Parliamentary search - International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

447 c977-1037

Session

2005-06

Department

Department for International Development

Legislative stage

Third reading and Report stage

Procedure

New clauses
Private members' bills proceedings

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill. As amended in Standing Committee B.
Wednesday, 15 February 2006
Bills
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Christopher Chope | 447 c993 (Link to this contribution) During his visit to Afghanistan, was my hon. Friend able to assess the extent to which the money put...

Speaker | 447 c996 (Link to this contribution) Order. We are discussing public aid, not private aid given directly by the public to organisations. ...

Show all contributions (131)

William Cash | 447 c996 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to my right hon. Friend.

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c993 (Link to this contribution) We are straying a little, but that is an important point. Unfortunately, last year’s poppy crops wer...

Christopher Chope | 447 c994 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend believe, therefore, that the £400 million that he mentioned was spent on fertili...

Speaker | 447 c994 (Link to this contribution) Order. We are getting too far into a report from the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East on his trip t...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c994 (Link to this contribution) Once again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am grateful for your direction. I shall be delighted to reminisce ...

Greg Knight | 447 c996 (Link to this contribution) Is not it the case that we do not need to go as far as the schedule to tackle corruption? The long t...

Speaker | 447 c996 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hope that the hon. Gentleman is not challenging my ruling. It is clear that the Bill requir...

William Cash | 447 c996 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes a fair point, but I revert to my primary question of whether providing in...

William Cash | 447 c1000 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to you for that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. As the report clearly states, corruption is a by...

Speaker | 447 c1000 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman must understand that this is not a debate about corruption, but about whet...

William Cash | 447 c999-1000 (Link to this contribution) The accountability that derives from the information made available in the annual report is part of ...

William Cash | 447 c999 (Link to this contribution) I have discussed that very matter with the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. The PAC has re...

Speaker | 447 c999 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman should remember that we are debating a report that is to be brought to Par...

William Cash | 447 c996-9 (Link to this contribution) I accept that. I simply make the point that there is interweaving between the money made available b...

Greg Knight | 447 c999 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend about the need to measure the effectiveness of aid. Does he agree, howev...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c992-3 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s intervention. He raises an important point about bilateral aid, a...

William Cash | 447 c993 (Link to this contribution) As the Secretary of State is in the Chamber, is my hon. Friend conscious, in the context of what sho...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c993 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend observes, the Secretary of State is present and heard his comments. The schedule p...

Philip Davies | 447 c1006 (Link to this contribution) I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend—that is indeed why my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsbor...

William Cash | 447 c1006 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that it would not be difficult to assume and declare that sustainable deve...

Philip Davies | 447 c1006-7 (Link to this contribution) I agree. One does not need the wisdom of Solomon to come up with an adequate definition of those ter...

William Cash | 447 c1006 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend also note that the distinguished Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee has j...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1008-9 (Link to this contribution) I intend to be brief. The House will understand that private Members’ Bills can be talked out by the...

Philip Davies | 447 c1007-8 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. My question was about how effectively direct Government grants are spent. W...

William Cash | 447 c1007 (Link to this contribution) I notice that my hon. Friend tabled a question on that very subject at DFID questions the other day....

Philip Davies | 447 c1008 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. All those institutions spend British taxpayers’ money, which is why it is s...

William Cash | 447 c1008 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be extremely useful if bodies such as the World Bank and the...

William Cash | 447 c1000 (Link to this contribution) I understand that full well, and my point is that it is not possible to deal with my hon. Friend’s a...

Speaker | 447 c1000 (Link to this contribution) Order. Accepting what the hon. Gentleman says, I am perhaps a better judge of that point than him. H...

William Cash | 447 c1000-1 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I have more than adequately prescribed how I believe tha...

William Cash | 447 c1001 (Link to this contribution) That is an astonishing statistic on which to finish my speech. That is the kind of thing that really...

Christopher Chope | 447 c1001 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that it cannot be that difficult to get hard data on the extent of corrup...

William Cash | 447 c1002 (Link to this contribution) If the report focused specifically on the fact that corruption dwarfed aid and debt reduction, I sus...

Philip Davies | 447 c1002 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a good point. As I mentioned, an awful lot of what goes on in this place does n...

Philip Davies | 447 c1002 (Link to this contribution) I certainly agree. It is crucial for the right information, and clear information, to be provided. M...

William Cash | 447 c1003 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend consider the wording of the critical clauses, clauses 5 and 6? Clause 6 says"““T...

Philip Davies | 447 c1003-4 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. That point is made in one of the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Me...

Greg Knight | 447 c1002-3 (Link to this contribution) The duty to report does not cover reporting on technical assistance, although significant aid is oft...

Philip Davies | 447 c1003 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend is right. I shall deal later with why the report should include reference to ta...

Philip Davies | 447 c1004-5 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, and I am about to come to those points. I listened with interest to the points that my hon. ...

