International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill [Bill 14 of 2014-15]

The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill 2014-15 (Bill 14 of 2014-15) was introduced on 2 July 2014 by Michael Moore MP. Second reading is scheduled for 12 September 2014.

The bill would put the 0.7% aid target – of spending at least 0.7% of national income on aid – in legislation. The UK met the 0.7% aid target for the first time in 2013. The Government have committed to meet it in subsequent years.

Following pledges in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat manifestos, the Coalition Agreement committed the Government to enshrine the target in law. The Government have not yet introduced legislation to do this themselves but have said that they support this bill. The Labour party have also said that they support the bill.

As well as putting the aid target in legislation, this bill would create a new body – called the Independent International Development Office (IIDO) – to carry out independent evaluation of the relevance, impact, value for money and sustainability of aid spending.