Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the potential merits of disbursing the up to £4 billion in Special Drawing Rights announced at the IMF’s annual meeting to entities other than the IMF.
Answered by John Glen
At their October meeting, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors welcomed progress made by the IMF to provide options for members with strong external positions to channel a share of their allocated Special Drawing Rights (SDR), including considering viable options to voluntarily channel SDR to Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
The IMF and MDB partners are developing channelling options, and the UK will consider these for support.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the (a) immediate needs of vulnerable countries and (b) potential merits of disbursing the up to £4bn in Special Drawing Rights he announced at the IMF’s annual meeting to support those countries.
Answered by John Glen
At the IMF’s Annual Meetings in October, the Chancellor committed to channelling up to 4bn Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the UK’s new allocation, starting with an additional loan of SDR 1bn to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust which provides zero interest loans to low-income countries.
The Chancellor has also welcomed proposals for the IMF’s new Resilience and Sustainability Trust which would redirect SDR towards supporting vulnerable countries in addressing climate change and other long-term structural challenges.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2021 to Question 70297 on Overseas Aid, over what time period he plans to channel and disburse the up to £4 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) he announced at the IMF’s annual meeting.
Answered by John Glen
At the IMF’s Annual Meetings, the Chancellor committed to channelling up to 4bn in SDR, starting with an additional loan of SDR 1bn to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. This loan will be drawn down over time by the poorest and most vulnerable countries at highly concessional interest rates.
The needs and demands of vulnerable countries will continue to determine the time period over which the UK’s SDR channelling commitments are drawn down from the IMF by eligible countries, as the IMF’s concessional loan facilities are demand led.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 4 November 2021 to Question 67246 on International Monetary System, what estimate he has made of the monetary value of 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income in the remainder of this Parliament.
Answered by Simon Clarke
On 27 October the Office for Budget Responsibility published its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which is accessible here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/.
It forecasts cumulative Gross National Income (GNI) over the 2021 Spending Review period (the financial years 2022-23 to 2024-25) to be £7,606 billion in nominal terms. 0.5 per cent of this GNI estimate is £38 billion.
It forecasts cumulative GNI over the calendar years 2022 to 2024 to be £7,531 billion in nominal terms. 0.5% of this GNI estimate is £37.6 billion.
The UK reports ODA spending on a calendar year basis in our annual Statistics on International Development publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development.
In July, the Chancellor set out the responsible fiscal circumstances under which we will return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA: when the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s fiscal forecast confirms that, on a sustainable basis, the government is not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-12/hcws172.
Given the government’s careful stewardship of the public finances and the strength of the recovery, these fiscal tests are now forecast to be met in 2024-25. As such, the 2021 Spending Review provisionally sets aside additional unallocated ODA funding for 2024-25, on top of departmental ODA settlements, to the value of the difference between 0.5% and 0.7% of GNI.
The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely and, each year over this period, will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 Act, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2021 to Question 66248 on Overseas Aid, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the allocation and disbursement of the UK's Special Drawing Rights; and on whether the funding is in addition the £1 billion to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.
Answered by John Glen
Under the UK’s G7 Presidency, the Government led G7 and other partners to commit to channelling Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to support vulnerable countries, with G7 leaders agreeing in June to a global ambition of $100bn to countries most in need.
At the IMF’s Annual Meetings, the Chancellor committed to channelling up to 4bn in SDR, starting with an additional loan of SDR 1bn to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust which provides zero interest loans to low-income countries.
The UK is also supportive of the IMF’s proposed Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) which would redirect SDR towards supporting vulnerable countries in addressing long-term challenges such as climate change. The RST received G20 and International Monetary and Financial Committee support at the IMF Annual Meetings in October.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2021 to Question 66248, on Overseas Aid, whether the UK's Special Drawing Rights contribution to the International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust counted as Official Development Aid (ODA); and whether that funding will be in addition to the 0.5 per cent ODA budget.
Answered by John Glen
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 4 November to Question 67246 to the Hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Ms. Moran).
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund loans issued between April 2014 and April 2016 by defunct timeshare operator Azure Services Ltd.
Answered by John Glen
The Government is aware of the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund loans issued between April 2014 and April 2016 by Azure Services Ltd. The Government is also aware of a campaign for other consumers to receive compensation for loans outside the April 2014 – April 2016 period. Any potential broader policy implications of this decision will primarily be for the Financial Conduct Authority, given their responsibility for the regulation of consumer credit, which operates independently of government.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether debt relief for Sudan will be counted as contributing to the target of 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income being spent on Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the UK will provide debt cancellation on Sudan’s bilateral debt owed to the UK.
Sudan owes the UK a total of £861m (as of August 2020).
HM Treasury does not hold any of the debt owed to the UK by Sudan and the debt relief for Sudan will not appear in HM Treasury’s annual report and accounts.
The UK reports all ODA eligible spend in line with international rules set by the OECD.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether debt relief for Sudan has been included in his Department's accounts for (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the UK will provide debt cancellation on Sudan’s bilateral debt owed to the UK.
Sudan owes the UK a total of £861m (as of August 2020).
HM Treasury does not hold any of the debt owed to the UK by Sudan and the debt relief for Sudan will not appear in HM Treasury’s annual report and accounts.
The UK reports all ODA eligible spend in line with international rules set by the OECD.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether debt relief for Sudan will be counted as Official Development Assistance (ODA) in (a) 2021-22 and (b) future financial years; and how much ODA it will be counted as.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the UK will provide debt cancellation on Sudan’s bilateral debt owed to the UK.
Sudan owes the UK a total of £861m (as of August 2020).
HM Treasury does not hold any of the debt owed to the UK by Sudan and the debt relief for Sudan will not appear in HM Treasury’s annual report and accounts.
The UK reports all ODA eligible spend in line with international rules set by the OECD.