Official Development Assistance

Baroness Amos Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We will embark on a process. The Prime Minister very clearly told me that he wants a line-by-line analysis of our spend, most of which we inherited from the previous Government. We will look very closely at that and make sure that, on behalf of the British taxpayer, every pound we spend is spent as well as we possibly can. I emphasise again that it is our intention—because we are the Labour Party and we believe in international development—that, when we can, we will increase the spending back up to 0.7%. We are committed to our international obligations, multilaterally and bilaterally. This is a task that I do not think any of us in government enter into light-heartedly or glibly; we take it incredibly seriously. As soon as we have made decisions, we will of course make announcements in the usual way.

[Baroness Amos (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a particularly challenging and difficult time for fragile countries, countries caught in conflict and some of the most vulnerable people in the world. In congratulating my noble friend the Minister on her new role, can I ask: first, how will we protect the gains we have already made on poverty reduction across the world? Secondly, how will we protect what we have been able to do on the sustainability of some of the most fragile countries? Finally, how can we increase the impact of the money we spend through working through multilateral organisations?