International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

Yes; the hon. Lady makes a pertinent point. The scope of the Bill means that the annual report that the Government will have to make will allow the House to challenge across the range. Although the Bill requires the Government to report on the way in which United Kingdom Government development money and aid is spent, the measure covers spending across the piece. Analysis of UK spending on a bilateral or multilateral basis is also included. We are not simply considering the money that the Department for International Development spends in isolation. The Bill provides for examining our work with other countries, NGOs and international bodies to ensure that we have the best value for that money in resolving the problems and helping them to be prioritised in a way that has perhaps not happened previously. The Public Accounts Committee report that I cited was narrow because it was specific to HIV/AIDS. I do not make my next point in a partisan way, because not only more recent Public Accounts Committee reports but internal reports from the Department have expressed the same view. For example, in November 2003, an internal Department report said that"““there is generally insufficient information on the links between DfID’s inputs and interventions on the one hand, and the positive outcomes observed on the other””." The Department has picked up on the need for change in the way in which such matters are analysed. The Bill provides that they would be reported to the House, thus informing the wider debate. The measure is one of the most important private Member’s Bills to be introduced in recent years. I hope that it gets on to the statute book. Hon. Members keep referring to last night. For those who were not present, a meeting took place with many people, from outside as well as inside the House. It is probably the only occasion on which I will pray in aid the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer—[Interruption.] Yes, it is a rare moment. When the Chancellor spoke last night, he said that he wondered why the measure was not already on the statute book. That is exactly right. I wish it a swift and fair passage.