Overseas Aid (Private Sector Contracts) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateGlyn Davies
Main Page: Glyn Davies (Conservative - Montgomeryshire)Department Debates - View all Glyn Davies's debates with the Department for International Development
(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberUrgent 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.
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It certainly is, and statistically we have seen that that equation absolutely holds. As anybody who has ever been to Harrogate will be aware, it is definitely worth while dropping into Bettys, where people can sample some fantastic Taylors of Harrogate tea.
I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister on their continuing commitment to standing by our international obligations to United Nations targets. Does the Secretary of State accept that it is crucial to focus on effectiveness, flexibility and value for money in each situation? Does she agree that that will be done sometimes through supporting security and sometimes through humanitarian aid, but always by using the dynamism of the private sector to maximise the long-term impact?
My hon. Friend is right. Even when we are building up core basic services, the innovation of the private sector has a real role to play, and my Department has sought to tap into that. There is a strategic question about what we need to do for ourselves and what expertise we buy in from outside, but there is no doubt a key role for the private sector to play.