery Act 2010 now?

Will the Secretary of State acknowledge that after 13 years in which the Labour Government tripled the aid budget, reversing the cuts of the previous Tory Government, this country led the world in tackling global poverty? Is he not concerned that that leadership, which is so important during a global economic downturn, is undermined by his decision to freeze the percentage of aid as a share of national income for the next two years? Can he tell the House how many lives will be lost and how many fewer children will go to school because of the lost £2.2 billion in aid?

Will the Secretary of State assure the House that he will protect his Department from raids by other Government Departments? DFID’s budget is for the world’s poorest, and he must not let other Government Departments use his budget as a source of cash. Will he reclaim the £1.8 million that he gave to fund the Pope’s visit? That was not tackling global poverty, nor was his Department’s loan of £161 million to the Turks and Caicos Islands. He has to be strong and stop his ministerial colleagues using DFID as a hole in the wall.

In our 2009 White Paper, we recognised the need to help people who suffer the twin problems of grinding poverty and living in an area ravaged by violence. It is right that we co-ordinate our development, diplomatic and security efforts, but our aid programme must not become subsumed in our military and security objectives. Of course, in places such as Yemen it is right that our aid efforts complement our foreign and security policy objectives where they can. We are absolutely committed to upholding our security and countering terrorism, but that must be the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Will the Secretary of State confirm that poverty reduction will remain the focus of DFID money?

I welcome the Government’s continuation of Labour’s commitment to the international co-ordination of aid through multilateral organisations, and in particular the Secretary of State’s reaffirmation of the EU’s work, but will he reconsider his decision on the ILO?

The Secretary of State’s men-only ministerial team talk a lot about how they will empower women in the developing world. Why, then, has he still not decided how much he will contribute to the new UN women’s agency? Why should the women of the world have to wait for the men in his Government to put their money where their mouth is?

On bilateral aid, we welcome the focus on setting aid objectives for each country, but did the recipient countries play a part in that? Will the Secretary of State continue the spirit of the 2005 Paris declaration, which put the developing country in the driving seat and did so much to end the problematic post-colonial relationship between donor and recipient countries? Will he confirm that the decisions to cut aid to very poor countries such as Niger and Lesotho involved co-ordination with other donor countries, to ensure that our decisions do not leave them high and dry? Will he also explain his decision to end aid to Burundi, where there is deep poverty, and which is in the great lakes region, where there is still instability?

I welcome the Secretary of State’s continuation of the previous Labour Government’s focus on results and value for money. We made progress towards the millennium development goals, such as cutting maternal mortality and increasing child survival. To say that that was wasting money is an insult to all those who worked on those programmes, and it is to deny the value of those lives that were saved. I hope we will hear no more of that.

With more than 1 billion people still living in poverty, the Secretary of State is right to recognise that there is a long way to go. As Secretary of State for International Development, he will have the Opposition’s support. We will back him in his work if he keeps faith with British generosity and our duty to the world’s poor.

[Mr Mitchell]

I think I will take that as qualified support for the Government’s position.

The right hon. and learned Lady emphasises that it is morally right and in our national interests to stand by the very strong commitments that have been made by all parties in the House, which I welcome. We made it absolutely clear when we took office that in sorting out the dreadful economic inheritance we received from the Labour Government, we would not balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world, and we honour that promise today. On that point, let me make it clear to her that the legislation agreed before the election in support of the 0.7% pledge from 2013 will come before the House as soon as the parliamentary business managers can find a convenient time.

Let me make it clear that I have cut back the programmes in Russia and China that we inherited. The programme in Russia will be completed by the end of April, and the programme in China will be completed by the end of March, but the coalition Government have made the decision to rein back those programmes—we inherited a continuing programme.

I should make it clear to the right hon. and learned Lady that support came in equal proportions from a number of British Government Departments involved with the Pope’s visit, but that included DFID because, as she will be aware, the Catholic Church and its organisations deliver health care and education in some of the most difficult parts of the world, and DFID has a very strong relationship with the Church on that basis. However, let me put her mind at rest: my Department’s share of the cost of the visit did not come out of the 0.7% budget or the official development assistance budget.

The right hon. and learned Lady also asks whether other Departments are raiding the DFID budget. She should know, because we have made it absolutely clear, that we will stand by the OECD development assistance committee definition of what is and is not aid. We stand by that, and it governs what can and cannot be spent by the British taxpayer under the ODA budget.

The right hon. and learned Lady referred to the guarantee that has been so skilfully negotiated in the Turks and Caicos Islands by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State. The islands are a dependent territory, and we stand by our dependent territories—she will be aware that that is one of the first commitments in the International Development Act 2002. However, thanks to my right hon. Friend’s skill, we have negotiated a guarantee while they sort themselves out, rather than funding from the British taxpayer.

The right hon. and learned Lady asked whether we would reconsider our decision about the ILO. I emphasise to the House that the decision came from a recommendation in the multilateral aid review, which I strongly encourage her to look at, and in which the professional analysis reads:

“The ILO has a wide range of organisational weaknesses including weak cost control and results reporting”

and

“limited transparency”.

It continued:

“We will consider, on a case by case basis, funding the ILO in country on specific projects—provided it represents good value for money and is consistent with UK poverty reduction goals”.

That is a fair analysis. However, I invite hon. Members who do not agree with it to have a look at the multilateral aid review and reach their own conclusions. I want to emphasise that the four elements of a decent work agenda—employment, social protection, labour standards and social dialogue—form a core part of my Department’s work in this area, and will continue to do so.

[Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)]

What about trade unions?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman mentions trade unions from a sedentary position. Let me make it clear that the trade unions, for the work they do, will be able to apply to the global poverty action fund, and I look forward to their doing so.

The right hon. and learned Lady made three other points. The first related to support for the new United Nations women’s agency. The Government strongly support the agency and argued for it to be set up. One of my noble Friends was there last week, and I saw Michelle Bachelet, the brilliant new head of UN Women, on—I think—her first day in office. We have offered her staff in order to assist in her tasks, and when she comes forward with a strategic plan in July, I have no doubt that we will be able to fund it. We will urge other countries to share the burden appropriately, but we will be very strong supporters of what she is doing.

