International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

The hon. Gentleman brings me on to my next point, which is that I believe it is very much in our economic interest to address the issues we are debating. When countries exist with which we cannot trade in any normal or meaningful way, and when huge parts of the world live in such poverty, we all suffer economically. It is in all our interests to do all we can to encourage those countries’ economies. I hope that today’s debate results not only in a decision to produce a structured report each year as a mechanism to enable the House genuinely to debate the issues but in the emergence of political consensus. The question is not whether we dedicate funds and resources to aid; that should be a given on both sides of the House. However, it is reasonable to discuss how we spend that money and use those resources. I hope that the significant political moves that we have seen recently have increased the degree of political consensus on the need to deal with international development issues, and that the debate will now move away from quibbling on whether we spend money to deciding how much money to spend and ensuring that we provide money for projects that will help to prevent problems in future. I am pleased to be able to participate in this debate. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill for giving us the opportunity to do so. The Bill provides a way for all of us to ensure that international development issues move far higher up the political agenda.