International Development Association of the World Bank

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Written Statements

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

The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that provides assistance to the poorest countries. The international negotiations to agree its work and funding for the next three years concluded on Wednesday 15 December, and I wish to inform the House of the outcomes.

Thanks to UK pressure, for the first time, IDA has set out some of the results it will deliver with this replenishment. These are

Improving the Lives of Poor People: IDA has set itself the target of:

Providing 80 million people with access to improved water sources

Providing 2 million people with access to improved sanitation facilities

Immunising 200 million children

Providing 30 million more people with health services, including 2 million pregnant women

Recruiting and training 2 million teachers

Helping countries create wealth and jobs: IDA provides a range of support including funding key infrastructure, such as power, irrigation and roads. This is essential for boosting trade, encouraging private investment, and enabling people to access markets, schools and health centres. IDA has set itself the target of constructing and rehabilitating 80,000 km of roads.

Help poor countries cope with shocks: The financial crisis, the spike in food prices, and natural disasters have all put poor people under enormous strain recently. A new facility is being established in IDA that will enable the bank to offer countries additional support, for example to Haiti for reconstruction after the earthquake.

Throughout the negotiations, the Government have pressed the bank to step up its efforts to improve the lives of poor women and girls and those who live in fragile states, and the bank has made some clear commitments. These include more support to countries like Afghanistan.

IDA is an important and effective channel for international efforts to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs). As the emerging findings of the Government’s comprehensive multilateral aid review demonstrate, its high-quality analysis and the deep expertise of its staff are drawn on by Governments in IDA countries to develop robust national poverty reduction strategies and make good public spending choices. In its own programmes, IDA delivers flexible assistance in support of countries’ priorities. As well as investing in areas such as health, education and agriculture it also helps countries develop the institutions, the policies and practices that underpin sustained poverty reduction and economic growth, for example helping to strengthen accountability and tackle corruption. The bank has a strong track record of robust evaluation and lesson learning, and its new transparency policy puts it at the forefront of multilateral agencies in this regard.

In light of IDA’S strengths, its central role in helping the international community achieve the MDGs, and the results and reforms it has committed to deliver, the UK will provide an average of £888 million a year for the next three years. The result of the negotiations, following all the donor pledges and action from bank management, is that IDA will have $49.3 billion (£32.4 billion) to invest in tackling poverty in the three years starting in July 2011, of which the UK’s burden share is 12%.

Development Ministers' Foreign Affairs Council

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Written Statements

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

The Foreign Affairs Council (Development) took place in Brussels on 9 December. Due to priority parliamentary business that day, my ministerial colleagues and I were unable to attend. The UK was represented by the Permanent Representative to the EU (Kim Darroch) and the Director of International Relations for the Department for International Development (Anthony Smith). Both officials attended with clear direction from Ministers on relevant policy priorities. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton, chaired the meeting.

Future of EU Development Policy

EU Development Commissioner (Andris Piebalgs) introduced his “Green Paper on EU Development Policy in Support of Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”. He confirmed that once the public consultation had concluded in January 2011, the Commission would begin drafting a communication on the results. This will include toolkits about how different work-streams can be taken forward.

Ministers broadly welcomed the paper and the opportunities it brings to think afresh about the future of EU development policy. The wide-ranging discussion covered issues including growth, human rights, gender, agriculture and sustainable development. The UK intervention welcomed the focus on growth and called for the prioritisation of actions that can deliver impact and results and demonstrate value for money.

Ministers were invited to provide written comments on the issues raised by the Green Paper in early 2011.

Afghanistan

Commissioner Piebalgs and the EU Special Representative in Afghanistan (Vygaudas Ušackas) briefed Ministers about the latest situation in Afghanistan. They stressed their long-term commitment to development and to the transition of responsibilities to the Afghan Government, based on the approach agreed at the 2010 Kabul conference. Ministers confirmed their strong support for this approach. It was also stressed that the EU action plan, agreed by EU Foreign Ministers in October 2009, offered the best way forward in terms of better co-ordinating European efforts in Afghanistan.

Innovative Finance

In a discussion led by the French Development Minister, the Council debated innovative financing mechanisms. The UK joined other member states in welcoming the exploration of a range of innovative financing opportunities, while emphasising that these should complement, and not deflect from, existing official development assistance targets. The Commission was invited to continue working on the technical feasibility of innovative financing mechanisms and exploring their potential impact.

Haiti

Ministers discussed the severe situation in Haiti, and agreed on the continuing importance of co-ordinating relief efforts. Commissioner Piebalgs noted that €325 million of the €522 million pledged for reconstruction in Haiti was now programmed, and that, to date, €61 million had been disbursed. The Commission is preparing a communication on reconstruction efforts, with the aim of effectively communicating the results of EU support in advance of the 12 January anniversary of the earthquake.

