International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill (HL Bill 67)

1 Duty to meet United Nations 0.7% target from 2015

(1) It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that the target for official
development assistance (referred to in this Act as “ODA”) to amount to 0.7% of
gross national income (in this Act referred to as “the 0.7% target”) is met by the
5United Kingdom in the year 2015 and each subsequent calendar year.

(2) Whether the 0.7% target has been met by the United Kingdom in any year is to
be determined for the purposes of this Act by reference to the amounts
specified for that year in an annual report (in particular, the percentage
specified in accordance with paragraph 1(h) of the Schedule to the 2006 Act).

(3) 10In this Act—

• “the 2006 Act” means the International Development (Reporting and
  Transparency) Act 2006;

• “annual report” means an annual report under section 1 of the 2006 Act.

2 Duty to lay statement before Parliament if 0.7% target not met

(1) 15If an annual report laid before Parliament in the year 2016 or any subsequent
calendar year shows that the 0.7% target has not been met in the report year,
the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after laying the
report, lay before Parliament a statement complying with subsections (3) and
(4).

(2) 20If an annual report laid before Parliament in the year 2015 or any subsequent
calendar year shows that the 0.7% target has been met in the report year but—

(a) the report is revised under section 1(4) of the 2006 Act by a subsequent
annual report, and

(b) the effect of the revision is to show that the 0.7% target was not met in
the report year,

5the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after laying the

subsequent report, lay before Parliament a statement complying with

subsection (3).

(3) A statement under subsection (1) or (2) must explain why the 0.7% target has
not been met in the report year and, if relevant, refer to the effect of one or more
10of the following—

(a) economic circumstances and, in particular, any substantial change in
gross national income;

(b) fiscal circumstances and, in particular, the likely impact of meeting the
target on taxation, public spending and public borrowing;

(c) 15circumstances arising outside the United Kingdom.

(4) A statement under subsection (1) must also describe any steps that the
Secretary of State has taken to ensure that the 0.7% target will be met by the
United Kingdom in the calendar year following the report year.

(5) In this section “the report year”, in relation to an annual report, means the
20period of 12 months which is the most recent relevant period, as defined by
section 1(2) of the 2006 Act, to which the information included in accordance
with paragraph 1(h) of the Schedule to that Act relates.

3 Accountability to Parliament

(1) The only means of securing accountability in relation to the duty in section 1 is
25that established by the provision in section 2 for the laying of a statement
before Parliament.

(2) Accordingly, the fact that the duty in section 1 has not been, or will or may not
be, complied with does not affect the lawfulness of anything done, or omitted
to be done, by any person.

4 30Repeal of section 3 of the 2006 Act

Section 3 of the 2006 Act (which requires each annual report to include an
assessment of the year in which the 0.7% target is expected to be met) is
repealed.

5 Independent evaluation of official development assistance

(1) 35The Secretary of State must make arrangements for the independent evaluation
of the extent to which ODA provided by the United Kingdom represents value
for money in relation to the purposes for which it is provided.

(2) The Secretary of State must include in each annual report a statement as to how
he or she has complied with the duty under subsection (1).

6 40Short title, commencement and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the International Development (Official Development
Assistance Target) Act 2015.

(2) This Act comes into force on 1 June 2015.

(3) This Act extends to the whole of the United Kingdom.