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International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 Explanatory Notes

Summary and Background

3.In 1970, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution 2626 committed all economically advanced countries to providing 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) as official development assistance (ODA) (referred to below as “the 0.7% target”) by 1975 .

4.Internationally, it is commonly accepted that ODA has the meaning given to that term by the Development Assistance Committee (“DAC”) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. ODA is currently defined by the DAC as the resource flows to developing countries and multilateral institutions provided by official agencies or by their executive agencies, which meet the following tests:

  • they are administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as their main objective, and

  • they are concessional in character and convey a grant element of at least 25%.

5.From 2005, only aid to countries on the DAC List of Recipients of ODA is eligible to be recorded as ODA. ODA is provided by a wide-range of government departments, including, but not limited to, DFID, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Health. The UK’s ODA is a national statistic produced by DFID, operating within the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice.

6.The UK’s GNI is a national statistic prepared by the Office for National Statistics. GNI comprises the total value of goods and services produced within a country (i.e. its gross domestic product), together with its income received from other countries (notably interest and dividends), less similar payments made to other countries.

7.The UK is committed to meeting the 0.7% target, and achieved it in 2013 for the first time. In so doing, it was also the first member of the Group of 8 Nations (G8) to meet the target.

8.This Act:

  • imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that the 0.7% target continues to be met by the UK in the year 2015 and in each subsequent calendar year;

  • provides that whether or not the 0.7% target has been achieved will be determined by reference to the ODA and GNI figures reported to Parliament on an annual basis in accordance with the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”);

  • requires the Secretary of State to lay a statement before Parliament in the event that the UK fails to meet the 0.7% target in any calendar year from 2015;

  • provides that the Secretary of State’s accountability in relation to the duty to meet the 0.7% target is to Parliament alone, by way of the requirement to lay a statement before Parliament;

  • provides that the lawfulness of anything done, or not done, is not to be affected by the fact that the duty to meet the 0.7% target has not been or may not be complied with;

  • repeals section 3 of the 2006 Act;

  • imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that UK ODA is subject to independent evaluation and to report annually (in the annual report) how he or she has complied with the duty.

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