International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

The issue of reporting on the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance was raised on Second Reading, and I am sure that we shall return to it in Committee as well as on Report and Third Reading. I do not accept my hon. Friend’s recollection of delays in the delivery of assistance of relief or reconstruction, in response to either the tsunami or the Pakistan earthquake. Indeed, we have been praised for the speed of the delivery of our assistance in both cases. I recognise the importance of the Bill, and, with the expectation that amendments made to it in Committee will hold the costs to Parliament of its implementation to a minimum, I commend the motion to the House.