Mutual Accountability and Transparency

The Swedish Development Minister led a brief exchange of views on the importance of mutual accountability and transparency between European donors and partner countries. This is crucial in order to demonstrate the legitimacy of development assistance, and to help partner countries make better informed investment decisions. The UK strongly supported this approach—a key priority of the coalition Government—and suggested an aid transparency guarantee, similar to the one launched in the UK, be adopted at pan-European level.

The Council also adopted conclusions on mutual accountability and transparency as an “A” point without discussion. These can be viewed here: http://register. consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/10/st17/st17477.en10.pdf.

International Development Conferences in 2011

Over dinner, there was an exchange of views about the least developed countries (LDC) summit that will take place in Istanbul in May 2011. The Council noted the importance of ensuring a focused EU position in advance of the summit. The Commission will prepare a draft EU position paper in January 2011. The UK’s suggestion of a focus on growth and vulnerability was welcomed.

The dinner concluded with a short discussion about the fourth high-level forum on aid effectiveness that will take place in Busan, Korea, in November 2011. The UK joined other member states in stressing the need for a high-level political debate at the forum, rather than purely technical discussions. The Council aims to agree a common position ahead of the forum in May 2011.

Pakistan Floods

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 15th December 2010 Written Statements

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

I would like to update the House on the Pakistan floods and the UK Government’s response to the ongoing emergency relief and early recovery needs of the critically affected population.

Four months after the onset of the floods, the situation remains deeply challenging. The majority of the 14 million people who were displaced by the floods have returned to their areas of origin, apart from in Sindh province. But with homes, farms and villages badly damaged, they will need humanitarian relief for months to come and help to restore livelihoods and basic services, particularly education and health, in the affected areas.

The situation in Sindh remains critical. Up to 350,000 families remain displaced by protracted flooding on the right bank of the Indus in northern Sindh. These people are hard to reach and will need humanitarian relief well into next year—especially shelter, with winter setting in across Pakistan.

In this context, I am pleased to inform the House of further UK Government support for relief and recovery efforts since I last updated the House on 12 October. These include:

Providing safe drinking water, sanitation services, basic health care, basic household items and shelter to some 305,000 people in Sindh and Punjab through Handicap International, Oxfam, and CARE for a total cost of £5.5 million.

Providing emergency shelter for 180,000 people in the worst affected areas of Sindh, through a £1.7 million grant to Concern.

Assisting 25,000 people in Sindh to build permanent homes to replace those destroyed in the floods, through a £1.8 million grant to UNHABITAT.

Supporting a disease early-warning system and provision of essential health services to over 500,000 people in the areas worst affected by the floods for the next six months, through a contribution of £2 million to the World Health Organisation’s most recent appeal.

Helping 200,000 children to resume education, through programmes costing £10 million involving Save the Children, Plan International and Hands. This will involve rehabilitation of damaged schools and provision of temporary facilities where schools have been destroyed while longer-term reconstruction is implemented.

Supporting agricultural livelihoods and the wider rural economy that will benefit approximately 1 million people. The programme will provide work opportunities, cash grants, materials, tools, seeds, skills training and technical expertise over the next nine months, through the Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies at a total cost of £20 million.

Helping over 28,000 families to acquire and look after domestic animals such as poultry, goats, and donkeys to improve nutrition and support their incomes.

All of these interventions have been appraised in detail by my Department to ensure value for money and a focus on results.

The overall DFID humanitarian programme for the flood-affected areas is proceeding well. I can report that, as of 1 December, UKAid has achieved the following; approximately:

971,390 people have been provided with drinking water

254,480 people have had access to latrines and/or washing areas

867,900 people have received hygiene kits or hygiene education

453,860 people have had access to basic health care

712,590 women and children have received supplementary or therapeutic feeding for malnutrition

540,560 people have received emergency goods packages typically including blankets, cooking equipment, jerry cans, and plastic sheeting.

504,450 people have received emergency shelter; and

71,925 people have benefited from seeds and fertilisers

These results are provisional estimates from ongoing operations where the eventual total number of beneficiaries will be significantly higher.

As a result of UK and other interventions, the risk of disease has been contained so far. But there is no room for complacency. Millions of people will remain highly vulnerable and dependent on external assistance until homes, basic services, economic infrastructure and livelihoods are re-established. My Department plans to maintain a dedicated flood response team on the ground in Pakistan for the next six to nine months, actively monitoring the situation and our programme of humanitarian relief and recovery.

Foreign Affairs Council (Development Ministers)

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 8th December 2010 Written Statements

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

The Foreign Affairs Council (Development) will meet in Brussels on 9 December. The meeting will be chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, and Vice-President of the European Commission, Baroness Ashton.

Due to priority parliamentary business that day, I regret that my ministerial colleagues and I will not be able to attend. The UK will be represented by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU (Kim Darroch). The expected agenda items are as follows:

Green Paper on EU development policy in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development—Increasing the impact of EU development co-operation.

