Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Development
Gerald Howarth
Main Page: Gerald Howarth (Conservative - Aldershot)Department Debates - View all Gerald Howarth's debates with the Department for International Development
Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts)
Gerald Howarth Excerpts(11 years, 8 months ago)
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Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement this afternoon, but given that the £11 billion that she will have at her disposal this year comes entirely from the pockets of her, my and our collective constituents, is it not right that, wherever possible, it should be returned to British companies that offer first-class equipment and services to overseas countries, which are the beneficiaries of British taxpayers’ aid?
Justine Greening
UK companies have a key role to play. In fact, my hon. Friend will be interested to know that, in terms of their value, more than 90% of the contracts awarded by the Government go to UK companies. That is probably because those companies out-compete other companies, but also because we have a strong corporate governance structure, which many other countries seek to emulate.