Overseas Aid (Hansard, 16 December 2002)

§ Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the OECD's figures on the proportion of UK overseas aid spent on(a) basic health care and (b) basic education; and if she will make a statement. [87009]

§ Clare Short
The OECD-DAC data are drawn directly from the figures which the UK reports to the organisation each year. They are compiled on the basis of the international definitions agreed by all donors. The figures are often used to compare donor performance, but can be misleading if used out of context. For our own use, DFID has developed a more sophisticated commitment and reporting system that is better able to reflect the full extent of our commitments.
OECD figures classify all expenditure according only to the primary sector intervention targets. As we move towards greater emphasis on crosscutting and multi-purpose interventions, the figures will represent an increasingly partial picture. Specifically excluded from the UK figures are: elements of budget support that are targeting health or education; block funding to NGOs; emergency assistance; and basic education or basic health expenditure of any programme whose primary sector was not basic health or basic education. Education or health expenditure is often presented as a proportion of the total bilateral programme, but it would be more appropriate to present it as a proportion of the allocated bilateral aid.
In common with other donors, the sector statistics exclude any resources given to multilateral agencies, which frequently target the basic health or education sectors. It is also important to note that DAC basic health sector definition excludes family planning.
565W

§ John Barrett
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 July,Official Report, column 42W, on overseas aid, what plans she has to increase the percentage of UK bilateral assistance spent on low income countries. [72437]

§ Clare Short
As part of the 2002 Spending Review, my Department has set itself a Public Service Agreement target for increasing the proportion of DFID's bilateral programme going to low-income countries to 90 per cent. over the 2003–06 period.
Full details of my Department's progress towards this target thus far can be found on DFID's website (www.dfid.gov.uk) or in the 2002 Departmental Report, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.