There will be an initial discussion on the main issues presented in the Commission’s recent Green Paper on inclusive growth and sustainable development. This wide-ranging paper is currently the subject of a public consultation. Discussion topics include governance, security and fragility, the co-ordination of aid, budget support, growth, regional integration, climate change and biodiversity, energy and development and agriculture and food security. This is a welcome initiative and a chance to put forward our broader views on the future of EU development policy, albeit with a specific focus on growth.

Afghanistan

EU Special Representative to Afghanistan, Ambassador Usackas, will give a report and update the Council about the latest situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a key UK development priority and we look forward to a productive discussion about how best to co-ordinate efforts in the context of the EU action plan on Afghanistan and the Kabul conference. Afghanistan is also on the agenda for Foreign Ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council on 13 December.

Haiti

Given the desperate humanitarian crisis in Haiti, and the recent cholera outbreak, this discussion will focus on how to best deliver support to the Haitian people. This is particularly poignant as we are approaching the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake on 12 January. The post-earthquake humanitarian support provided by the UK has funded vital work by UN agencies and international NGOs, and helped to provide 380,000 people with food, clean water and medical care.

In response to the cholera crisis I have announced additional help to supply clean water and improve sanitation and hygiene for up to 340,000 people in the north of the country. UK support will also bring in emergency supplies and more than a thousand trained medical practitioners to staff up to 12 major cholera treatment centres and 60 subsidiary cholera treatment units, capable of treating several thousands of cholera victims over the next two months and helping to stop the outbreak spreading across the region.

Mutual Accountability and Transparency

My Swedish counterpart will lead a discussion focused on transparency as a prerequisite for better accountability and more effective development results. This is a UK priority, and we are working hard to encourage other EU member states to agree steps to improve transparency and to ensure EU aid information is published in comprehensive, accessible and comparable ways. We are also working towards an international standard in aid transparency, which will help us to bring aid information closer to user needs as well as meeting our international transparency commitments. We are also supportive of work to encourage greater accountability between those receiving and those providing aid, and their respective citizens.

Innovative Financing Mechanism

The High Representative and Belgian presidency will lead a broad discussion about innovative forms of development financing. The UK is supportive of exploring new innovative finance mechanisms, while emphasising that these should complement, and not deflect from, commitments made by member states to meet agreed targets of 0.7% of GNI for official development assistance by 2015.

International Development Conferences in 2011

The Council will have a first discussion of the key issues to be tackled in two important conferences in 2011.

The least developed countries (LDC) summit will take place in Istanbul from 30 May to 3 June 2011, under the Hungarian EU presidency. We are keen to ensure the outcome of the summit builds on the 2010-15 action agenda agreed at the UN MDG summit in New York in September 2010.

The fourth high-level forum on aid effectiveness will take place in Busan, Korea from 29 November to 1 December 2011 under the Polish EU presidency. The UK is looking forward to working closely with our EU partners in the lead up to the forum, including on strengthening the emphasis on results, value for money, transparency and accountability.

EU-US Summit

The High Representative will report back on the development discussions that took place at the EU-US summit in Lisbon on 20 November 2010. In the summit statement, the EU and US pledged to continue and strengthen co-operation on food security, climate change and the millennium development goals, including health. Discussions will continue through the EU-US dialogue on development and the UK is supportive of this process.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd November 2010 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 reduced by £74,465,000 from £7,618,569,000 to £7,544,104,000.

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

Sudan Visit

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Monday 22nd November 2010 Written Statements

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

I wish to update the House on my visit to Sudan between 8 and 11 November 2010. During my visit to Khartoum, El-Fasher and Juba, I met with: Vice President, Ali Osman Taha; President of the Government of southern Sudan, Salva Kiir; presidential adviser on Darfur, Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Atabani; other Government Ministers; a range of Sudan’s political leaders; the chairman of the southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), Professor Ibrahim Khalil; and members of civil society. I also met with: visiting UN Under-Secretary Generals, Baroness Amos and Alain Le Roy; UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Special Representative Haile Menkerios; UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari; members of the UN Country Team; humanitarian actors; and NGOs. In Juba, I opened the new HMG Office, which will house staff from DFID, the FCO, the Stabilisation Unit and the Ministry of Defence.

In north and south Sudan, I stressed the importance of the referendum being credible, peaceful and on time. I delivered messages on the importance of both parties agreeing the outstanding comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) issues such as Abyei, citizenship and the border. The UK is actively supporting the referendum, including through financial support to the UN development programme basket fund for the referendum process which will provide voter education, civic education, practical assistance and technical support. We are also providing technical assistance to the talks on border demarcation and security arrangements.

