Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill

Baroness Primarolo Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Arbuthnot]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Dawn Primarolo)]

Order. Out of enormous respect to the right hon. Gentleman and bearing in mind that he is standing down at the next election, I have been a little generous on those points, but I hope that his one and a half pages of notes do not stretch to engaging in a full discussion, tempted by his hon. Friend’s question.

[Mr Arbuthnot]

In order to reassure you, Madam Deputy Speaker, I can say that it is one and a half sentences, and my one and a half sentences relate to the 0.7% statutory commitment that we seem to be moving towards on international development. I approve of international development—I think it does us good, as well as the countries that benefit from improved education—but to have a statutory percentage to be spent on aid and not even a manifesto commitment on defence beggars belief, and we must put that right.