International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. This issue is so fundamental to what the Bill seeks to achieve that I cannot see how we can allow it to progress if it does not contain that important amendment. This issue goes to the heart of what the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr. Clarke) is rightly trying to achieve through his Bill. I commend it in many respects, but I hope that he will acknowledge that this amendment would strengthen his excellent Bill and provide much-needed information. To reduce corruption must surely be a top Government priority, but in the public’s mind and in our minds, lots of aid gets wasted, in that what it is spent on proves to be corrupt. My hon. Friend the Member for Stone made it clear how much corruption actually exists. In producing an annual report, it is crucial that the Secretary of State be held accountable for the money that is spent and where it goes, and that he ensures that it gets into the right hands. As the Government themselves have acknowledged, on too many occasions, far too much aid does not get through to the people who need it. In certain countries, much direct budgetary support for Governments is spent on palaces and building up arms, rather than on the purpose for which it was intended. I know that the Government are concerned about that, and it is surely a crucial part of the report; we cannot allow such issues to be overlooked. The purpose of the Bill is transparency. It would be perverse to allow such important information to be buried away somewhere—in other reports, for example—or not to be reported at all, given that these issues are of concern to many members of the public. Amendment No. 22 is similar to amendments Nos. 17 and 19. The important point is that we are talking about taxpayers’ money. If the amendment of my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch were agreed to, the report would detail how all taxpayers’ money is spent, not only the money that happened to be channelled directly through the Department. I hope that the House will agree that what is important here is that all taxpayers’ money be properly accounted for; which agency such money goes through should be irrelevant. I therefore urge Members to support amendment No. 22, so that there is greater transparency in respect of how taxpayers’ money is spent.