Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 25
Advocate within OECD to reform ODA eligibility criteria for SIDS' vulnerabilities
Recommendation
The UK Government should use its membership of, and influence within, the OECD to advocate that ODA eligibility criteria be reformed to reflect SIDS’ vulnerabilities. This could take the form of a ‘small island exception’ as employed by the World Bank or a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), such as that currently being considered by the United Nations.
Government Response Summary
The government partly agrees, stating UK representatives are advocating within the OECD for strengthened ODA processes to better reflect SIDS' vulnerabilities, working with like-minded donors. While supporting the principle, they note further improvements are needed for the UN MVI and do not explicitly commit to a 'small island exception'.
Paragraph Reference:
25
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Partly Agree 7. The FCDO agrees that the current process for assessing SIDS’ readiness to be classified as high-income countries requires improvement. UK representatives are using our influence within the OECD to advocate for strengthened ODA processes to reflect and incorporate SIDS’ vulnerabilities better. The UK is currently working with like-minded donors to do this including through the UK co-chaired Partnership for Action of DAC and Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) members, launched at the UN SIDS4 Conference. All UK ODA spending is consistent with the international rules agreed by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. The rules on ODA-eligible spend can only be changed if all 32 OECD Development Assistance Committee members agree. 8. The UK supports the Glasgow Climate Pact’s principle that providers of finance should consider vulnerability in finance decisions. The World Bank’s Small Economies Exception is a good example of this. The FCDO appreciates the ongoing work at the UN to develop a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI), which can be a useful tool to assess vulnerability. However, further improvements are needed to the UN MVI and the UK will continue to engage to improve its technical robustness.