§ 11. Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money out of the increased resources allocated to her Department in the comprehensive spending review will be spent on bilateral aid. [51330]
§ Clare ShortWe will agree the allocation of our increased resources in the Autumn. The International Development White Paper makes clear that we are now giving greater priority to seeking to influence multilateral systems to achieve a stronger commitment to the international poverty eradication targets. We are also redirecting our bilateral efforts to this purpose.
§ 23. Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the principal priorities within her bilateral aid programmes on which the additional funding over the next three years announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 14 July will be spent. [51344]
§ Clare ShortThe primary objective of the development assistance programme, as our White Paper sets out, is to contribute to the elimination of poverty through the implementation of the international development strategy. The key target of the strategy is to reduce by one half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. The additional resources available to the Department for International Development (DFID) as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be allocated to contribute to the realisation of that target.
We have set out as part of the CSR some specific targets for DFID. For the twenty largest recipients of British assistance we will aim to achieve by 2002 an annual increase in GDP per capita for the poorest 20 per cent. of the population, a reduction in the under five and maternal mortality rates and an increase in the number of children in primary school.