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International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill

Issue date


Hendricks Bill

Second Reading briefing for MPs

1 March 2013

On Friday 1 March 2013, the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill is listed again for its Second Reading in the House of the Commons. The TUC urges MPs to attend for the debate and vote in favour of the Second Reading.

This may be the last chance to get the legislation progressed in this parliamentary session.

The Bill's purpose is to make provision about the meeting by the United Kingdom of the target for official development assistance (ODA) to constitute 0.7% of gross national income; to make provision for independent verification that ODA is spent efficiently and effectively; and for connected purposes. The 0.7% target was set by the United Nations in the 1970s, and reiterated regularly since.

Why vote for the Bill?

All major parties are committed to spending 0.7% of UK Gross National Income on overseas aid (although we'd prefer the focus to be on international development - based on solidarity and justice - rather than just charity). The Chancellor set out in his Autumn Financial Statement last December plans for meeting that target in 2013/14. So why do we need a law mandating that target?

As Frances O'Grady wrote in her letter to Justine Greening this week, such a commitment would

  • protect the ODA budget from cuts in future years, especially if the Coalition's current plans for cutting government expenditure are extended even further into the future;
  • provide multilateral agencies and developing country governments with the assurance of stable funding over the medium to long term, allowing them to plan more effective spending plans;
  • encourage other countries to meet the UN target themselves (none of the other rich G8 countries have met the target yet, although some other northern European economies have); and
  • demonstrate once and for all the UK's commitment to abide by promises which were made decades ago and have been regularly repeated, but not yet fulfilled.
Coalition approach

The Conservative Party included the commitment to legislate in their manifesto in 2010, as did Labour, and the Liberal Democrats were not averse to the proposal. It was included in the 2010 Coalition Agreement as a pledge that would be met in the first Parliamentary session, but that promise has already been reneged on.

Subsequent Government statements have either relied on the old get out of 'when parliamentary time allows' and the current DFID Business Plan promises legislation before the next Election, although most commentators think it unlikely that the Coalition will make this its last legislative priority before going to the country.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady has written to the International Development Secretary, Justine Greening MP, urging her to provide parliamentary time for the Bill. The General Secretary's letter is as follows:

Dear Justine

Official Development Assistance - enshrining the commitment in law

As you will be aware, Mark Hendricks MP's Private Member's Bill - the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill - returns to the Commons on Friday 1 March.

His Bill would enshrine the commitment made by all main political parties, and contained within the Coalition Agreement and the DFID Business Plan 2012-2015, to spend the UN target of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance.

Such a commitment would protect the ODA budget from cuts in future years; would provide multilateral agencies and developing country governments with the assurance of stable funding; would encourage other countries to meet the UN target themselves; and would demonstrate once and for all the UK's commitment to abide by promises made for decades, but not yet fulfilled.

I would urge your Government to support the Bill in Parliament, and in particular allocate parliamentary time to ensure that it is adopted.

Yours sincerely

FRANCES O'GRADY

General Secretary

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