I made it clear to the Governments in the north and south that the UK is committed to the longer-term future of both north and south Sudan whatever the outcome of the referendum. Through successful completion and implementation of the CPA and progress towards peace and justice in Darfur, the north has an opportunity to change its political relationships with the international community. The Government of southern Sudan must set out a vision for the future with which its citizens can engage, including making appropriate investments to support diversification of the economy into non-oil activity. The UK has a substantial development programme in south Sudan, an area where thousands of adults are illiterate and women and children are more likely to die in childbirth than complete primary education. Among other benefits, this programme has already provided basic services for over 1.8 million people so far. We remain committed to supporting the long-term future of southern Sudan, and working with the Government to help improve the lives of those who live there.

I found the situation in Darfur much changed since the Prime Minister and I visited in 2006, but in discussions with Government Ministers and advisers, I underlined my concern about the security situation in parts of the three states. I called for the immediate and unconditional release of the four European nationals currently being held hostage (one Hungarian UNAMID peacekeeper and three Latvian world food programme pilots), and stressed the need for the full and unhindered access for humanitarian workers and peacekeepers. I urged all sides to refrain from military escalation in Darfur, and to engage constructively with the AU/UN mediation to work towards an inclusive and sustainable peace agreement for Darfur. I reiterated the UK’s support for the International Criminal Court and urged the Government of Sudan to engage with the Court.



I underlined to senior UN representatives that the international community could not be caught short in its preparedness to respond to a referendum-related humanitarian crisis in Sudan. I stressed the need for the UN and its agencies to have comprehensive contingency plans in place to address any potential future challenges.



The UK is determined to help improve the lives of the Sudanese people. But only if peace is kept and conflict avoided, will development succeed and those lives truly be improved.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Dr Daniel Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)]

3. What funding his Department provides to British charities with international developmental goals operating overseas.

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

In 2009-10, the Department for International Development provided £362 million to UK charities and civil society organisations to assist in poverty reduction overseas. The global poverty action fund, which will increasingly shape partnership with charities and non-governmental organisations, was launched on 27 October.

[Dr Poulter]

I am sure that the Secretary of State would agree that we need to get funding to the right place. On improving women’s health overseas, does he agree that the focus should be on making interventions in the right place, which is during delivery and childbirth, which account for over 50% of deaths among women? That is where we should be focusing our resources when we fund overseas aid.

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Reproductive, maternal and newborn health care is the subject of a business plan discussion that is under way. With his expertise, I very much hope that he will contribute to our thinking on that. The plan will be published in January. As he said, we need to focus on the continuum of care, up to birth and beyond. We are quite clear about the importance of the issue, but he will know that placing women’s choice over whether and when they have children is at the heart of all the overseas programmes that we run.

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

Let me declare an interest in that I recently went to Bangladesh as a guest of Oxfam. I am sure that I join the whole House in paying tribute to the excellent work of British development non-governmental organisations around the world. In Bangladesh, I saw Oxfam’s work in raising awareness of the impact of climate change on some of the world’s poorest. Although the Government’s commitment to continue the work on development and climate change is welcome, the commitment of the international community still falls short. Ahead of Cancun, what steps will the Government take to push for a greater commitment on climate finance from other countries?

[Mr Mitchell]

I thank the hon. Lady for what she said about the quality of the programme and those who staff it in Bangladesh. I am glad that she was able to visit our programme last week. She has seen a country where climate change affects the everyday lives of millions of people, and she is quite right to underline the Government’s commitment to ensuring new and additional mechanisms for raising international finance to tackle climate change. I will be making a speech on the subject tomorrow, and the Government will be pressing hard in the run-up to Cancun and beyond to see that we make significant progress in this area.

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

British development NGOs are world class and do a fantastic job, but has my right hon. Friend noticed that they all have their own advocacy departments and produce their own glossy publications? Would it not be better if they co-ordinated themselves slightly more, so as to cut out unnecessary duplication and competition?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. He will have noticed that the global poverty action fund that we launched is principally a matched fund, in order to enable the taxpayer to piggyback on the brilliant development outcomes that many of our NGOs produce. That is the right principle, whereby taxpayer support can focus on results, outputs and outcomes, and not on inputs.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

4. What steps he is taking to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in developing countries by 2015.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people in developing countries without access to basic sanitation.

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

Reducing the number of people in developing countries without access to basic sanitation is a key priority of the coalition Government. The review of our aid programme will determine how we scale up our efforts and results in this area.

[Fiona Bruce]

I thank the Secretary of State for his reply. As Friday is world toilet day, what is his Department doing to raise the international agenda’s priority to improve sanitation, particularly as 1.5 million children under five die every year from poor water hygiene and sanitation, which is more than die from malaria, AIDS and measles combined?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue in those terms. Diarrhoea is the biggest killer of children in Africa. This is a core subject for the coalition Government, and we are looking at it in our bilateral aid review. Although I do not wish to pre-empt that review, I can tell the House that I am confident that we will be able to ensure that, over the next four years, tens of millions of people will be able to gain access to clean water and sanitation who are currently unable to do so.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on his remarks at the millennium development goals summit earlier this year, in which he emphasised the importance of sanitation, but will he explain to the House why, when the United Nations passed an historic resolution on 30 September affirming that access to water and sanitation were human rights and that Governments had a legal responsibility to deliver that access, the United Kingdom voted against it?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman needs to look carefully at the words that I used at the summit, about which he has just made his nice remarks. The fact is that 2.5 million deaths are caused by a lack of sanitation and 39% of people in our world do not have any access to a basic hygienic latrine. That is why we are focusing not on rhetoric but on results in trying to achieve specific outcomes in this very important area.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

