§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they endorse the calculations in the 1997 UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) Annual Report that global wealth-poverty polarisation has become greater since 1971 with 80 per cent. of the world's population taking a markedly decreasing share of world income; and what are the implications of such a trend for their international security and international development policies. [HL552]
§ Lord WhittyHer Majesty's Government share the widespread international concern about the increased income inequality revealed in the UNCTAD report and agree that we should work to ensure that people everywhere can reap the benefits from the rapid changes that are taking place in the world economy.
Our main development concern is to increase the income and well-being of the people at the lowest end of the income distribution. Her Majesty's Government are committed to working to try to meet the international targets for poverty elimination. We will work to achieve this both through our aid programme, and through the full range of our policies affecting developing countries.