HC Deb 01 July 1998 vol 315 cc339-40
1. Mr. Hugh Bayley (City of York)

What steps she is taking to inform the public about her Department's work. [46864]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. George Foulkes)

As we made clear in our White Paper, the Government attach great importance to increasing development awareness in the United Kingdom. To that end, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have been visiting every corner of the country to publicise the commitments in the White Paper. My right hon. Friend will be in York next Wednesday. We are in the process of establishing our development forum, which will meet regionally and then nationally each year to discuss development strategy, and I am chairing the working group on development awareness so that we can strengthen our work in the field.

Mr. Bayley

In the wake of the pain of last night's football game, does my hon. Friend agree that the world would be a much better and safer place if people in this and other countries took as much interest in world development as they do in the world cup? Will he discuss with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Education and Employment the importance of getting a world studies strand in the school curriculum?

Dr. Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde)

A Hearts supporter.

Mr. Foulkes

My hon. Friend is right to say that I support the team that won the Scottish cup this year. Although I am a Scotland supporter, I sympathise with all the England supporters over the tragedy that took place last night.

A great deal is being done to ensure that development studies are included in the curriculum. I have an A-level geography examination paper from the London examination board, which includes questions about development. We have had discussions with the Department for Education and Employment about giving development a higher profile, and some members of our development awareness working group, including myself, had a meeting with Professor Bernard Crick, who chairs the working party on citizenship, to discuss including global citizenship in the curriculum. I hope that my hon. Friend agrees that we are already doing a great deal.

Mr. Gary Streeter (South-West Devon)

Does the Minister recall his party's manifesto promise that, in government, Labour would increase the aid budget, and will he tell the British people why, in the first 12 months of the Labour Government, according to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Kingdom aid budget has been cut by 2.2 per cent?

Mr. Foulkes

Let me make it clear that I remember all our manifesto commitments, each of which we are implementing. This year, we have doubled the budget for development awareness. When the comprehensive spending review is published, the hon. Gentleman will know exactly what we intend to spend on international development, and it will be clear to the British public and to the Opposition that we will spend a great deal more over the next few years than the previous Government did.

Mr. Streeter

The Minister has not answered the question. The Government have been in power for 14 months and have presided over a cut in the UK aid budget. They found extra money for schools and hospitals; why have they not found extra money for the aid budget? Is this not yet another new Labour broken promise?

Mr. Foulkes

The hon. Gentleman is talking about the calendar year 1997, half of which was under the previous Government. That Government inherited an aid budget of 0.51 per cent. of gross national product and rising; it left us with 0.27 per cent. and falling. We are committed to turning that round in the course of this Parliament.

Mr. Streeter

When?

Mr. Foulkes

If the hon. Gentleman will have a little patience, he will see, when the comprehensive spending review is published, that the changes under Labour will start to reverse the decline.