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[AS AMENDED IN STANDING COMMITTEE B] |
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require the Secretary of State to report annually on total expenditure on |
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international aid and on the breakdown of such aid, and in particular on |
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progress towards the target for expenditure on official development assistance |
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to constitute 0.7 per cent of gross national income; to require such reports to |
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contain information about expenditure by country, about the proportion of |
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expenditure in low income countries and about the effectiveness of aid |
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expenditure and the transparency of international aid; and for connected |
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Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and |
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consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present |
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Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— |
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1 | Annual reports: general |
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(1) | It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to lay before each House of |
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Parliament each year a report about international aid pursuant to the |
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provisions of this Act (an “annual report”). |
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(2) | In this Act, “relevant period” means— |
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(a) | a period of 12 months ending with 31st December, in the case of |
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information which is normally produced by reference to calendar |
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(b) | in any other case, a period of 12 months ending with 31st March. |
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(3) | An annual report shall, subject to subsection (5), be laid before each House of |
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Parliament as soon as practicable after 31st March each year. |
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(4) | An annual report may revise anything contained in a previous annual report. |
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(5) | Nothing in this Act shall be read as preventing an annual report being |
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combined with any other report which the Secretary of State lays before either |
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2 | Statistics to be reported |
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Each annual report must include the information set out in the Schedule to this |
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3 | Progress towards United Nations 0.7% expenditure target |
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The Secretary of State shall include in each annual report his assessment of the |
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year in which he expects that the target for expenditure on official |
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development assistance to amount to 0.7% of gross national income will be met |
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4 | Aid effectiveness and Millennium Development Goals 1 to 7 |
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(1) | Each annual report must include the Secretary of State’s assessment of the |
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(a) | what progress has been made generally towards the achievement of |
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Millennium Development Goals 1 to 7, |
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(b) | the effectiveness in pursuing Millennium Development Goals 1 to 7 of |
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multilateral aid generally to which the United Kingdom contributes, |
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(c) | the effectiveness in pursuing Millennium Development Goals 1 to 7 of |
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bilateral aid provided by the United Kingdom to not fewer than 20 |
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countries specified in the report, selected according to criteria so |
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(d) | what progress has been made in promoting untied aid. |
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(a) | references to “Millennium Development Goals 1 to 7” are to Goals 1 to |
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7 set out in the Annex to United Nations General Assembly document |
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A/56/326 dated 6th September 2001, entitled “Road map towards the |
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implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration: Report |
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of the Secretary General”, as those goals may be amended or modified |
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(b) | “untied aid” means aid which falls within subsection (3). |
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(3) | Aid falls within this subsection if— |
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(a) | it is either not subject to a condition restricting the states from which |
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goods or services may be purchased using the aid, or (if it is subject to |
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such a condition) the states from which goods or services may be |
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purchased using the aid include all the member states of the |
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and |
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substantially all states which receive aid from any source, and |
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(b) | the provider of the aid has, so far as reasonably practicable, secured |
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that there will be no significant impediment in the purchasing process |
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which would have the effect of a narrower restriction than that |
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mentioned in paragraph (a) on the states from which goods or services |
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will be purchased using the aid. |
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5 | Policy coherence and Millennium Development Goal 8 |
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall include in each annual report such general or |
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specific observations as he thinks appropriate on the effects of policies and |
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programmes pursued by Government departments on— |
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(a) | the promotion of sustainable development in countries outside the |
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(b) | the reduction of poverty in such countries. |
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(2) | Such observations are to include observations on the pursuit of Millennium |
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Development Goal 8, including in particular progress towards— |
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(a) | the development of an open trading system that is rule-based and non- |
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discriminatory and expands trading opportunities for low income |
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(b) | the development of an open financial system that is rule-based and |
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(c) | the enhancement of debt relief for low income countries. |
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(3) | In this section, “Millennium Development Goal 8” means Goal 8 set out in the |
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Annex to the document mentioned in section 4(2)(a), as that goal may be |
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amended or modified from time to time. |
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall include in each annual report such observations as |
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he thinks appropriate about the contribution by Government departments to |
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the promotion of transparency in— |
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(a) | the provision of aid, and |
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(b) | the use made of aid provided. |
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(2) | He shall include, in particular, observations about progress in relation to the |
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(a) | specifying future allocations of aid, |
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(b) | securing that aid supports clearly identified development objectives, |
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agreed between those providing and those receiving the aid, |
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(c) | promoting the better management of aid, including the prevention of |
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corruption in relation to it, |
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(d) | securing improvements in monitoring the use of aid. |
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Miscellaneous and final provisions |
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7 | Interpretation, and meaning of terms used in annual report |
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(1) | In this Act, references (however expressed) to the provision of aid by the |
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United Kingdom are to the provision of aid by Government departments. |
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(2) | If an annual report uses terms which have a special meaning, it must include |
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an explanation or a definition of those terms. |
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(3) | In particular, each annual report must include an explanation or definition of |
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“humanitarian assistance”, |
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“official development assistance”, |
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There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament— |
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(a) | any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State in consequence of |
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(b) | any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of money |
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so provided under any other Act. |
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9 | Short title and commencement |
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(1) | This Act may be cited as the International Development (Reporting and |
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(2) | Sections 1 to 6 shall come into force at the end of a period of three months |
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beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
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