§ 11.14 a.m.
§ Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ What steps they have taken to accelerate progress towards meeting the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product in the official overseas development programme; and when they now expect to reach that target.
350§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, the Government are fully committed to reaching the United Nations target. They have set out plans for the next three years to 2003–04 and, as those show, development assistance as a proportion of GNP will rise from 0.33 per cent in 2003–04, up from 0.26 per cent in 1997. That is a rise of 45 per cent in real terms. In his Pre-Budget Report, the Chancellor emphasised his commitment to ensuring further substantial increases in development assistance.
§ Lord JuddMy Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the Oxfam Association. Does my noble friend agree that when at Christmas we discuss the inconvenience of waste and the consequence of affluence in our society and rush from one highly enjoyable party to another, it is a good time to remember that many people in the world still do not know what it is to have a glass of safe water to drink and that 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty?
Does my noble friend accept that the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development have widespread support in all they are doing to fight and eradicate poverty and to resist unwise military commercial deals which may undermine the process? Does my noble friend further accept that if only we had a timetable for reaching 0.7 per cent, instead of merely the aspiration, we would in a meaningful way increase the leverage on the other nations we want to join us in the campaign?
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, I do not believe that my noble friend Lord Whitty would thank me for saying that waste was not important. Our debates on the subject show that many noble Lords think it is important. As regards whether there should be a target rather than an aspiration, as I indicated in my Answer the Chancellor, in his Pre-Budget Report, confirmed that in the next spending round the Government will not only raise significantly the amount of overseas development assistance but also its share in national income. That is a good way of expressing a target.
§ Baroness BoothroydMy Lords, does the Minister have before him figures which indicate the amount of development aid that is devoted to family planning and population policies? If not, perhaps he would let me have such figures in the foreseeable future.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, I am sorry, I do not have those figures in front of me. I shall certainly let the noble Baroness, Lady Boothroyd, have them and I shall place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
§ Lord Howell of GuildfordMy Lords, I appreciate the tireless enthusiasm of the noble Lord, Lord Judd, on these matters. Does the Minister nevertheless accept that the sheer volume of overseas official aid is often a poor trigger for sustainable development and wealth creation? In fact, in many instances, it has had the reverse effect. Does he further accept that when 351 one looks at total resources going to developing countries, and includes private investment flows, the figures for the recent past look much better. They are near the target of 0.7 per cent and were even higher in the early 1990s. Does he further agree that the Chancellor's recent pronouncements on the need to increase our aid efforts and his talk of a Marshall Plan, include some reliance on overseas private investment? Therefore, if the figures are already looking quite good, what is new?
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, it is true that the original United Nations target included both private and public assistance. However, arising from what the noble Lord, Lord Howell, said and as the World Bank confirms, it is important not to tie public overseas development assistance to commercial investment. The World Bank has produced a figure which shows that official development assistance is 25 per cent more efficient if it is not tied to commercial programmes. That has been a significant part of the Government's policy on ODA.
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, in the instrument on arms sales to third countries agreed in December 1993 by the OSCE, is there not a condition that states will not sell armaments to countries where such sales would constitute a material diversion of the resources available for development? Furthermore, is not the proposed sale of the £28 million military air control system to Tanzania a flagrant breach of that obligation? Will the Government think again and try not to set an example that would serve only to hinder the universal observance of an agreement which has stood us in good stead?
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, I know no more about the case to which the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, has referred than I have read in the newspapers. No official decision has been taken on the matter.