In the last Parliament, the Department for International Development acknowledged that it had refocused its priority on sanitation in the wake of the report by the International Development Committee. Given that, according to figures from the “Water, Sanitation and Health 2008” report, 79% of rural homes in India have no access to sanitation, what will the Secretary of State do within the programme for India to ensure that sanitation is a key priority?

[Mr Mitchell]

The Chairman of the Select Committee is absolutely right to say that my predecessor admitted that the Government had taken their eye off the ball on this important matter. We are looking carefully at the Indian programme as part of the bilateral aid review and, as part of our examination of the programme, we will be looking specifically at our support for sanitation.

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

The sanitation situation in Haiti remains critical after the earthquake in January this year. Following that earthquake, many of our constituents sent donations to support relief efforts there, and they are now very concerned about the outbreak of cholera, which is having a devastating impact. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the delivery of aid in Haiti, and on how the help is getting through to those who need it most?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important subject. Britain has helped to bring clean water—the specific point that he raised, I think—to 380,000 people in Haiti. I sent a senior humanitarian expert last week to look at the situation on the ground, and to help specifically with co-ordination there. We are working with other United Nations agencies to ensure that this is prioritised and we are of course considering the recent appeal that the UN put out in that respect.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

7. What recent assessment he has made of the outcomes of projects under the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

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

The global fund is assessed annually against key performance indicators. The programmes of the global fund have saved 5.7 million lives since 2000. The review of all our multilateral spending, including on the global fund, is designed to ensure maximum impact and value for money.

[Grahame M. Morris]

Does the Minister recognise that other countries look to the United Kingdom for leadership on HIV strategy? If so, does he agree that a strong UK contribution to the global fund will encourage other countries that have not yet made their financial contributions to step up to the plate? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There are far too many private conversations taking place in the Chamber. That is very unfair to the hon. Gentleman and the Secretary of State and unimpressive to those following our proceedings. The Secretary of State is champing at the bit; let us hear him.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is right to underline the importance and success of what the global fund has achieved. This includes circulating 2.8 million people with antiretrovirals, diagnosing and treating 7 million people with tuberculosis and distributing more than 122 million bed nets to help to prevent malaria. We have sent a clear signal to the global fund of strong support in this replenishment round. The precise level of that support will be dictated by the multilateral aid review.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds) (Con)]

10. What the development outcomes were of the G20 summit in Seoul; and if he will make a statement.

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

G20 leaders endorsed the Seoul development consensus on shared growth and agreed to a multi-year plan to tackle the obstacles to growth in poor countries. As part of this plan, leaders also agreed to take measures to increase trade within Africa.

[Mr Ruffley]

At the summit, the Government rightly stressed the need for a free trade area for Africa. At present, only 10% of trade in Africa is between African countries. Does the Secretary of State agree that knocking down the trade walls between African countries will deliver economic benefits far outstripping the amount of aid that developed countries can give?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to make the point about the importance of having a pan-African free trade area—one of the four specific areas championed by the Prime Minister at the G20 summit in Seoul. Knocking down those trade walls, having one-stop border posts and promoting trade within Africa is the key area in helping people to lift themselves out of poverty throughout Africa.

[Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)]

What meetings did the Prime Minister have with other G8 leaders in Seoul to persuade them to reinstate the commitments to increase aid which they made at Gleneagles?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend raised the matter not only in private but specifically at the table. He pointed out that it was hard to expect leaders in the developing world to stand by their commitments to their people if leaders in the G8 and others did not stand by the commitments that they had solemnly made at Gleneagles and beyond on the importance of increasing our support for the poorest in the world.

[Joseph Johnson (Orpington) (Con)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of the value for money of his Department’s aid delivered through the UN Relief and Works Agency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 13th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to increase the transparency of arrangements for distribution of overseas aid.

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

The new UK aid transparency guarantee will deliver a step change in the transparency of British aid. Under the guarantee, we will publish full and detailed information on our projects and policies, strengthen accessibility and feedback, and press international partners to follow our lead.

[Andrew Selous]

Hard-pressed British taxpayers will be pleased to have heard what my right hon. Friend has said, but could he tell us how transparency will be assured for the fairly large part of the British aid budget that is spent through the United Nations, the World Bank and international development charities?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is right about this, because there are some 44 international and multilateral aid agencies through which we spend British taxpayers’ money. All of them are being looked at under the multilateral aid review, which we set up immediately after this Government took office. The review will report by the end of January next year and we will decide upon our spending allocations in accordance with the results that we are achieving, which will be examined by that review.