The right hon. and learned Lady asked me about Niger and whether I would confirm that other donors were involved in the decision. We decided that it was not appropriate to keep a bilateral programme in Niger. Other donors were certainly involved in the decision. Much of the work that is being done in Niger, which she will know is an enormously food-insecure part of the world, is done on a multilateral basis. Last year, I agreed specific support on a humanitarian basis to feed 810,000 people, including 35,500 children suffering from acute malnutrition. Some 81,000 families received seeds, and we sent specific support for 15,000 livestock, which of course is very important to people continuing their lives. We are very much engaged in Niger on a humanitarian basis, but we look to other countries to share the burden, and we strongly support the multilateral architecture in addressing the situation in Niger.

The right hon. and learned Lady also asked about Burundi. We have completed our work on revenue capacity-building. We had a very small programme there, but we judged that it was right to close it. These are tough and difficult decisions, but we thought that we could spend the money better elsewhere. However, TradeMark East Africa, which we strongly support, will be based there as well. Wiring that into the regional infrastructure is extremely important, and work is ongoing on that.

Finally, a letter and a copy of the document “Changing lives, delivering results”, which sets out the results of the review, are available to all Members on the Board. Furthermore, the full multilateral aid review can be read on the internet by anyone who wishes to do so.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

May I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend on a truly impressive statement, which was both highly practical and highly moral? May I also make a micro-economic point? It is one thing—and difficult enough—to establish projects in poor countries, but the most difficult thing of all is ensuring their subsequent daily, humble maintenance. When I walked around poor villages in Africa and Asia, I often came across a tap with clean water in it—one of the greatest assets that we can provide through aid—in the middle of the village. However, very often the tap was either dripping or gushing, and when one asked why, one was told that the rubber washer was always stolen within a few days of being installed. Nobody has ever told me what subsequent use the rubber washers are put to, but if the tap does not work or runs out of water, the whole scheme collapses.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend said he was going to make a micro-economic point! He has great experience of such matters from his distinguished past, and he is absolutely right. Seeing assets that have been installed but are not in working order is an enormously depressing aspect of international development. Seeing empty schools in Africa that do not have children to go to them or teachers to serve them is similar to what he described. All our work is designed to achieve effective and transparent results that work not only for British taxpayers but for those we are trying to help.

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party friends of CAFOD—the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development—group. Does the right hon. Gentleman acknowledge the contribution of aid agencies and non-governmental organisations to the current focus of his Department’s work? Does he also agree with the overwhelming view that the greater the transparency, the greater the support will be from the British people for our objectives in this field? As two examples of how he can act quickly on such matters, may I urge him to accept the advice about implementing the Bribery Act 2010 as quickly as possible and to consider the role of British companies involved in mineral extraction in developing countries?

[Mr Mitchell]

I certainly pay tribute to CAFOD and the brilliant work of Chris Bain in leading it. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the importance of transparency, which is why one of the coalition Government’s first acts was to publish our transparency guarantee. He is right about results and openness. We are all strongly behind the Bribery Act 2010. There are some standing instructions that need to be worked out by a number of Departments, but that will happen relatively quickly and the Act will be fully implemented.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

The review was right, and the tighter focus is welcome. The Select Committee on International Development will monitor not just the quantity and transparency of aid, but its effectiveness in tackling poverty and creating the space for development. However, will he explain one or two anomalies in his announcement? Burundi, which has already been mentioned, is a surprising omission, given that it is a poor country, but South Africa is included. What is the case for that, given that every other country on the list is a low-income country? Finally, will he confirm that targeting fewer countries will enable some of the staffing shortfalls that have been so apparent to be addressed, so that DFID staff are fully complemented where they are operating bilaterally?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Chairman of the Select Committee makes an important point. Programme staffing will be set to ensure that we can implement all the programmes. South Africa is a regional hub—an engine of economic development throughout the region—and much of our programme there is devoted to that. I have explained the position on Burundi, but, clearly, it too benefits from that engine of regional economic development. On his first point, the independent commission for aid impact, which is led by chief commissioner Graham Ward, one of Britain’s most distinguished accountants, reports to his Committee, not me, injecting that independent evaluation of British aid that is so important in maintaining taxpayer confidence in what we are doing.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Today is St David’s day, and Wales is twinned with Lesotho. Will the Secretary of State tell us why Lesotho has been victimised in these cuts, and whether he had any discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government about his decision?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Under-Secretary of State for International Development will be visiting Wales shortly. I reciprocate the comments of the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) about St David’s day. In regard to Lesotho, we think that there are better ways of supporting that country than through a bilateral programme, for the reasons that I set out earlier. When my hon. Friend goes to Wales and meets Members of the Welsh Assembly, I am sure that this is one of the matters that can be discussed.

[Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend make two things clear to the NGOs? The first is that they have a shared responsibility with us to make it clear that international development is a moral obligation as well as being in our national interest? The second is that, given that international development aid is now at 0.6% of GDP and will soon be at 0.7%, if people want more aid spent on a specific topic or area, it behoves them to explain which part of my right hon. Friend’s programme they want money to be taken away from, because the Department has now reached the maximum amount of funds that it is going to have during the course of this Parliament.

[Mr Mitchell]

I will certainly pass on my hon. Friend’s message to the NGOs. They also have a strong agenda of accountability and transparency, and we encourage them strongly in that. The workings of the Global Poverty Action Fund will greatly simplify the way in which NGOs access taxpayer support, and will also be very effective in driving forward that agenda.

