International Development Aid

Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts

Monday 7th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend raises a very important point. We are carrying out the bilateral and multilateral reviews and having a great deal of consultation with a great many organisations precisely to ensure that all our aid is focused on getting the best results for the poorest people in the world.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that in failing or failed states, where often straightforward development projects are impossible to mount, it is entirely proper, as a precursor to resuming development, to provide money to help these states? Is that view shared by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as the noble Lord is aware, our goals are common across the OECD and our multilateral partners, and our aim is to ensure that our investment—every penny that we spend—is directed towards ensuring the best outcomes. He is aware of that.