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

Given the positive response to the annual report arising from the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006, will the right hon. Gentleman use his influence to ensure that the report goes directly to Parliament and that we have an annual debate on the Floor of this House?

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman has some credit for having masterminded and pioneered the Bill that became that Act through the House of Commons. He is right to underline the importance of the transparency that the Act ushered in and the importance of the House of Commons being able to discuss it, with Ministers being accountable to this House for that. So I can assure him that, through the usual channels, I will underline the point that he has made.

[Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

The Select Committee on International Development warmly welcomes the Secretary of State’s initiatives to make aid more transparent, and will co-operate with him and with Parliament to ensure that we give effective voice to that. Does he acknowledge that there are some concerns that ensuring that everything is transparent means that we might sacrifice longer-term, less measurable outcomes for shorter-term ones? Can he assure me and the Committee that that compromise will not undermine the effectiveness of British aid?

[Mr Mitchell]

As the Chairman of the Select Committee rightly says, transparency is about accountability not only to our own taxpayers in Britain, but for the people whom we are trying to help in the poor world; it is about enabling them to hold their own leaders to account. On the nature of evaluation, to which his question also referred, it is important that this should be about not only value for money and the accountancy-driven approach to that, but development expertise. As he says, a lot of development is very long-tailed, so we need to meld both those two streams of expertise together to achieve the right results.

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

I thank the Secretary of State for yesterday’s written statement on the UN millennium development goals summit, which highlighted the decision to record all the commitments made. Making sure that everyone can see and track the progress towards the MDGs is vital, because international effort is simply not enough right now. Those goals can be met, with the international will to do so. Following the summit, can he tell the House what further steps he and his Government colleagues will be taking to increase momentum?

[Mr Mitchell]

May I welcome the right hon. and learned Lady to her new position? I think I hold the record for having shadowed this portfolio for the longest time—five years—and I wish her every success in beating my record. The whole House knows of her passion for gender equality and I am sure that we will work well together on that. We put girls and women at the heart of development, and I look forward to progressing that policy with her. Frankly, we are delighted that someone so senior on the Labour Benches is now shadowing this portfolio.

As she said, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has set in train work to bring together all the commitments that were made by different countries at the summit. ECOSOC—the Economic and Social Council—which is the relevant body of the UN, will be monitoring this on an annual basis and we will ensure that other countries that have made commitments stand up for those commitments and fulfil them, just as Britain must fulfil its commitments.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

10. What mechanisms are in place to monitor the value for money derived from overseas aid; and if he will make a statement.

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

We are moving from a focus on inputs to a focus on outputs and outcomes—the results our money actually achieves. We will gain maximum value for money for every pound we spend through greater transparency, rigorous independent evaluation and an unremitting focus on results.

[Joseph Johnson]

Will the Secretary of State say what assessment he has made of value for money from the more than £2 billion that the Department has given to the International Development Association over the three years ending June 2011, indicating whether he intends to match past commitments in the next funding period—that is, the 16th replenishment of the IDA?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend raises an important point about the next replenishment of the World Bank IDA funds. As I mentioned in answer to the last question, the multilateral aid review will be the body that looks at value for money. At the last replenishment—IDA15—as anyone who follows these things closely knows, Britain was the biggest contributor and that contribution was £2 billion. What I what from the next replenishment is for people to know to what extent we are getting clean water, sanitation, basic education and health care to the people at the end of the track, who do not have them in our world today.

[Andrea Leadsom]

Value for money is, of course, crucial, but there is another issue, which is getting the money to the front line once it has been allocated. Will my right hon. Friend explain what steps he will be taking to ensure that money gets to the front line, unlike in Haiti where, I gather, the vast bulk of aid that has been allocated has yet to reach the areas where it is needed most?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the effectiveness of emergency relief. There are undoubtedly lessons for us all to learn from what happened in Haiti. That is why I have set up an emergency review of the way in which Britain does emergency relief, which is being chaired by Lord Ashdown. That review will focus on all aspects of how Britain does relief and how we co-ordinated with the UN cluster system, and it will focus particularly on the importance of the immediacy of that relief, getting shelter, food and medicine through to people in such desperate circumstances.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

How much money is spent on external consultants to monitor the effectiveness of British aid?

[Mr Mitchell]

Monitoring the effectiveness of British aid in the future will, at least in part, be done by external evaluation in the independent evaluation agency that we have set up. To some extent, evaluation should be built into all projects and into all the work that we are doing, and we are trying to ensure that that happens in the future.

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

Given the success of the global development engagement fund, what steps will the Secretary of State take to reinstate that fund to ensure that the good work done in schools and communities throughout Britain and Northern Ireland can be continued?

