The House of Lords International
Agreements Committee has today published a report on the
Government's intention to rejoin the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), a UN agency the UK previously
left under the Coalition Government in 2012 amid concerns about
its performance and value for money.
The committee acknowledges that UNIDO
has reformed significantly since the UK left, and that the
Government has negotiated favourable terms for re-entry under
which the first three years of membership will not require any
new Government spending. It argues, however, that it is unclear
whether membership will continue to be good value for money once
the UK resumes paying membership fees from 2030, especially given
recent reductions in development
spending.
Though UNIDO's work aligns with
current Government priorities on sustainable industrialisation
and green energy, the Committee also concluded that UNIDO's
internal reforms have further to go, and that it is unclear how
durable they will be in the long
term.
The Government's plan to review the
UK's continued membership in 2029 is therefore essential,
according to the Committee. It added that it is crucial that
Parliament is informed about and has the opportunity to consider
that review.
The committee reports the UNIDO
Constitution to the House for special attention and
debate.
The full report is available to read
on the committee's website.
Lord Johnson, Chair of the
House of Lords International Agreements Committee
said:
Rejoining an organisation that the UK
previously left, for reasons that were well justified at the
time, is a politically significant decision that merited close
scrutiny by the Committee.
"We found that there is an arguable
case for rejoining UNIDO. It has reformed significantly since
2012, and its work appears to have become both more impactful and
more aligned with Government priorities, such as on green energy.
The Government has also negotiated a good deal on the initial
funding arrangements: the UK's first three years of resumed
membership will not require any new Government spending and
therefore represent very good value for
money.
"However, the value for money
calculation may change once the UK resumes paying membership
fees, especially in light of tight constraints on the development
budget. We also concluded that UNIDO's reforms have further to
go. This means that the Government's plan to review membership in
2029 becomes vital, and it is crucial that Parliament is informed
about and able to scrutinise the outcome of that
review.
"We look forward to the Government's
response to our report and to a debate in the House of Lords in
due course.