[Mr David Blunkett (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State join me in applauding the generosity of the British people, not least at the moment through their donations to Comic Relief? Will he also say something about his review’s impact on the poorest of the very poor—namely, the children and men and women with severe disabilities in the developing world, who constantly get lost in these debates, not least because they were not included in the millennium development goals?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right on that point. Some four years ago, I went to Laos and Cambodia deliberately to look at the way in which disability impacted on development. We have not forgotten about this, and disability is clearly recognised in the work that we are taking forward.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State give me an indication of how he intends to work with the Dalit community, some 65,000 of whom live in Dhaka, to ensure that they are not excluded in spite of the best efforts to deliver aid to poor people?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Dalit community represent the poorest of the poor in India, and we are looking specifically at ways of introducing a scholarship scheme to bring advantage to hundreds of thousands of Dalit girls in that country.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

More than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and less than half in the countryside. Just over a year ago the International Development Select Committee published a report on urbanisation which recommended a large increase in funding for UN-Habitat. I am astonished at the decision to pull the plug on UN-Habitat. Will the Secretary of State look at the report’s recommendations and write a note to the Select Committee explaining how his Department is going to meet them?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point about urbanisation. Only in the very recent past has the majority of the world lived in towns and cities rather than in the countryside, and the report to which he refers is a very good one. If he looks at the multilateral aid review, he will see the comments that were made about UN-Habitat, and I think that he will find them helpful in understanding the Government’s approach.

[Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)]

May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on putting such a strong emphasis on the effectiveness of aid, given that its purpose is not to make us feel good but to do good? Does he agree with the all-party parliamentary group on Trade Out of Poverty that, although effective aid is important in alleviating poverty, countries can leave poverty behind in the long run only if they have opportunities to trade their way out of it? Will he place great emphasis on encouraging the rich unilaterally to remove tariffs, quotas and other barriers to poor countries trading with us?

[Mr Mitchell]

I am most grateful to my right hon. Friend for his remarks. He, of course, led our party’s approach to the “globalisation of poverty” review of 2005—a most important document. I entirely endorse what he says about the importance of trade and trading out of poverty. The fact that there is such a strong coalition—if I may put it that way—between my right hon. Friend and Clare Short, who are driving forward this issue, emphasises how wide the support is for what he is doing. That underlines the importance of continuing to work flat out for a successful outcome to the Doha round.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

The Secretary of State has said that there will be a new focus on both bilateral and multilateral aid. Will that focus include giving priority consideration to marginal farmers, with women numbering heavily among them? Did he have them in mind in his reference to property rights? How will he ensure that the special measures attaching to the Food and Agriculture Organisation do not interfere with improved focus on the position of women marginal farmers?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman will have heard the contrast between what I said about the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which has been placed in a form of special measures, and the World Food Programme, which is doing extremely well under the leadership of Josette Sheeran. We would probably have pulled out of the FAO but it is about to recruit a new director and we want to work with that new director to ensure that the FAO becomes a much more effective organisation. I completely endorse what the hon. Gentleman says about the importance of my Department’s focus on farming and agriculture.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, giving a renewed focus to British aid policy. He will know that improving good governance is one of the most effective ways of lifting people out of poverty. Will he confirm that, under his new order, there will still be a significant investment in capacity as he develops his targets for developing countries, as this will help them improve their democratic systems and their good governance?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right in the emphasis he places on good governance. Helping people to hold their leaders and their politicians to account is an extremely important part of an open and free society, as events—not least, in the middle east—have made clear in recent weeks. This is an important focus of my Department’s work.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State will recognise that among the most exploited workers in the world are Dalits, garment makers and brick makers working in the very poorest countries. Their way out of poverty is organisation, better employment practices and decent wages. In that light, why is the right hon. Gentleman cutting money for the International Labour Organisation, which provides an important benchmark on the employment basis of those people and, of course, on the rights of migrant workers as well?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely right to emphasise that there are four key elements of the decent work agenda, which I mentioned earlier: social dialogue, labour standards, social protection and employment. It is a common purpose across the House that those elements should be supported, and we will work in a variety of ways, including with the trade unions, to ensure that we uphold them.

[Mr William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will know that the all-party groups on Kenya, Uganda and sanitation and water will be extremely glad to hear that they are still going to receive aid. I notice, however, that Commonwealth Secretariat and UNESCO are being placed into special measures as a matter of urgency. Is there a case for putting the EU in the same category?

[Mr Mitchell]

We have looked carefully at EU aid spending and while it is true that the spending through the Commission is not as good as it should be, it is nevertheless also true that the European development fund spends British taxpayers’ money quite well. Let me also make it clear to my hon. Friend that although some 17% of the funding comes from Britain, 40% of it is spent on the Commonwealth countries for which I know he has a particular affection.

[Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State suggests terminating the aid programme in Vietnam. I suggest that he look again at the report of the Select Committee after its visit to the country in 2007. It recognised that although the aid relationship needed to change, the graduation of Vietnam to middle-income status was fragile, that many good ideas that could be used elsewhere in the world were being tested, and that the aid relationship, although changing, should continue. Will the right hon. Gentleman look at that again?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

We had specific discussions with Vietnam on our programme there, which does not wind down, I think, until 2016—it has the longest tail of any of the wind-down programmes. Vietnam is powering out of poverty, and ensuring that the role of the private sector is fully embraced is a big part of the work that my Department is undertaking. We have agreed the scale-down with the Government of Vietnam, and it works for us and them.

[Richard Harrington (Watford) (Con)]

I too commend the Secretary of State and his colleagues on today’s statement and the review behind it. On a visit to Kashmir last week, the outcomes of British aid that I saw in the capital, Muzaffarabad, impressed me. Given his mention of the European development fund, is he satisfied about the hundreds of millions of euros that go via the development fund to Turkey and Croatia, which are neither contaminated with a lot of poverty nor fragile states? If he is dissatisfied, will he take measures in future to ensure that the money is redirected to other countries.

[Mr Mitchell]

I hear what my hon. Friend says, but many people would agree that building up Turkey’s capacity to trade with us through such assistance is a sensible use of European Union funds. I will have a good look at his point in respect of Croatia.

