§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will set out the recent changes in ministerial responsibilities for the World Bank Group and indicate how these will impact on the role of officials.[17259]
§ Mr. FoulkesI am pleased to inform the House that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for International Development have agreed that, following the creation of the Department for International Development, the Secretary of State for International Development should become the United Kingdom Governor of the World Bank Group. The Chancellor has taken over the role of United Kingdom Alternate Governor of the World Bank Group. He and the Secretary of State for International Development attended the meeting of the Development Committee in Hong Kong in September, followed by the Annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
The division of responsibilities at official level in our Delegation to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington remains as before. The United Kingdom has one Executive Director for the World Bank and IMF who is a Treasury official appointed after consultation with the Department for International Development. On World Bank work, the Executive Director is assisted by an Alternate appointed by the Department for International Development.