Asked by Lord Collins of Highbury To ask Her Majesty’s
Government how they intend to consult non-governmental
organisations and development aid charities regarding the
commitment in their manifesto to work with like-minded countries to
change the rules relating to overseas development assistance. The
Minister of State, Department for International Development
(Lord...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to consult
non-governmental organisations and development aid
charities regarding the commitment in their manifesto to
work with like-minded countries to change the rules
relating to overseas development assistance.
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The Minister of State, Department for International
Development (Lord Bates) (Con)
My Lords, we are consulting with civil society
organisations to hear what rule changes they believe would
be beneficial in helping us deliver the sustainable
development goals. NGOs have been invited to share with us
their thoughts and indications as to what changes might be
envisaged as part of a wide consultation process.
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(Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that response but the question
was about what the Government are thinking. In 2016,
sought from the DAC
changes to accommodate the SDGs. What more changes do this
Government want? They should come clean about that and then
consult properly. Does the Minister not accept that if the
United Kingdom went alone on these changes it would break
the international rules-based agreements we have, which
would have severe consequences for international
development?
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Of course we are not talking about going it alone. The OECD
and DAC process is made up of 30 countries. It is a
consensus operation and we have to work with colleagues to
bring about the changes that we seek. The Secretary of
State convened a meeting of 18 NGO leaders in the
department last Wednesday, which I attended. It was a very
productive session. The first thing it recognised was that
the existing rules were not perfect. The second thing,
which we are absolutely sure about, was that it was
essential to preserve the primary purpose of aid; namely,
economic development. That will remain our focus as we
consult colleagues on the DAC, NGOs and other parties here.
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(Con)
My Lords, it is often the small organisations working at
grass-roots level that can really make a change and a
difference to the poorest communities around the world, but
they find it very hard to apply for these grants; there are
often very complicated procedures to get the money. Will my
noble friend please tell me what is being done to help
these small organisations access funds?
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My noble friend is absolutely right. Small organisations
often bring innovation to the process, passion and low
overheads, which are deeply needed in the way that we
develop aid. As part of that process, the Secretary of
State has announced that we are going to launch a small
charities challenge fund aimed particularly at small
organisations with a turnover between £25,000 and £250,000
for accountable grants of £50,000 each. We will be making
an announcement about that next week but I will certainly
make sure that all Members of your Lordships’ House, who I
know follow these matters closely and have good links to
many small charities doing amazing work around the world,
have details of that fund.
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(Lab)
My Lords, as part of this consultation will the Government
publish an assessment of the impact of the changes that
were made in 2016—they were indeed made to accommodate the
sustainable development goals, as well as the UK priority
of investment in conflict-affected and fragile
states—before then asking for more?
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That is certainly something that we will look at once we
figure out the exact routes that we are going down. We have
identified a number of areas. For example, development
assistance is available post-conflict to rebuild countries
but when it comes to peacekeeping, only a small percentage
of that budget is attributable to development assistance.
When we want to help with training militaries in how to
prevent sexual violence in conflict, we find difficulties
in getting that element there. When we want to look at
refugees providing vocational assistance here in the UK,
that is deemed to be a benefit to the national economy and
therefore is not allowed. So there are a few things here
but the essential point, which the noble Lord is absolutely
right about, is that we have to work together on this to
resolve those differences with the primary purpose in mind.
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(LD)
My Lords, I would like to press further the point that the
noble Lord, , made. Will
the Minister share with your Lordships’ House a definition of
ODA that the Secretary of State will be content with, bearing
in mind that she is on record as saying that she would like
to see the department that she now leads abolished?
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She is also on record as a passionate defender of the 0.7%
target. That was in the Conservative manifesto; it was
secured under a coalition Government and maintained under a
Conservative Government, and it is something that we are
extremely proud of. The fact that we have a 0.7% commitment
does not mean that everything to do with reform should stop
there. We want to make sure that every single penny and pound
of that is directed to the people who are in the greatest
need because we cannot afford to leave them behind when there
is so much need visible around the world.
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(CB)
My Lords, the Minister referred to the prime aim of aid as
economic development. We have discussed before in this House
how economic development cannot take place without investment
in health and in the empowerment and education of women. The
UK is a respected global leader in many of these areas:
malaria, neglected tropical diseases, maternal and child
health, and the education of women and girls. Can the
Minister assure the House that any changes that are made will
not be to the detriment of continuing investment in the areas
in which we have proved to be effective and successful?
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I can certainly give that assurance. In fact, health is one
of the key areas in which we have been investing heavily. I
know that the noble Baroness has taken a great interest in
neglected tropical diseases. We announced a further £200
million for that cause, which is saving hundreds of thousands
of lives, just a few months ago.
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