[Mr Mitchell]

We are reviewing the way in which such development awareness work is done. I am looking specifically at trying to ensure that global citizenship is enshrined in the work that schools do. In general, however, I do not think that British taxpayers’ hard-earned money meant for development should be spent in the UK. It should be spent helping the poorest in the world—those whom it is the intention of the House that we should be assisting.

[Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to improve arrangements for monitoring the effectiveness of the delivery of overseas aid.

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

8. What assessment he made of the outcomes of the recent UN millennium development goals summit in New York.

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

The summit in New York achieved real progress and resulted in global commitments to save 16 million women and children, reverse the spread of malaria and tackle hunger and under-nutrition. The UK’s leadership, and in particular the Government’s commitments on aid and results, was noted by all our international partners.

[Claire Perry]

My right hon. Friend mentioned malaria. I am sure he is aware that today 4,000 people in the world will die from that disease, 75% of them under the age of five. Can he please assure the House that he is putting malaria prevention and treatment at the heart of his Department’s programmes?

[Mr Mitchell]

The fight against malaria will be included in every bilateral programme where it is relevant as a part of the bilateral aid review, but I can tell my hon. Friend—[Interruption.] My comments on the fight against malaria do not usually get such a warm reaction from the House. Britain is committed to halving the number of malaria deaths in 10 African countries by 2015.

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

What steps will be put in place to monitor the outcome of the summit and ensure that year on year we try to reach the targets set through the summit?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman is right. It is extremely important that people should be held to their commitments. That is why the Secretary-General is pulling together all the commitments that were made at the summit, and why every year ECOSOC will make sure that we have an assessment of the extent to which those commitments have been met.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

9. What recent assessment he made of the effectiveness of projects funded by his Department in Yemen.

--- Later in debate ---

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

The situation in Pakistan remains extremely difficult. In some areas of the country early recovery is beginning, while in other areas emergency relief is still needed, particularly in Sindh province. My Department continues to monitor the situation closely to identify and deliver aid appropriately.

[Mr Bain]

A new report by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank estimates the losses in crops, property and infrastructure caused by the floods to amount to $9.5 billion. Will the Government continue to make representations to the International Monetary Fund and to the World Bank to increase the assistance available for the reconstruction of Pakistan?

[Mr Mitchell]

First, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his elevation to the post of shadow Environment Minister. Secondly, I assure him that we will continue to lead from the front on Pakistan. In particular, in respect of food security, crops and livestock, which he mentioned, we have made a specific intervention with the recent announcement of £70 million of emergency aid for Pakistan.

The Prime Minister was asked—

Reform of CDC Group plc

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Written Statements

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

I wish to inform the House of the Government’s decision to reconfigure CDC in order radically to increase its development impact.



CDC has the potential to be the jewel in the crown of the UK’s support to the private sector in developing countries. In the past, when its expertise was more developmentally than financially focused, its record of achieving investment returns was at best uneven. Subsequently, the balance has tipped too far the other way. CDC now needs to reinvigorate its development DNA and marry this together with business know-how and financial discipline. It must strive towards both development and financial gains.

As a fund of funds, CDC has in some ways been a remarkable success. In terms of financial performance, we applaud the achievement of turning £1 billion into £2.5 billion since 2004. But CDC has become less directly engaged in serving the needs of development. Using public capital CDC pursued the narrowly defined private sector goals for which it was incentivised and this meant the greatest return for the least risk. This was not consistent with concentrating its efforts in the regions of greatest development need.



We will create a revitalised CDC with a great deal more clarity and ambition over what it does and where it works.



Specifically, I shall propose that CDC reduce new commitments to future third-party funds and consider the benefits of liquidating some of its existing investments where this can be done on attractive terms. We will not end commitments to new third-party funds since they can be the most appropriate way to mobilise funding in some countries and for some investment purposes. But the fund of funds model should make up no more than part of a new, broader and more actively managed portfolio.



CDC should regain its power to make investments directly in target countries. This could be done through co-investment with other sources of capital where, by doing so, CDC would make possible desirable investments which could not otherwise be made.



In addition to regaining greater investment control, CDC should be committed to participating through a wider range of vehicles, including investment in debt instruments and the provision of guarantees. Greater flexibility will enable it to build a more diversified portfolio in terms of risk, maturity and liquidity.



I should like CDC also to develop a more active approach to portfolio management. Its purpose is to invest in the poorest countries or sectors where capital is otherwise not available—to provide patient capital to finance and kick-start private investment in the most difficult regions.



CDC also needs more financial firepower. It needs to try to find liquidity for its investments so that capital can be recycled more quickly to new targets. We are also exploring how CDC could regain its power to borrow. This would give CDC the ability to move more quickly and more effectively.



CDC must continue to show that it is improving the way in which firms in the poorest countries operate, and that it monitors and demands improvements in the conditions under which people work. CDC must also continue to demand more effective treatment of environmental issues, more transparency and a rigorous approach to corruption.