[Eric Joyce (Falkirk) (Lab)]

Today’s announcement of the continuation of bilateral aid to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is welcome, but will the Secretary of State continue to press the DRC Government on the importance of transparency in getting UK companies to engage and take risks in that country?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to stress the importance of that agenda in the DRC, which is a strong partner of ours. Over the next four years, we will be doing a great deal of work there, spending on average £198 million, with a strong focus on tackling malaria, ensuring that 6 million people get access to clean water, boosting the electoral system, and ensuring that girls get into school.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

Unfolding events in north Africa and the wider middle east could not have been anticipated when the review began. Will the Government’s proposals allow enough flexibility to deal with these issues and with others that are bound to arise in future?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: we are watching extremely carefully what is happening. We are fully engaged on issues of humanitarian relief on Libya’s borders with Egypt and Tunisia, and I will be going there in the next couple of days.

[Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that when he refers to the occupied Palestinian territories, he includes the prison camp of Gaza and the hells on earth that are the refugee camps in Lebanon? Is he aware that the $2.4 million that his Department has awarded for medical aid in the Lebanese refugee camps is enormously appreciated but will last for only a month, which is a symbol of the dire need in these places?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman is extremely experienced in the issues of the occupied Palestinian territories and of Gaza. Through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, we take a careful interest in what is happening in Gaza and will continue to do so.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Having visited the flood-hit areas of Pakistan and Kashmir before Christmas, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he will confirm that the money saved on aid to China and Russia will go to such areas and to the other poorest areas in the world that need the aid most?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As a result of the much more careful prioritisation of aid and aid programmes, we are able to re-channel British taxpayer’s money into the kind of causes that he identifies.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

How does the Secretary of State justify ending bilateral aid to Cambodia, given that last year 31% of the population were estimated as living under the poverty line, and the country is in danger of missing seven of its eight millennium development goals?

[Mr Mitchell]

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but it is important to recognise whether a British bilateral programme that is small compared with several other bilateral and multilateral programmes was having a real impact. We concluded that such a programme was not the best way of spending taxpayer’s money.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend and his team on an important piece of work that is in the national interest, but may I press him a little further on the subject of the European Union? Would he consider discussing with the EU the possibility of a pan-European review conducted on the basis on which he conducted his valuable review of this country’s aid, to establish whether that would help the EU to deliver its aid more effectively?

[Mr Mitchell]

We continue to discuss a range of matters with the EU and with Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who is in charge of development. The multilateral aid review examined the work of the European development fund in much the same way as the bilateral review examined our country-to-country programme. There is ongoing work to be done, but I assure my hon. Friend that we are very much on the case.

[Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)]

Last week I was in Ghana with the all-party parliamentary group on agriculture and food for development. Members of both Houses observed for themselves the critical importance of agriculture not just to the sustaining of livelihoods but to the potential for economic growth in developing countries. I noted the Secretary of State’s concern about the Food and Agriculture Organisation, but what strategic role will agriculture play in DFID’s plans for the future?

[Mr Mitchell]

Food security and agriculture are at the heart of many of the programmes that we operate in food-stressed areas. We are working increasingly closely with the World Food Programme, not only on the provision of emergency aid but on trying to enable food-insecure areas to change the way in which they secure their food so that it is sustainable in the long term. Very good work is being done in Karamoja, in northern Uganda, and we intend to intensify it.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

The Secretary of State said that he would put more money into the development of democracy in 13 of the 16 countries that he listed. Elections have already taken place last year and this year, so we have missed the boat on those. Can we be certain that the programme will continue and that we will carry out intensive work with some of the countries that have not done as well as they might have in reducing corruption in the electoral process, not just during the four-year period that has been mentioned but, if necessary, for five or six years?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend has asked a very good question. Over the next four years, we will work intensively to try to boost freer and fairer elections. As I said in my statement, we shall be working in 13 countries, notably Zimbabwe. We have made it clear that if there is a proper route map towards freer and fairer elections in that country, we shall be able engage much more directly in development work there.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

It is all very well for the Secretary of State to be charming about Mrs Bachelet, the head of UN Women, but when I heard her speak at the Commission on the Status of Women last week, she pointed out that she still had to raise the bulk of the $500 million dollar budget of UN Women. Britain was the fourth biggest donor to UN Women last year, but although some 30 other countries have made commitments for 2011, we have thus far failed to do so. UN Women has an ambitious programme to tackle violence against women, to empower women, and to ensure that women’s voices are heard in some of the poorest countries in the world. Why has the Secretary of State not yet made a decision?

[Mr Mitchell]

I think that I was respectful rather than charming about Mrs Bachelet, but as soon as we have a plan that we can fund, we will fund it. We have already provided some transitional funds. As the hon. Lady will know, there is specific funding to tackle violence against women, and she can rest assured that the Government strongly support this agency, as we always have. When we see the plan, we will fund it.

[Joseph Johnson (Orpington) (Con)]

I welcome the tighter focus of the aid programme, but the India programme continues to present a juicy target for aid sceptics who criticise it for being directed at a nuclear power and a space power. Does the Secretary of State agree that it would be fairer for them to acknowledge that the civil nuclear programme is playing an essential part in meeting India’s energy deficit, and that since its inception the space programme has focused largely on development, using satellite technology to give Indians in rural areas access to long-distance learning opportunities, remote health care and crop-related weather analysis?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. India presents a paradox, because although it has the programmes to which he refers, there are also more poor people in India than in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. Our programme is in transition: we are shifting its focus on to only three of the poorest states in India, and over the next four years up to half the programme will be spent on pro-poor private sector investment for development. We will not be there for ever, but now is not the time to end this programme.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

How will the increase in aid to conflict-affected countries be evaluated to ensure it is having the greatest impact?

[Mr Mitchell]

In future, all our programmes will have detailed evaluation criteria from day one whether or not they are in conflict-affected areas, and, of course, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact will evaluate whether the taxpayer is getting good value for money. These criteria therefore apply across all our programmes, not just those that are easiest to evaluate.

[Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement on the refocusing of our aid to target it and get value for money from it. Does he agree that education, particularly for girls, remains a top priority? What is his Department doing, and what more can it do, to encourage education throughout the developing world?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For reasons he will readily appreciate, one of the best development investments we can make in terms of outcomes is to get girls into school, which is why that is such a key target for us. Over the next four years, Britain will educate 11 million children overseas, far more than in the whole of Britain, and, as I have said, at 2.5% of the cost. Therefore, if any of my hon. Friend’s constituents say that this programme should be repatriated, he should point out that 2.5% of the cost would not even get one laptop per class.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

An Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation visiting a former communist country last week was shocked to hear from the head of a trade union that she was under pressure to relinquish her post so that she could be replaced by a Government stooge. We offered her hope from the International Labour Organisation, which is the only effective body that can influence her Government. Why are we denying the ILO funds?

[Mr Mitchell]

As the hon. Gentleman will have heard me say, we are maintaining our membership of the ILO. However, if he looks at the report—which he can download from the internet immediately after this statement—he will see the professional analysis of the ILO’s work, and he may then decide that there are organisations that might be better than the ILO in assisting the lady he mentioned in the specific circumstances he described.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Save the Children, which is a very well-supported charity in West Worcestershire, has particularly welcomed this review. The Secretary of State has just emphasised the importance of educating girls. Can he tell us how many more girls will receive an education as a result of this review?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

I am afraid that I cannot give that precise figure to my hon. Friend off the top of my head, but I shall write to her on the matter. What I can tell her is that last year Britain educated about 5 million children overseas, but that figure will rise substantially in the future.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Further to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), does the Secretary of State recognise that the new agency UN Women needs some certainty about its budget in order to prepare its strategic plan, rather than the other way around? Will he therefore lead from the front, instead of delaying his decision as to how much to commit to this vital UN agency?

[Mr Mitchell]

I can reassure the hon. Lady that we are in very close touch with UN Women. When the plan is produced, I am sure we will be able to fund it. Meanwhile, we have given some hundreds of thousands of pounds in transitional funding to assist the agency to get to that point. This agency has only just been started; the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) suggested we failed to fund it last year, but it has only just come into existence. With the transitional funding, it will be able to produce its strategic plan, and then I am sure we will be able to fund it.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s excellent statement. Will he join me in paying tribute to the excellent work of UNICEF, which saves the lives of millions of children around the world, and will he now publish, in full and in detail, the review’s analysis of UNICEF’s performance?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend will be able to download the review straight after this statement. UNICEF is doing a brilliant job, and I can assure him that we are going to be able to double its funding in the next two years and support it because of the excellent results that it is achieving and the very good work that it does.

[Mr Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Lab)]

Can the Secretary of State tell us what proportion of the current aid programme is allocated to multilateral aid, what proportion is allocated to bilateral aid and what the proportions will be after his reviews are put in place?

[Mr Mitchell]

If the hon. Gentleman downloads the reviews, he will be able to see the precise figures. The proportion used to be about 50:50, but it will be slightly different in the future. I stand to be corrected but, as I recall it, the multilateral element increases slightly, principally because of the very strong support for the World Bank. I will write to him on this matter.

[Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his commitment to an ongoing aid relationship with the island of St Helena, whose citizens are, of course, British citizens. Can he confirm that proposals for the airfield on the island are still firmly on track?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to identify St Helena as an important dependent territory which rightly has our support. He will know that negotiations are ongoing on three key areas which, when they are the subject of agreement, will form the basis of a contract. I hope to be able to give the House more information in due course.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. He categorised the multilateral organisations as the good, the bad and the ugly, so will he say where, in his assessments, CDC falls?

[Mr Mitchell]

CDC is not one of the organisations that has been assessed as part of the multilateral aid review, because we are in the process of reforming the way in which it operates. The point that we have made in a written statement to the House is that widespread consultation is taking place on how we inject more development genes into CDC. Those negotiations and discussions are continuing, and I hope to be able to say more to the House shortly about how that will proceed.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What proportion of the ongoing aid budget will be absorbed by India, and across the global programme what is the split between funding direct to Governments and funding to non-governmental organisations?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend will be able to see that the figure for India is frozen at its current level for the next four years. If he looks at the results, which are available on the internet, he will see the different proportions of spending, but I can tell him that there will be less direct budget support under this Government’s programme than there was under the previous Government’s.

[Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister, both in Kuwait last week and yesterday, has held up freedom of association as something that Britain should support, so this attack on the International Labour Organisation will horrify every trade union worker around the world. Britain founded the ILO, and in the 1980s the ILO was central to getting rid of Soviet communism and apartheid in South Africa. I know that the Secretary of State has to represent Lazard and the banking community, but this attack on working people around the world is shameful.

[Mr Mitchell]

That may have been a little over the top. First, we are not withdrawing from the ILO. We have made it clear that we will not be making any voluntary contributions to it. We remain a member of the ILO, but the subscription is paid for by the Department for Work and Pensions. Where countries find that the ILO is able to provide a specific service that offers value for money and effectiveness, they will be able to take on its services.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The Secretary of State’s performance today has confirmed, yet again, that he is the only Member of this House who can really run overseas aid. Given that, will he confirm that the extra £21 billion the previous Government forced us to pay to the EU to provide aid in the poorer EU states should come into his Department?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend has a long record of speaking out vigorously on European issues and the whole House will have heard his comments today.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State said, in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr Clarke), that the Bribery Act 2010 will be implemented soon. Given that combating bribery, fraud and corruption is paramount in ensuring that aid gets to the right people and the right places, could he be a little more specific about when he anticipates Labour’s Bribery Act being implemented and what he is doing to press his Government on this very important matter?

[Mr Mitchell]

I have made no secret of my very strong support for the Bribery Act—anyone who holds this office realises how incredibly important it is. I would say that the hon. Lady is a member of a party that did not do an awful lot about this in its 13 years in government. However, we will ensure that, once the wrinkles are ironed out, the legislation is up and running as soon as possible.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

rose—

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

Why on earth are the Government lending £160 million to the Turks and Caicos Islands, which have a very high gross domestic product per head, and why are we also allowing the Cayman Islands to borrow a similar amount of money without introducing anything to tackle their tax haven status?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman did not listen carefully to my earlier response, which was that the Government are supplying a guarantee to the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands so that they have a period of time in which to sort out their financial difficulties. If all goes well, there will not be any costs at all to the British taxpayer as a result.

