UK Conservative Party policy on International Development

As mentioned previously, here is the extract from Conservative Party policy sent to me by my local Conservative candidate, Craig Whittaker. He also replied to my follow-up question:

My views don't differ from those of my Party. Our policy has been well researched and what appears to have been well tested through experts (Sir Bob Geldoff has also advised) and it seems to go a long way to addressing the Millennium Goals whilst at the same time addressing the issues surrounding fraud and corruption.

It appears to be a sound, well researched policy which I support

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Leadership on Global Poverty

The Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group was establish by David Cameron back in 2005 and issued its report back in July of 2007. It consisted of a range of experts and was advised by Sir Bob Geldoff.

It produced a detailed and extensive set of recommendations on future development policy for A Conservative Government and was warmly welcomed by many commentators.

A key recommendation was for a ‘Bold Real Trade’ package to help the poorest Countries access markets in rich Countries

In July 2009, David Cameron and Andrew Mitchell, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development launched ‘One World Conservatism’, our Green Paper on International development.

The paper sets out in detail how a Conservative Government will get better value for money from our aid budget through full transparency, results based aid and an independent Aid Watchdog to scutinise spending

We will continue to work towards securing the eight Millennium Development Goals

On results based Aid we will;

· Move towards ‘Cash on Delivery’ aid: money will be handed to governments only when development results have been achieved – rather than giving all the money up front based on promises that it will be spent well

· We will set up an Independent Aid Watchdog to scrutinise the impact and outcomes of British Aid. Aid will be focused on the Country programmes and projects that deliver the best value, while under performing aid programmes will be cut and the money redirected to more effective channels

· We will carry out more impact evaluations on DFID aid programmes, taking detailed ‘Before & After’ look at aid projects to identify whether they actually worked

WE WILL MEET the UN target of spending 0.7% of National Income by 2013

We will strengthen public support for Aid by setting up a new MyAid Fund worth £40m in the first year, with British people voting on how and where it should be spent

On Tackling disease we will;

· Spend at least £500m a year tackling Malaria until the Millennium Development Goal on Malaria (To halt and begin to reverse the incidence of disease) has been met. We will use the money for Malaria –specific initiatives and for strengthening health systems in developing countries

· A Health systems Partnership Fund will be established to help Doctors and Medical staff who want to volunteer in developing Countries. The fund worth £5m a year to begin with, will help fund international placements for British Health workers and support strong, enduring links between the NHS and health systems in poor Countries

· We will tackle HIV/AIDS by : building basic healthcare systems : championing prevention as well as treatment; and working to tackle Mother to child transmission of HIV

· We will publish full information about British Aid on the DFID website, following the example of the Global Fund for Aids, TB and Malaria, which produces detailed information about its spending on its website. This will allow Parliament, the Public, campaigning organisations and the press to hold the DFID to account

· We will work for greater transparency across the whole aid system, requiring all bodies receiving DFID funds, to move towards greater openness and transparency

With encouraging Global Trade we will;

· Push hard for a pro-development trade deal at the World Trade Organisation and for reform of EU Trade Policies. We will press the EU and other rich Countries to drop their trade barriers on low-income countries unilaterally by 2013, to simplify cumbersome rules of origin for exports from poor Countries, to eliminate developed country subsidies and to provide greater aid for trade

· We will encourage the creation of a Pan-American Free Trade Area to reduce the trade barriers African Countries impose on imports from other African nations

· We will champion growth led by the Private Sector in developing countries by supporting microfinance and property rights

. We will support and encourage ethical consumerism. Together with other ethical consumer brands, the Fair Trade scheme allows consumers to send a market signal voluntarily about the conditions in which they want their food produced. We are enthusiastic supporters of the scheme and applaud all businesses who take corporate social responsibility seriously