Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Departmental Overseas Aid Activity

Monday 7 December 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Around 0.01 percent of defence expenditure is reported as official development assistance.
  • Military aid is not currently eligible for OECD's ODA goal.
  • A review of military aid inclusion in ODA is under consideration.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Richard Graham Con
Foreign Affairs
Context

MP inquired about the recent estimate made by his department regarding the proportion of its overseas activities classified as official development assistance.

Question

What recent estimate has he made of the proportion of his Department's overseas activity which is accounted for as aid?

Answer from James Heappey

Around 0.01% percent of defence expenditure is reported as official development assistance, reflecting the fact that the majority of defence activity falls outside the definition of ODA.

Answered
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Q2 Richard Graham Con
Defence Economy Foreign Affairs
Context

MP questioned whether military aid should be included in the many exceptions list or if there is a need for a review to reflect the contributions of defense activities towards economic development and welfare.

Question

Given that military aid is not eligible for the OECD's goal of ODA, although a stable and peaceful Government is surely helpful for the economic development and welfare of developing nations, is it time for our military aid to be included in the many exceptions list, or is it time for a review of the OECD definition so that the good work of our armed forces can be recognised and accounted for as part of the Government's aid commitments?

Answer from James Heappey

My hon. Friend is right to acknowledge the important contribution that defence activities make in helping to create the secure conditions essential for sustained economic development. As he may have heard me say to the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran), to be constrained by the definition would do a disservice to our freedom of manoeuvre as the Ministry of Defence, but we very much hope that ODA rules could be changed to reflect the very wide range of activities that defence is involved in but that currently are not accounted for as part of our ODA spend.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific request to include military aid in exceptions or review definition was not directly addressed; instead focused on contribution and hope for change

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