News
30 January 2006
International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill
The International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill was tabled by
the Rt Hon Tom Clarke MP, shadow secretary of state for international
development from 1994-1995. It aims to increase transparency in international
development reporting so that the level, poverty-focus, and coherence of the
Government’s international development policy and expenditure – and their
contribution towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals - may be readily
tracked.
If the Bill becomes law it will require the Secretary of State to prepare an
annual report to parliament using information that is comparable over time,
including between Government administrations. It will also place on the statute
books for the first time a specific reference to the UN target (signed up to in
1970) for expenditure on official development assistance (ODA) to constitute
0.7% of gross national income (GNI). It will also, for the first time, prescribe
in law how DFID should report on its development policies and use of resources.
Although few Private Member’s Bills make it to the Statute Book, this one
enjoys Government support, and passed its crucial Second Reading in the House of
Commons unopposed. The Bill also has strong civil society backing, as
demonstrated by the
 open letter to MPs published in The Guardian on 19 January.
The Bill now passes to Committee Stage where amendments to the Bill will be
tabled and debated before Third Reading and passage to the House of Lords.
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