International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I think that the whole House appreciates the excellent work that he is doing as Chair of the International Development Committee, and I take on board the important point he made. To return briefly to the issue of what aid accomplishes, the Bill’s focus is on results, above all else. The millennium development goals, including the international commitment to halve poverty by 2015, represent clear benchmarks for us all, but the Chancellor has repeatedly made it clear that, on present progress, our goals remain too elusive. He has reminded us that primary education for all will be delivered not by 2015 but by 2130; the halving of poverty, not by 2015, but by 2150, 135 years late; and the elimination of avoidable infant deaths, not by 2015 but by 2165, 150 years late. Andy Atkins of Tearfund has said:"““Shamefacedly the world is currently well off track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. What is needed to put them back on track is a genuine partnership between North and South to overcome a number of chronic, interlinked problems that lead to more than 30,000 children dying every day from preventable diseases””." He said:"““Our job as citizens of one of the richest countries in the world is to hold our leaders to account.””" My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, whom I am delighted to see with us today, has given a tremendous lead. Few in the House who heard his speech on Africa in the Chamber on 30 June 2005, just ahead of the Make Poverty History week, will doubt his commitment. His desire to see developed nations accept their moral responsibilities, as well as truly to empower poor countries to reach the millennium development goals, was greatly encouraging. How could it be otherwise, when he reminded us that some 315 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, nearly half the population, live on less than $1 a day; some 40 million of its children are not where they should be—in schools; some 250 million Africans do not have safe water to drink or proper sanitation; and 6 million men, women and children died of AIDS in 2004 and of entirely preventable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria? He was clear about the need to stamp out corruption, and gave examples of effective action to that end in Zambia, South Africa and Nigeria. Like my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, he saw the need for partnership—a concept that is embraced by my Bill. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was specific when he said:"““We are also trying to improve predictability of aid—for example, by the 10-year agreements that we have reached with Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. In every case, we assess the risk and put in appropriate safeguards against corruption. We are also working with countries to strengthen and improve their public financial management, because we have to be sure that we can demonstrate that the money reaches the poor.””—[Official Report, 30 June 2005; Vol. 435, c. 1468.]" I welcome those assurances and the admirable commitment to ensuring that aid money is used predictably, safely and effectively. This year’s United Nations Development Programme human development report underlines the need to eradicate poverty in the developing world, where more than 1 billion people are living in extreme poverty, and the same number do not have access to clean water. We have rightly recognised the injustices, but it is crucial that we continue to work to resolve them. My Bill seeks to ensure that aid is delivered effectively and increasingly. It enshrines the target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income on overseas development assistance agreed at the millennium summit in 2000.