International Finance Facility

HC Deb 27 February 2003 vol 400 cc391-3

7. Mr. Ernie Ross (Dundee, West)

What assessment he has made of the impact of his proposed international finance facility on education in developing countries. [99468]

11. Kali Mountford (Colne Valley)

What talks he has had with the European Union on the proposed international finance facility. [99472]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Gordon Brown)

The international finance facility is designed to provide additional funds, and it is estimated that at least $10 billion will be needed for education alone to meet the 2015 development target that every child across the world will have access to primary school education by that date. I have discussed those proposals with a number of European Union Finance Ministers. At the G7 meeting at the weekend, we decided that further work should be done on a joint approach to the facility. The European group of Finance Ministers, ECOFIN, will consider this issue at the meeting in March.

Mr. Ross

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on that initiative. It was fairly obvious to many involved in international development that we were unlikely to meet our development goal targets under existing arrangements. Once again, my right hon. Friend has demonstrated his commitment to helping to alleviate illiteracy, poverty and underdevelopment. Does he agree that getting every child into school is part of that programme and that, unless we can get that message across and deliver that, all the work that we are doing on debt is liable to run into the sand?

Mr. Brown

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. He has taken up those issues in Scotland and in his constituency, working with Churches and faith organisations, and he is absolutely right. I was sorry that the shadow Chancellor from Truro said that it was wrong that I should be answering these questions today because half of Africa's children do not go to school. The development aid for Africa has fallen from $30 per head to only $18 per head over the last period of years. This is the first period in which international aid will rise to enable more young people to go to school, but there are still 115 million children who will not be going to school this week, or any week, as a result of the failure to fund education properly, and it cannot be done unless there is a breakthrough in long-term funding for countries to develop their education systems. That is why we need international support from America, France, Germany and other European countries to build that finance facility, and I hope that there will be all-party support not just for that initiative, but for the importance of publicising it and gaining support around the world.

Kali Mountford

My right hon. Friend has been congratulated by me already on that marvellous initiative, but will he press on his colleagues at the ECOFIN meeting in March the fact that economic development is the best route to peace and prosperity? In these troubled times, we all ought to be aware of that. Will he ensure that his partners will share with him the long-term commitment that is needed to make sure that the peace that we all strive for can come from economic growth?

Mr. Brown

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. She, too, has been active in those issues, and the important thing that she is saying is that the poverty that exists around the world and the lack of access to education and health offends not only our basic values that there should be dignity for every individual, but the national security interests of every country. That is why, for all those reasons—enlightened self-interest, as well as altruism—it is necessary to make a breakthrough on those issues. I believe that, over the next few months, working with our partners, we can make progress, and I am grateful to hon. Members on both sides of the House for their support.

Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South)

I welcome the facility and the move for primary education, but is there not a possibility that—just as congestion charges may cause congestion elsewhere—if we do not have a plan to lead on to secondary and tertiary education, we will short-change those young people? The experience in Malawi recently is that Chancellor university has not the facilities even to provide up-to-date education to provide leadership in that country.

Mr. Brown

I agree that simply to spend money on primary education, not on secondary and tertiary education, will not be sufficient, but the key to this issue lies not only in developing new systems with the capacity to deliver education, but in money. It is true that we are setting down conditions about the use of aid, transparency, avoiding corruption and opening up to trade and investment, but at the end of the day we must face up to the fact that if we are to solve those problems in the poorest countries, or to help them to solve their problems, we must provide additional aid. That is why using private as well as public funding to do so is the way forward, and I believe that we can move the international community on this project over the next few months.