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Select committee: International Development Committee

Debt relief in low-income countries

Closed Opened 20 Apr 2022 Closed 8 Jun 2023

International Development Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
Report and Government response published In our report, Debt relief in low-income countries, MPs say the situation is ‘bleak’. Without sustained and effective intervention by the international community to tackle their debt distress, the development impacts of spiralling debt could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact. Cuts to the UK’s Official Development Assistance from 0.7% to 0.5% has significantly reduced its ability to support the development of low-income countries, making every penny spent by the UK on ODA count. The Committee called on the Government to acknowledge the interplay between debt and development in foreign policy, such as the next International Development Strategy and the forthcoming updated Integrated Review. Read the Report: Debt relief in low-income countries Read the Government response: Debt relief in low-income countries

Where it stands

The inquiry is closed, opened 20 April 2022.

The committee has published 1 report, most recently Seventh Report - Debt relief in low-income countries on 10 March 2023.

The government's response

Published 8 June 2023. The deadline was 10 May 2023.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government accepts some recommendations on debt relief, including those on transparency and engagement with China, rejects others such as legislation on private creditors, and describes itself as "committed to strengthening the international debt architecture".

  • On emergency debt service suspension for Common Framework applicants (Recommendation 1), it accepts, and says it has supported the idea, but "it has not been possible to secure consensus on this in the G20".
  • It rejects consulting on legislation to compel private creditor participation (Recommendation 5), saying it is "focussed on the approach set out above rather than on a legislative approach", which it says "would be complex and could have unintended consequences".
  • It rejects encouraging board-level discussion of debt cancellation by international financial institutions (Recommendation 9), stating the UK position is that they "should not be providing debt cancellation".
  • On transparency (Recommendation 10), it accepts, and is "content to become the first G20 member to publish its self-assessment" of adherence to the G20 sustainable financing guidelines.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

Reports

All reports

Evidence

  • 2 oral evidence sessionsLatest 1 November 2022
  • 9 witnesses
All evidence

Recent activity

Reports

1 report

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions

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Date Session and witnesses Source
1 Nov 2022
Debt relief in low-income countries
Edward Wilson · HM Treasury, Rachel Turner · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Veda Poon · HM Treasury 		View ↗
14 Jun 2022
Debt relief in low-income countries
Dr Stephanie Blankenburg · United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Jason R Braganza · African Forum on Debt and Development, Mae Buenaventura · Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Mr Tim Jones · Debt Justice, Paul Steele · International Institute for Environment and Development, Sonja Gibbs · Institute of International Finance 		View ↗

Who gave evidence

9 witnesses

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WitnessOrganisationSessions
Dr Stephanie Blankenburg · Head of the Debt & Development Finance Branch United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 1
Edward Wilson · Head of the International Debt and Development Finance Unit HM Treasury 1
Jason R Braganza · Executive Director African Forum on Debt and Development 1
Mae Buenaventura · Debt Justice Program Manager Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development 1
Mr Tim Jones · Head of Policy Debt Justice 1
Paul Steele · Chief Economist International Institute for Environment and Development 1
Rachel Turner · Director for International Finance Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office 1
Sonja Gibbs · Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance Institute of International Finance 1
Veda Poon · Director of International Finance HM Treasury 1