Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts)
David Mowat Excerpts(11 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Justine Greening
My hon. Friend has made his point, and I am sure that the non-governmental organisations will have been listening to this urgent question and will have taken note accordingly. As I have said, we aim to get best value for the taxpayer, and I am sure that in many cases that best value is indeed British.
David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
Fifty years ago, South Korea had the same GDP per head as Ghana and now its figure is about the same as the UK’s. This has been achieved by trade, not principally aid. What more could the Department do to ensure that there are more South Koreas—we hope in sub-Saharan Africa—in the next 50 years?
Justine Greening
In the past decade, sub-Saharan Africa has probably had one of the fastest growth rates in the global economy. As my speech set out, and as my hon. Friend rightly says, we need to do more work in this area and to work in the business environment to really drive economic development and jobs.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Mowat Excerpts(11 years, 4 months ago)
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David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
4. What assessment she has made of the proportion of GDP spent on overseas aid by the UK compared to equivalent spending by France and Germany.
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)
In 2011, the UK spent 0.56% of GNI on official development assistance, or ODA. France spent 0.46% and Germany 0.39%. As I said a moment ago, we will reach our 0.7% ODA target this year. At the June 2012 European Council, France and Germany recommitted to spend 0.7% of their GNI on ODA by 2015.
David Mowat
I thank the Minister for that answer. As we have heard, we are on a trajectory to meet the 0.7% commitment, but that determination is not shown by all our EU partners. Can the Government do more to encourage them to meet previously made commitments?
Mr Duncan
The priorities we set are shared by EU countries, and some states—Sweden and Denmark, for example—have reached 0.7%. Germany’s aid increased by 2.6% in 2011, and it has publicly committed to reach 0.7% after 2015. The Government strongly urge other EU countries to follow our lead, and commit to and reach 0.7%.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Mowat Excerpts(12 years, 1 month ago)
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David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
In 1993 the IRA bombed Warrington, killing two small boys and injuring more than 50 other people. Last week a memorial plaque with a scrap value of about £40 was stolen. The Government have already legislated to prevent the sale of scrap metal for cash. Will the Prime Minister consider further legislation making the theft of such memorials an aggravating factor?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. I know that the whole country was shocked by the theft of that memorial; everyone remembers the Warrington bomb and the people who died in it. He is right to say that we have already legislated and made this an offence. We are also doing everything we can to sort out the problems of the scrap metal trade. I will look at his suggestion of an aggravated offence, but clearly any court can hand out exemplary sentences in these sorts of circumstances because public justice is important, and the public are absolutely appalled by what has happened.