Official Development Assistance and the British Council — House of Commons, 2021-06-30
Topic: International Affairs
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): This has been a passionate and informed debate with more than 38 Members speaking. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) for introducing the debate and for her work with the Backbench Business Committee and the Liaison Committee to attach all the right documents. I know that many Members of the House are passionate about development and passionate about 0.7%—myself included, which Members may find surprising, given the defence that I will go on to make. I think we are all extremely proud of the UK’s leadership historically on development and on everything we have done I started my career as a lending banker in the developing world. I have done two tours of duty, if we can call them that, on the DFID Committee, coming back for more. I have served on these issues in a non-integrated FCO across a number of areas, and in an integrated FCO-DFID, where I had an office at one end of Whitehall to do part of the job and another at the other end of Whitehall to do the other part of the job, and spent most of the time wandering between the two or in the House of Commons for votes. Now I have seen the FCDO together, and it is a model I prefer, because I can draw on all the issues and complexity and make the tough decisions. They are incredibly tough and serious decisions that are not taken lightly and take an immense amount of time. A number of colleagues mentioned the time process being too small or too quick. None of the timescales I saw, or the flippancy with which they indicated decisions were taken, reflects the way we took decisions in Whitehall, let alone in-country and thematically The UK, looking back, has met the target of 0.7% of GNI on ODA every year since 2013, so it is with great caution that we fall short of that target now, but no other country can match that record. I am proud of that. I know there has been some debate over whether 0.7% or 0.5% is right, what is ODA-able or what is DAC-able, but the Government are committed to getting back to 0.7%. There has been debate over how many times one can have hypothecated expenditure or a percentage limit. The default, clearly, should be not to run everything on a percentage basis, but we have made a commitment that helps to encourage our compatriots around the world to get to that point. We should be proud of the fact that in the G7, comparing GNI, we are in the top three. We are doing much better than our American colleagues, by way of example Right at the outset, before I get into the meat of my speech, I would like to talk about when more information is on the way. There has been some criticism of the Government for not giving more information, although recognition that it is good that we are now debating estimates on estimates day. The annual report for the integrated Department will come out in September. That will have all the financial information up to the end of March. In addition, it will give a forward look to 2021-22. I was a little disappointed that the hon. Member for Rotherham felt that we had not given her all the information in her Committee. I am more than happy to come to the Committee again. I know the Foreign Secretary and a number of other Ministers have been at the Committee.