[Mr Speaker]

I must thank the Secretary of State and colleagues for their succinctness, which has meant that everybody who wanted to get in was able to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Haiti.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Although the number of people in camps in Haiti has fallen by half to 800,000 since last July, Haiti continues to face serious humanitarian challenges.

[Caroline Dinenage]

The President of Haiti famously said that it would take a thousand trucks a thousand days to clear the devastation, but the people do not have a thousand days, because they are suffering disease and crime, and they do not have a thousand trucks. What more can the international community do to tackle the problem?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to identify the scale of the damage and of what is required to put it right. We are working directly on tackling the threat of cholera, and working through the UN and the World Bank on some of the more serious aspects of what needs to happen to bring the relief that is required .

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

I advise you, Mr Speaker, and the House, that my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), the shadow Secretary of State, cannot be here today because she is on jury service.

As well as direct assistance to Haiti, which we support, Britain has contributed more than $100 million through multilateral organisations such as the World Bank and the European Union, as the Secretary of State said. Does he agree that it is important for the UK to continue to make substantial contributions to such organisations if the world community is to provide the scale of long-term support for reconstruction that Haiti requires?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is right to put it that way. Britain was a key part of the immediate, emergency relief in the aftermath of those dreadful events in Haiti. There was generous support from across Britain through the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, and we made a number of specific surgical interventions towards the end of last year, including the one to which I referred. Britain is not in the lead on Haiti—this is very much an American, French and Canadian lead—but we are, as he explained, giving strong support through international and multilateral agencies, including the UN and the World Bank.

[Mark Lazarowicz]

We certainly welcome the fact that British aid is helping the poor and most vulnerable in Haiti. We support that, but unfortunately, it is a different story just 100 miles north of Haiti in the Turks and Caicos Islands, to which the Department for International Development has just agreed to write an unprecedented loan of £160 million, which is much greater than any previous support for a British overseas territory. Surely the priority for DFID in the Caribbean should be meeting the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable in places such as Haiti, so may I ask the Secretary of State—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The question must relate to Haiti and only to Haiti.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman refers to problems some miles away from Haiti. However, if I may say so, he has a bit of a brass neck. We inherited a terrible mess in the area not far from Haiti to which he refers, and it is thanks to the brilliant work conducted by the Minister of State that the British taxpayer has now given a guarantee, which hopefully will allow the place not far from Haiti to sort out its problems without further cost to the British taxpayer.

[Mr Speaker]

We now know more about Haiti and some miles away.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

2. What his Department’s policy is on providing aid to India; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

From now on in India, we will focus our support on three of the poorest states. Our programme will change to reflect the importance of the role of the private sector and private enterprise.

[Philip Davies]

India spends $36 billion a year on defence and $750 million on a space programme. It has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is developing its own overseas aid programme. Given that we must cut public expenditure in this country, will the Secretary of State accept that many of my constituents will think that such aid to India is now unjustifiable?

[Mr Mitchell]

That is why our programme in India is in transition, why we will focus on three of the poorest states in the country and why, over the next four years, up to half the programme will transition into pro-poor private sector investment. That is the right way for us to position our development work in the partnership with India, which is of course much wider than development, and which the Prime Minister very significantly re-energised in his major visit last year.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on continuing with the £280 million each year to India. That is vital given that India has a quarter of the world’s poorest people living within its borders. How does he intend to focus the aid in those three states, particularly with regard to the health of young women?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is right that there are more poor people in India than in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. He is right, too, that we should focus on the poorest areas, and particularly on the role of girls and women. Over future years, we expect to be able to assist in ensuring that up to 4 million women have access to income through micro-finance and through focusing particularly on livelihoods. We will also support, of course, the strong programme on education in India. About 60 million children have been got into school over the last four or five years, which is a tremendous tribute to the work of the Indian Government, but it would not have been possible without the intervention of aid and support from Britain and elsewhere.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that it is worth recording that to lift the poorest people in India out of poverty by $1 a day would cost $166 billion a year, so it is appropriate to continue our transitional arrangements with India? The International Development Committee will visit India next month and we will want to see how DFID’s relationship with the country, albeit with a relatively small amount in comparison with the challenge of the problem, can deliver an accelerated reduction of poverty there.

[Mr Mitchell]

I am grateful to the Chairman of the Select Committee for that comment and also to the Select Committee itself for going to look with care at development in India and the operation of our programme there. He accurately identifies the scale of need. It is worth noting that the number of the Indian population living on less than 80p a day is 7.5 times the total population of Britain. That puts in context the basic nature of this need and shows why Britain’s partnership is so important.

[Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)]

Is the Secretary of State aware of the claims made by the Jubilee Debt Campaign and Jubilee Scotland that the work of the UK’s Export Credits Guarantee Department has been funding work in India that is undermining development and human rights? I declare an interest in that I was until recently a board member of Jubilee Scotland. I ask the Secretary of State to investigate and report back to the House on that matter.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady will have heard what has been said about the Export Credits Guarantee Department—that it is at the moment being looked at carefully to ensure that it supports our development aims. She might also like to look at the trade White Paper published last week, which specifically addresses the role of the ECGD in development and in supporting British exports overseas.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

3. On what date he expects the next Friends of Yemen meeting to take place; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

9. What plans he has to provide support for the new UN Women agency; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The coalition Government strongly support the new UN Women agency, which has the chance to make a hugely positive impact on the lives of millions of girls and women in the developing world. I look forward to receiving its strategic results plan, which will allow us to decide on funding by the British taxpayer for future years.

[Mrs Hodgson]

I thank the Secretary of State for that encouraging response, and for the part he and his colleagues have played in the establishment of UN Women so far. When does he anticipate he will come to a decision on funding for UN Women?

