Global Goals, Official Development Assistance, and the role of the Department for International Development

That this House affirms its commitment to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development agreed by Member States of the United Nations in 2015 with the aim of ending poverty, fighting inequality and addressing the urgency of climate change by 2030; believes the United Kingdom’s statutory commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income each year as Official Development Assistance demonstrates cross-party consensus in the UK behind the importance of those goals, and ambitious leadership among the international community of donor countries; further believes that the existence since 1997 of a dedicated Government Department and Secretary of State for International Development has protected and enhanced the work of Government and thousands of agencies and charities funded by Government, in meeting global targets to end poverty; and believes that the Department for International Development should continue to exist as a dedicated Government Department throughout the lifetime of this Parliament and beyond.