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Westminster must lead on international development Print E-mail
Monday, 10 March 2008

Scotland’s international development programme can only be effective if it works closely with and takes a lead from Westminster, according to Malcolm Bruce MP, chair of the House of Commons International Development Committee. 

The member for Gordon says that Scottish Parliament’s international development budget is too small to have any meaningful impact compared to the UK Government programme.

“There is no benefit from the Scottish Parliament setting up its own entirely separate international development effort. If the Scottish Parliament wants to get involved in this kind of work, they should focus on one or two areas, and it should be done in co-ordination.” says Bruce.

Instead, Bruce says that the Scottish international development work’s best achievements can come through “raising awareness”.

He points out that even in Malawi, the focus of Scotland’s international development, the UK Government contribution is over £60m compared to the Scottish spend of a minimum of £3m a year promised by the Scottish Government. But despite the investment from both Scottish and UK Governments, Bruce is pessimistic about Malawi’s future.

“As things appear at this moment, Malawi’s lack of resources, it being landlocked, and its population growth exceeding its economic growth means it is actually getting poorer. It is very dependent on humanitarian aid, which makes it hard to provide real development support,” he says.

Bruce also expresses frustration at what he sees as a lack of recognition of the work done by the Department of International Development in Scotland. He points out that DfID’s East Kilbride office employs around 750 people who are engaged in some of the most important work done by the department.

“I think people should be more aware that this is a UK operation, and that Scotland already plays a role in that,” he says.
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Rory Cahill
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