§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if the Government will(a) support the Microcredit programme and (b) propose an increase in the level of UN funding for it; and if she will make a statement. [9029]
§ Clare ShortMicrocredit has a very important role to play in achieving the Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.
Poor people need continuous access to appropriate savings, credit and other financial services. Put together, these services help poor people take advantage of opportunities to increase their incomes and build more secure livelihoods.
For this reason, DFID has made multi-year investments totalling some £100 million, strengthening micro-finance institutions throughout Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. Its bilateral programmes and partnerships with many other agencies support the development and dissemination of best practice in micro-finance. DFID collaborates with many expert institutions in this field. They include the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest, a coalition of donors and micro-finance practitioners developing new tools and approaches to improve delivery of micro-finance services all over the world.
DFID has also collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme in the Micro-Start programme, and the jointly funded micro Save Programme in East Africa that pilots and replicates new pro-poor savings methodologies. DFID also works with the International 304W Labour Organisation to further the spread of post-conflict micro-finance. We support the allocation of further financial support to this sector, based on the principles of enhancing and replicating best practice, and accessing quality financial services to millions of poor families worldwide.