International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

My hon. Friend has been thwarted on this occasion, but I am sure that he will come back on another and get his measure on to the statute book. Having dealt with the amendments, I come to the new clauses in the group. New clause 5—the key provision, which leads the group—goes to the heart of the Bill. It is all about the millennium development goals and requires that each annual report should include the Secretary of State’s assessment of the millennium development goals and the indicators used to measure achievement, and whether they need to be amended. The millennium developments are, in some respects, already looking rather sick. The Chancellor of the Exchequer himself has said that, far from the goal of primary education for all being delivered by 2015, it will not be delivered until 2130. That is so far into the future. How meaningful is it to have a directive that must be achieved by the year 2030? Is this not bringing into ridicule the process of having millennium development goals? Is this not encouraging a lack of focus on our priorities for the third world?