These reforms will enable CDC to become a distinctive, innovative and differentiated development finance institution, with clearly measurable development impact and additionality, and new commitments targeted throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the poorer parts of Asia. I want CDC to be more pro-poor focused than any other development finance institution, doing the hardest things in the hardest places.



Identifying the sectors on which CDC should focus in future is a complex area. The correlation between investment and poverty reduction is not straight forward.

The Government want to listen to a wide range of views before taking any decisions. CDC and DFID will commission independent studies which will be made public on the DFID website and my Department is also launching a consultation, outline details of which will be available on Wednesday 13 October.



Regaining greater power over the investment of capital needs to be staged carefully, will take time, and will need resources of human capital additional to the dedicated people working for CDC at the moment. CDC must attract people of the highest calibre, who are passionate about pro-poor investment and whose expertise is rewarded by remuneration that is fair and appropriate, but not excessive. As part of the consultation, I will consider what that remuneration structure should be.



I shall make a further announcement early next year and CDC will reflect the necessary changes in the business plan which they will publish in the spring.

Pakistan Floods

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Written Statements

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

I would like to update the House on the humanitarian situation in Pakistan following the floods and on the UK Government’s response.



It is now nearly two months since the floods hit. The situation, particularly in Southern Sindh province, continues to be extremely difficult. Some 7.3 million people there have been affected. Of this total, 2.3 million people are in need of immediate assistance. Significant shortfalls continue in the distribution of relief across all sectors and capacity to respond is stretched. The World Food Programme continues to drop food rations by air and public buildings such as schools still house tens of thousands of people. The full extent of loss and damage may not be known for several weeks as many areas remain under water.



In other areas of Pakistan, the situation is mixed. In Punjab, the majority of the 5.3 million people affected have now returned to their home areas and the focus is beginning to shift from emergency relief to early recovery. In Khyber Paktunkwha most of the 3.8 million people affected have returned home and are beginning to rebuild their lives. Approximately 1 million internally displaced persons are gradually returning to Sindh from Balochistan. The monsoon season is now drawing to a close and snow has already been reported in the northern mountainous regions reflecting the seasonal change to winter.



The scale and shifting patterns of both displacement and return means it remains a challenge to achieve the necessary pace and scale of response. The UN continues to build up its surge capacity and improve co-ordination. NGOs are beginning to improve their reach in Sindh province. The Government of Pakistan are responding through the relevant provincial disaster management authorities and are still delivering relief through the Pakistan military in Sindh province.



Meeting the remaining emergency relief and early recovery needs of the critically affected population remains our immediate priority. To date UKAid has helped approximately:

900,000 people receive health care services;

620,000 people receive clean drinking water;

425,000 people benefit from the distribution of over 60,000 hygiene kits;

1 million people receive hygiene awareness sessions;

420,000 people benefit from shelter kits; and

36,000 and 48,000 pregnant and lactating women receive nutritional supplements.



Given the changing nature of the situation support is now needed to help Pakistan recover from the floods. On 17 September, the United Nations launched a revised plan to provide a framework for remaining emergency relief needs, but also to help up to 14 million people get back on their feet and recover from the floods. The total funding requirement stands at just over US$2 billion (£1.3 billion) over the next 12 months.



The revised UN plan was discussed at a high level UN meeting on 19 September in New York. At that meeting I announced an additional £70 million of funding to help meet remaining emergency relief needs and in particular to support the people of Pakistan to rebuild their lives. UK funding will help revive agriculture, provide temporary education facilities to get children back into school and help people rebuild their communities and provide short-term employment opportunities. This brings the UK’s total contribution to £134 million, in addition to the £60 million raised through the generosity of the UK public through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal.



I would like to emphasise to the House the Government’s commitment to ensuring transparency and value for money. Funding allocations will continue to be made on the basis of rigorous assessments of needs on the ground, and will be subject to thorough monitoring and evaluation. None of the resources pledged for relief will be channelled through the Government of Pakistan in line with standard humanitarian practice.



My Department has already begun to allocate the additional funding. In recognition of the ongoing emergency needs of flood-affected people in Southern Sindh, we are aiming to address the emergency health and water and sanitation needs of approximately 500,000 people through international and local NGOs at a cost of up to £8 million. I am also pleased to announce that we plan to help meet the immediate agriculture needs of approximately 850,000 vulnerable people in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and the critical winter rabi cropping window in late October-November, at a cost of some £7 million.



Our commitment to the people of Pakistan remains a long-term one. The UK will continue to play a leading role in encouraging others in the international community to step up to the mark. The UK was instrumental in securing a commitment at the European Council on 16 September to develop ambitious trade measures for Pakistan, including the immediate reduction of import duties and improved longer-term access to EU markets through generalised system of preferences (GSP+).



The floods require an exceptional response from the Government of Pakistan as well as from the international community. At the forthcoming Pakistan Development Forum the Government of Pakistan should set out plans for growth and economic reform as well as reconstruction. The credibility of these plans will determine how donors respond to future reconstruction and development needs.