[Mr Mitchell]

We expect to see a strategic plan from UN Women probably in June this year, and as soon as we see it, we will be able to make decisions about British support for the agency. I am sure the hon. Lady and other Members will understand that I want to see the plan first, before committing hard-earned British taxpayers’ money to it.

[Tony Baldry]

From the experience of the many visits my right hon. Friend has made across the world, does he agree that very often it is women who are the agents for change in development? Just as UNICEF has helped to support the focus on children, so it is to be hoped that UN Women can help support women as agents for change and development.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We cannot even begin to address development without realising the centrality of girls and women in every aspect of what we do, and we share his aspirations for the role of UN Women within the international structures.

[Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)]

7. What recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Lab)]

10. When he expects to bring forward legislative proposals in respect of the 0.7 per cent. target for official development assistance.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The coalition Government have set out how we will meet our commitment to spend 0.7% of national income as aid from 2013, and will enshrine that commitment in law as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

[Mr McCann]

Some may be reassured by the Secretary of State’s answer and some may even be convinced by it, but I can tell him about a group of people who are not: his own loyal staff at DFID in East Kilbride who in August 2010 were told that there would be no mass loss of jobs from the Department, but last Thursday were told that a third of their jobs would be cut. Is it not the case that when this Government meet commitments, the truth and their commitments are strangers?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that all Departments across Whitehall are having to make economies because of the coalition Government’s dreadful economic inheritance from his party. DFID is not immune from the cuts and will see reductions of some 33% in its administrative spend. I had the opportunity of speaking to all the staff at Abercrombie house just a few days ago to make sure that that was understood.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I applaud the Government’s commitment to aid, but can the Secretary of State confirm that climate change adaptation funding, beyond the fast-start finance up to 2012, will be additional to the overseas development assistance pledge?

[Mr Mitchell]

As part of the Government’s fulfilment of our historic pledge, we have set out specifically how climate change funding will rise as part of the overall budget.

[Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Secretary of State congratulate the Government of Kenya, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and all its funding partners, which include the United Kingdom, on the roll-out of their programme of pneumococcal vaccine on Monday? It will save thousands of children in Kenya and across Africa. We hope that it will be a rolling programme across the developing world.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to underline the tremendous success of the vaccination programme. When we announce the results of the multilateral aid review, we shall show how Britain will give a real impetus to vaccination. As the Under-Secretary has just said, we shall host the GAVI conference in London in June and it will be opened by the Prime Minister.

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

11. What progress his Department is making on transferring aid from middle-income states to developing countries in greatest need.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

We have a clear responsibility to ensure that we target our aid where it is most needed and where it will have the greatest impact. I will shortly announce to the House the outcome of our major root and branch review of bilateral aid, which looked in detail at each country.

[Chris White]

Although I strongly support the Government’s decision to stop aid to China, can my right hon. Friend explain what impact that will have on his ability to engage with China on development issues?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to say that the coalition made it clear on day one that we would end all aid to China and Russia, but we need to have a powerful and reinvigorated partnership with China on development issues, not only in the areas where we share deep concerns, such as on freeing up the trading system and on climate, but in working in third countries. For example, Britain is working with China now in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a major infrastructure roads programme. We are doing that work together and it is extremely effective and successful.

The Prime Minister was asked—

Departmental Expenditure Limit (2010-11)

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Monday 14th February 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for International Development’s departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £1,218,000 from £7,544,104,000 to £7,545,322,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 12th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

5. What funding his Department plans to provide for aid to north and south Sudan in 2011-12.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Our future support to Sudan will be determined by the bilateral aid review, which is on schedule to report by the end of February. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, there will continue to be significant humanitarian and development needs in both north and south Sudan.

[Stephen Mosley]

According to Transparency International’s measures, Sudan rates as the 176th most corrupt nation in the world. What assistance will the Department be offering to help to establish the rule of law and build democratic structures in Sudan, whatever the results of the current referendum?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right. Corruption has a devastating impact on the lives of poor people and, indeed, on the confidence of taxpayers in donor countries. It is for that reason that no British taxpayer funds go through the Government of Sudan, but I assure my hon. Friend that we will be working in both north and southern Sudan, whatever the result of the referendum, to increase access to justice and to ensure that in the north, for example, there is much greater transparency in the operation and accountability of local government, and in the south to seek to embed anti-corruption mechanisms from day one, were the referendum to decide that there should be a southern Sudan.

[Sajid Javid]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s efforts in Sudan. Although attention is rightly focused on the referendum in southern Sudan, the violence in the west means that the situation is still fragile, particularly in the region of Darfur. Can my right hon. Friend reassure the House that his Department is able to help both regions—the south and the west—simultaneously?

[Mr Mitchell]

Again, my hon. Friend is right. Although things are going extremely well so far with regard to the referendum, and people respect the agreements made under the comprehensive peace agreement, affairs in Darfur have deteriorated. Indeed, in the last week we have been told that 40,000 people were displaced as a result of fighting there. The British Government are absolutely committed to our humanitarian work in Darfur as well as in south Sudan, and through the common humanitarian programme we provide that support throughout the whole of Sudan.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

Sudan has been beset by conflict for decades, and I pay tribute to the work of DFID officers in bringing about the peace accord. Can the Secretary of State spell out, whatever the outcome of the referendum, how joined up his policy will be with the policies of the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office, to make sure that violence does not erupt again in the south?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman rightly points to the importance of the UK Government platform being seamless. That is why, when I was in Sudan in November, I opened a new British Government office in Juba. Last weekend, it was elevated to a consulate generalship and will provide state-of-the-art support for the work that the British Government are doing in southern Sudan.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Can the Secretary of State update the House on the progress of any agreed settlement regarding the distribution of Sudanese oil reserves between north and south Sudan?

