Influencing policy on international development

Policy updates

UK aid legislation

In an interview with a UK newspaper, Secretary of State, Andrew Mitchell stated that legislation legally enshrining the increase in UK aid spending to 0.7% of GNI from 2013 has been postponed. The bill was expected to go through parliament by May this year as committed to by all three major parties during the General Election in 2010, a pledge which has been restated publicly by the coalition government since its election.

The Secretary of State reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the 0.7% target but argued that legislation on this issue would have to be delayed to allow other bills to take priority. He went on to underline that legislation on aid, a commitment in the coalition agreement, will still be fulfilled.

Bond Chief Executive Lyndall Stein said: "We welcome the strong support by the UK government to reaching 0.7% GNI aid spend by 2013 as outlined in the Chancellor's budget statement in November last year. Legislating for this target would ensure that this commitment is secured for future governments and will show the UK's continued international leadership on aid."

Bond gives oral evidence to EU aid IDC inquiry

Bond has submitted evidence to the International Development Committee, outlining strengths and shortcomings of EU development efforts. Romina Vegro, Bond’s EU Policy Officer, also gave oral evidence to the inquiry.

We believe that the EU is an important and effective development actor, in which the UK government must continue to support and invest. Yet the submission also highlights Bond's concerns about policy coherence for development, the EC’s Agenda for Change and the upcoming EU budget.

EU "marginalising anti-poverty objectives"

A new report finds that the European Union is marginalising anti-poverty objectives within the European External Action Service (EEAS), and that the EEAS has done little to prioritise policy coherence for development in its programmes.

CONCORD, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, together with Bond, have launched the report one year after the establishment of the EEAS.

Read Bond and CONCORD's five recommendations for the future or download the report.

UK must do more to fight corruption

The government must do more to tackle the role that UK banks and companies play in fuelling and facilitating corruption overseas, according to a report by the Bond Anti-Corruption Group launched on International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December).

Read the press release and report.