§ 25. Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the role of the IMF in leading the international community's efforts to help poor countries meet the 2015 international development targets. [85999]
§ Clare ShortFollowing last year's review of the IMF's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, it was agreed that the IMF should take more account of the social impact of their programmes, consider the quality of Government expenditure and protect budgets in high priority areas such as health and education. We are encouraging the IMF to work more closely with the World Bank to ensure that, in designing structural adjustment programmes, they take account of the impact on the poor. Following proposals put forward by the UK, the World Bank is developing good practices of social policy, in consultation with the IMF. We envisage that these principles will be drawn upon by the World Bank and the IMF in the design of programmes. We continually emphasise the need for the IMF to build consensus for reform programmes, through discussion and consultation with civil society, so that they lead to economic growth which benefits the poor.