Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts)
Debate between Fiona Bruce and Justine Greening(11 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Justine Greening
We have been making the case for international development, and I would say to the hon. Gentleman that what I have announced is what I think is the right thing to do; it is not about how I want to please anybody in the House.
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for her announcement. Does she agree that many developing countries fundamentally aspire to the dignity of moving out of donor dependency, and that one of the best ways in which we can help them to do that is by strengthening their private sector? What role does she see for parliamentarians and for businesses in our local constituencies, following her policy announcement today?
Justine Greening
I agree with my hon. Friend about the impact that economic growth and jobs can have on reducing recipient country dependency. The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has said that aid should not be an alternative to self-sufficiency. Developing countries want to plough their own furrow and take control of their own destiny. We want to reach out beyond the large companies with which we are already working, such as M&S, Diageo, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and other stock exchange-listed companies, to the small and medium-sized companies in Britain, to see whether we can get a broader base of companies to join the development push.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Fiona Bruce and Justine Greening(12 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Justine Greening
That is one of many questions of this nature that a push towards an independent Scotland would raise. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise his concerns about the destabilising impact that independence would have, where none of the benefits hoped for by those who want independence would be realised, but many of the downsides would absolutely come to fruition.
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)
T8. Road crashes are the biggest single killer of young people aged between 17 and 25 in this country today. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Cheshire safer roads partnership’s “Think, Drive, Survive” scheme, which brings officers into schools to teach young drivers about better road safety? What more can the Government do in this respect?