William Cash | 447 c1004 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure how much further my hon. Friend intends to develop that point, but if he is going to d...

Philip Davies | 447 c1004 (Link to this contribution) That is true. I too would have thought that it would have been in the Government’s best interests to...

Greg Knight | 447 c1004 (Link to this contribution) Would not the inclusion of those words also make the Government look better? The Government are obse...

Philip Davies | 447 c1005-6 (Link to this contribution) I very much agree with my hon. Friend. This issue is so fundamental to what the Bill seeks to achiev...

William Cash | 447 c1005 (Link to this contribution) Given the significance of what my hon. Friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1009-10 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not give way. The hon. Gentleman had plenty of time. I will come to the main points that ...

Mark Simmonds | 447 c1010-4 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr. Clarke) on not only...

Gareth Thomas | 447 c1014-6 (Link to this contribution) First, I join the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) and other hon. Members in paying tribute ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c1016 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for that full response. I am grateful to the promoter of the Bill for ...

Edward Leigh | 447 c1017-8 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. It gives me great pleasure to move new clause...

Philip Davies | 447 c1018 (Link to this contribution) Many of my constituents make the same point. They would like many more opportunities to debate inter...

Edward Leigh | 447 c1018-9 (Link to this contribution) Like my colleagues, I get as many letters and cards about international development as on any other ...

William Cash | 447 c1019 (Link to this contribution) In his excellent remarks, my hon. Friend might care to note that the report by the hon. Member for C...

Edward Leigh | 447 c1019-21 (Link to this contribution) I was going to deal with corruption, but I do not think that I need to do so now, because it is a ma...

Philip Hollobone | 447 c1036 (Link to this contribution) I had the great pleasure of serving in Committee on this Bill. International aid comes from not only...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1036 (Link to this contribution) With great respect to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh), the House was more convinced by ...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1036 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right. I visited Sweden in January and saw the impact there and Eveline Herfke...

Philip Davies | 447 c1035-6 (Link to this contribution) I again congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on introducing this Bill and on steering it through th...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1035 (Link to this contribution) That is a wonderful theme, and the hon. Gentleman will be able to pursue it, along with the other po...

Christopher Chope | 447 c1034-5;447 c1035 (Link to this contribution) May I return the right hon. Gentleman to the subject of corruption? Has he any figures that might en...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1035 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted that my friend, the hon. Member for Stone, wants us to end on a note of agreement; th...

William Cash | 447 c1035 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman will understand that I was concerned at the fact that the tightening of the...

John Barrett | 447 c1032-3 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his remarks. People often say that politicians live in a bubble and ...

Stephen Pound | 447 c1032 (Link to this contribution) At the risk of contributing to the end of party political divisions as we know them, may I tell the ...

William Cash | 447 c1033-4 (Link to this contribution) I was glad to hear the Minister’s comments about the White Paper. I am grateful to him for offering ...

John Barrett | 447 c1031-2 (Link to this contribution) I could not agree more. I hope to mention some of those people and groups in my speech. However, I s...

Lord Beamish | 447 c1031 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the campaigning work of not only NGOs but Church groups throughou...

John Barrett | 447 c1031 (Link to this contribution) I place on record my support and that of my Liberal Democrat colleagues for the Bill. It feels like ...

Gareth Thomas | 447 c1029-31 (Link to this contribution) I join the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) in paying tribute to my right hon. Fr...

Mark Simmonds | 447 c1026-9 (Link to this contribution) May I begin by putting on record our congratulations to the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryst...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1025-6 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I am delighted to be able to propose the T...

Edward Leigh | 447 c1022-3 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that we could do that, but how much better it would be if the debate took place automatica...

Edward Leigh | 447 c1022 (Link to this contribution) I am very disappointed by what the Minister has said, but it is not entirely unexpected. I hesitate ...

Gareth Thomas | 447 c1021-2 (Link to this contribution) I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) for his work on the Public Accounts Co...

Christopher Chope | 447 c987 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I might sometimes be regarded as being somewhat sceptical about ...

William Cash | 447 c987 (Link to this contribution) On that point, my hon. Friend may have gathered—I am sure that the Secretary of State and the Under-...

Christopher Chope | 447 c987 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has been thwarted on this occasion, but I am sure that he will come back on another a...

William Cash | 447 c988 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that there is something rather insidious, which is characteristic of the ...

Speaker | 447 c988 (Link to this contribution) Order. It is a timely moment to remind the House that we are talking about public aid and also a rep...

Christopher Chope | 447 c988-9 (Link to this contribution) I revert to the issue of millennium goals and poverty, Mr. Deputy Speaker. One of the goals was to h...

William Cash | 447 c989 (Link to this contribution) I hope that my hon. Friend and I will not disagree over the necessity for countries to receive aid, ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c990 (Link to this contribution) I agree wholeheartedly, which is why aid should go to individual people, rather than to Governments....

William Cash | 447 c990 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend may not know that Bob Geldof is a long-standing friend of mine. He deserves strong su...

