Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the timetable for achieving the UN target of 0.7 per cent. of gross national product of the Overseas Development Administration budget; and what progress has been made to date in achieving the target. [10146]
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§ Dr. Liam FoxThe Government remain committed to meeting the UN target of 0.7 per cent. of gross national product to be devoted to development assistance, but not to a timetable for reaching it. At 0.28 per cent. of GNP, the UK ratio remains above average for all donors-0.27 per cent. UK public and private flows to the developing world stood at 1.38 per cent. of GNP in 1995, well in excess of the 1 per cent. UN target, and second only to the Netherlands.