[Mr Mitchell]

This is one of the issues that former President Mbeki is particularly addressing in the discussions about Abyei. As the hon. Lady implies, the largest amounts of oil are in southern Sudan but the mechanisms for extracting it and getting it out are pipelines through northern Sudan. The negotiations are continuing and are likely to continue for some time yet.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

The Secretary of State will be aware that oil wealth has not always transformed countries in Africa, or indeed relieved the poverty of those in question. What steps will DFID take to ensure that southern Sudan will have the infrastructure and diversification support it needs so that it does not become another country suffering the Dutch disease because of oil?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Chairman of the Select Committee draws attention to the resource curse that has afflicted so many countries in that part of the world. The point he makes is being directly addressed. I discussed the matter with President Salva Kiir when I was in Sudan in November. Sudan is one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, with illiteracy of more than 82% and only 24 km of tarmacked road in the entire country. There is a huge development issue to be addressed, but there is also the ability, through oil wealth, to make real progress over the last five years of the millennium development goals until 2015.

[Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab)]

Last year, almost half the people in southern Sudan needed help just to get enough to eat. Southern Sudan has enormous agricultural potential but, as the Secretary of State has just said, there are scarcely any roads or systems to support food production. We help with emergency food aid, quite rightly, but what more can DFID do to ensure that the people of southern Sudan can get off food aid and develop their own agriculture?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. and learned Lady is right to suggest that 4.5 million people directly benefit from British food aid in southern Sudan, but that is not a long-term solution. As we have learned in eastern Africa, by contrast with western Africa, it is crucial to try to ensure that food is grown as closely as possible to the people it supplies and that local markets are stimulated close to where there is food and security. That will be one of the key objectives that we will pursue in conjunction with the authorities in southern Sudan.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the delivery of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

3. What programmes funded by his Department support the education of women in developing countries.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

All my Department’s education programmes will have a focus on girls and young women. We will concentrate on enabling girls to progress through to secondary school, where the largest benefits accrue.

[Chi Onwurah]

I am glad to hear that the Secretary of State is continuing Labour’s excellent work in this area. Education is important for developing economies, as it is for our own, but can he confirm that he will not drop Labour’s pledge to double support for global education?

[Mr Mitchell]

We will set out in due course precisely what the results of taxpayer spending will be in respect of education. I hope that we will carry the whole House in focusing directly on the results that we are achieving and spelling out the commitments that we are making not only to British taxpayers but to those we seek directly to help in poor countries.

[Richard Harrington (Watford) (Con)]

Can the Secretary of State assure the House that aid money transferred via the European development fund for women’s education or any other project will carry the same transparency and accountability as DFID-related projects?

[Mr Mitchell]

As my hon. Friend suggests, the EDF is one of the vehicles for achieving that. Along with other members of the European Union, we are leading a drive to increase transparency in the EDF—so far, that message is being reasonably well received. I must point out that although Britain contributes 17% of the EDF’s funding, 40% of that funding is spent in Commonwealth countries.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State turn his attention to women in Haiti? One year on from the earthquake, people continue to suffer and an alarmingly high number of women and girls are subjected to rape and sexual violence every day: 250 women were raped in just 150 days after the earthquake. What is he doing to ensure that the British Government, the EU, the UN and the Haitian authorities are doing everything possible to bring an end to that appalling violence?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is right to target the current position in Haiti, including the great difficulties that the international community has experienced in making its aid effective and the failures of governance and justice that she graphically identified. Britain is not leading on Haiti—the lead is taken much more by the Americans, Canadians and, indeed, the French, but we were extremely supportive in the initial stages in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti a year ago, and we continue to help, not least in December, with specific interventions to stop the spread of cholera.

[Richard Ottaway (Croydon South) (Con)]

4. What his Department’s policy is on reducing poverty in Africa.

--- Later in debate ---

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

6. If he will bring forward legislative proposals to make binding the 0.7% target for official development assistance as a proportion of gross national income.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The Government are fully committed to meeting the United Nations target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid from 2013, and will enshrine this commitment in law.

[Paul Blomfield]

I thank the Secretary of State for his reply, but may I ask him whether he intends to change the definition of what the UK reports as official development assistance, and specifically whether the Government intend to include expenditure on overseas students and refugees within that 0.7% target?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Government’s position is absolutely clear. Aid is defined by the OECD development assistance committee, and those rules are very clear indeed and strictly laid down. The Government have made it clear, as previous Governments have done, that our aid spending will be defined in that way, and only in that way.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will know that a significant part of the existing aid budget goes to the Government of Tanzania. Does he share my concern about the recent actions of that Government and President Kikwete, who have arrested Opposition leaders who currently reside in prison? Will he call for their early release?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It is not entirely clear what that has got to do with the UN 0.7% target for official development assistance, but if the Secretary of State can find a way briefly to demonstrate that, I shall be happy to listen.

[Mr Mitchell]

Well, my hon. Friend, who takes a close interest in these matters, is right to identify the element within the 0.7% that is spent by Britain in Tanzania. We are in close contact with the authorities about the recent events and are of course reinforcing the importance of the rule of law being followed.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

In maintaining the target of 0.7%, will the Secretary of State ensure that the issue of corruption, which keeps coming to the fore in relation to overseas aid, will be at the forefront of his mind as we go forward?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is right to reinforce the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Stephen Mosley) in the first question today, which was about the importance of bearing down on corruption. Corruption not only deprives poor people of the services to which they should be entitled, but undermines and saps the confidence in donor countries of taxpayers who see their money being wasted.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

Following the two-year freeze in the overseas aid percentage which was announced in the spending review, there will have to be a sharp increase in 2013 to reach the 0.7% target. Can the Secretary of State tell the House what percentage increase in the overseas aid budget in 2013 will be needed to fulfil that commitment?

[Mr Mitchell]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, next year we are spending 0.56% of gross national income on development. Over the four-year spending period the figures will be 0.56, 0.56, 0.7 and 0.7%. Many in the House would wish to advance further on this important cause, but the public finances are inevitably constrained by the appalling economic position that the coalition inherited.

[Fiona O'Donnell (East Lothian) (Lab)]

7. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on financial contributions to support climate change mitigation for developing countries through the green climate fund.