HL Deb 13 January 2004 vol 657 cc465-7

3.15 p.m.

Baroness Northover asked Her Majesty's Government:

What criteria they considered before giving the Adam Smith Institute £7.6 million in aid money last year for consultancy work.

The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)

My Lords, the Department for International Development awarded three contracts to the Adam Smith Institute worth a total of £7.7 million in the past financial year. Each was awarded following open international competition on the basis of published evaluation criteria.

Baroness Northover

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Is she content that the Adam Smith Institute has sufficient expertise in development issues to justify giving it such a large sum? Does she share my concerns about its overt agenda? Has she seen its website, on which the institute gives as its two main "heroes" Hayek and Milton Friedman? It features a recommendation to scrap the UK's "awful" Department for Education and Skills and lists the latest publication by its international division as building support for privatisation. Given that unfettered markets can benefit the strong, rather than the weak, is the noble Baroness content to rely on an organisation with such a strong agenda to identify how best to help the poorest people throughout the world?

Baroness Amos

My Lords, it is important that we put this in context. DfID awarded 800 contracts last year, three of which went to the Adam Smith Institute. Adam Smith International Limited, which is the consultancy arm of the institute, is a separate organisation. It is affiliated to the institute as a self-financing commercial organisation.

The work that has been carried out is significant. The three contracts awarded last year included one for support services for public enterprise restructuring in South Africa; one in Afghanistan to provide support in capacity building for the Ministry of Finance and the central bank; and one in the Kyrgyz Republic for pilot training and capacity building in international waterhouse law. There is a range of projects.

Baroness Rawlings

My Lords, we fully support the good work of the Adam Smith Institute and any increase in trade that helps to alleviate poverty. Does the Minister agree, however, that a vast amount of money is involved, in comparison to the sums given to many of the aid programmes funded by DfID, especially the redirection of funding, away from the middle-income countries? Does she agree that Labour has adopted the Conservative policy of privatisation? They opposed it in the UK but are now happy to impose it on the developing world.

Baroness Amos

My Lords, the noble Baroness does not entirely understand the nature of the consultancy work in which such organisations are engaged. What happens is that a developing country will identify its priorities and seek assistance with that work. We will produce terms of reference and evaluation criteria. Countries and organisations will then be asked to bid. There is an open international process for contracts over £100,000. There will then be a tender panel, usually comprising someone from the developing country concerned, as well as DfID experts. It is work for the developing countries.

Baroness Noakes

My Lords, will the noble Baroness and her department accept my congratulations on using an organisation that has the principles explained by the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and extols the virtues of small government, low taxation and reductions in regulation? Will she communicate the benefits of using such an organisation to her Cabinet colleagues, including, perhaps, the Chancellor?

Baroness Amos

My Lords, I have to say to the noble Baroness, although I know that she will be disappointed to hear this, that that is not the basis on which we awarded contracts to the Adam Smith Institute.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, will the noble Baroness the Lord President of the Council enlighten us? She has just said that of more than 800 DfID contracts three were awarded to the Adam Smith Institute. How many were for more than £7 million?

Baroness Amos

My Lords, I am happy to write to the noble Lord about that. The information is available on the DfID website, but I do not have it with me at the moment.

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