Christopher Chope | 447 c990 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am sure that we are both delighted that Bob Geldof is playing a k...

Speaker | 447 c991 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hope that the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) will resist that invitation, ...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c991-2 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for your assistance, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and for allowing me to press on. However, I t...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c990-1 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to participate in our debate, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Coatbridge...

William Cash | 447 c991 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate my hon. Friend on his success in being able to add his proposals to the Bill in Commi...

Philip Hollobone | 447 c992 (Link to this contribution) I am enjoying my hon. Friend’s contribution. He mentions amendments Nos. 4 and 8, but may I suggest ...

Speaker | 447 c992 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. Gentleman, but he needs to satisfy the House as to the new c...

Tobias Ellwood | 447 c992 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for your direction, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am speaking to amendments Nos. 4 and 8. It i...

Christopher Chope | 447 c977 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Christopher Chope | 447 c978-9 (Link to this contribution) Since Second Reading on 20 January, the Bill has been considered in Committee for less than two hour...

Speaker | 447 c977-8 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 7—Alternative measures— ‘(1) ...

Tony Baldry | 447 c979 (Link to this contribution) Can my hon. Friend help me with a dilemma? Is it safe for people such as myself, who wish to remembe...

Philip Davies | 447 c981 (Link to this contribution) Given the Government’s track record on burying bad news, is not the danger of including subsection (...

Christopher Chope | 447 c980-1 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Most Members would assume that an annual report is just tha...

Speaker | 447 c979 (Link to this contribution) Order. I will say something simply to the hon. Gentleman. First, he must not verge on discussion of ...

William Cash | 447 c979 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that there are those of us who support improvements in transparency on in...

Philip Davies | 447 c980 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that an annual report is just that—annual? If circumstances have changed f...

Christopher Chope | 447 c979-80 (Link to this contribution) I hope that my hon. Friend will have a chance to participate in the debate. As he knows, the word ““...

Philip Davies | 447 c985 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) talked about corruption, but will my hon. Friend the ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c984-5 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. Let me expand on what he says with a specific example. It is suggested that...

William Cash | 447 c985 (Link to this contribution) Would my hon. Friend care to note that the Corruption Bill, which is a private Member’s Bill before ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c985 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is difficult to find anyone who is against reducing poverty, ...

William Cash | 447 c986 (Link to this contribution) I hope that my hon. Friend will address the question of why there appears to be a commitment to no m...

William Cash | 447 c986 (Link to this contribution) I see that there is a serious divergence between us. We have a Public Accounts Committee and a Natio...

Christopher Chope | 447 c986 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to be concerned about governance and what happens to taxpayers’ money when i...

Philip Davies | 447 c987 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that paragraph 7 would also allow some important information that the Bill...

Christopher Chope | 447 c986-7 (Link to this contribution) I take my hon. Friend’s point, which he makes well. Amendment No. 26 would omit paragraph 7 to the ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c981 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. One problem is that the more information is available, the more difficult i...

Christopher Chope | 447 c982-3 (Link to this contribution) Again, my hon. Friend is right. Information is power. If the information is available, it will ensur...

Philip Davies | 447 c982 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that it is incredibly important that that aspect is included in the Bill? ...

Christopher Chope | 447 c981-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. The failure of the European Court of Auditors to sign off the accounts mean...

William Cash | 447 c981 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will remember that the report of the European Court of Auditors comes out periodicall...

Christopher Chope | 447 c984 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is a recognised expert in the field. He feels strongly about the matter, as do many h...

William Cash | 447 c984 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend also accept that the $148 billion a year that leaves Africa because of corruptio...

Christopher Chope | 447 c983-4 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely, but my amendment would require the Secretary of State to make observations about progres...

William Cash | 447 c984 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is no doubt aware of the Commission for Africa’s report entitled, ““Our Common Intere...

Christopher Chope | 447 c979 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will need to decide that for himself. My own assessment is that the Bill will receive...

William Cash | 447 c994-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I regard the Bill as significant. In ...

Philip Davies | 447 c1001-2 (Link to this contribution) I support the Bill and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (...

William Cash | 447 c983 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that including the notion of corruption as part of the observations to be...

William Cash | 447 c1022 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend. Given that we are dealing with the question of helping people in the th...

Mark Simmonds | 447 c1021 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) who is a fellow Li...

Speaker | 447 c1000 (Link to this contribution) Order. I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is trying to make, but he cannot go on repeati...

William Cash | 447 c1002 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that, if the report does not include the right material in the first place...

Tom Clarke | 447 c1034;447 c1034-5 (Link to this contribution) With the leave of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am very pleased to follow the hon. Member for St...

Christopher Chope | 447 c985-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to the provision in the Corruption Bill. In...

Subjects

Access

Disclosure of information

Accountability

Debts

Corruption

Annual reports

Developing countries

Development aid

Bilateral aid

Freedom of information

Expenditure