Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, October 25, 2018

Official Report 1014KB pdf

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Scotland’s Contribution to International Development

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-14425, in the name of Ben Macpherson, on the Scottish Government’s inaugural international development report, “Contribution to International Development 2017-18”.

16:04  

A few weeks ago, I was at the Scotland Malawi Partnership’s annual general meeting, where I learned a new phrase thanks to a project by Link Community Development International. The phrase is “onse ngo funika”, which is Chichewa for “all people are important”. It is a phrase that resonates with us in Scotland, as it does in the warm heart of Africa.

In that spirit of equality, solidarity and internationalism, and building on the work of my predecessors Humza Yousaf and Alasdair Allan, I am very proud to open today’s debate on the Scottish Government’s inaugural “Contribution to International Development” report.

In doing so, I am thinking of all those from around Scotland who play such an important part and make a collective contribution to international development, and I am thinking about how much they would want us, as MSPs, to positively embrace this opportunity to consider the different ways in which Scotland makes a distinctive contribution to addressing global poverty, inequality and other shared global challenges.

I am mindful of the fact that, next week, the Parliament will host an event forming part of Tearfund Scotland’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Such events not only remind us of the history and richness of civil society’s contribution to international development but emphasise the strong cross-party support for international development that exists in Scotland and, indeed, is active among the cross-party groups in the Parliament.

I am delighted to welcome the wider support that the inaugural report has received, in particular the recognition that it reaffirms our strong commitment to the United Nations’ global goals. Our commitment and approach to international development programmes in our partner countries and to the beyond aid agenda aligns with the fundamental premise of the global goals: that Governments cannot achieve them alone but rather must work collaboratively. It is that concept of collaboration that underpins the report, and it is our commitment to collaboration that underpins the Scottish Government’s international development work. Partnership with civil society, with our universities and public bodies and with other nations is key to all our international development work.

It is our collaborative efforts—across government, across Scotland and together with our partner countries—that the report highlights and brings to life, demonstrating that, when we come together for global good, we can make positive change happen.

The report highlights a multitude of projects and initiatives that our international development fund has supported in our partner countries to help achieve the global goals in Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan.

I will give just some of the many examples. In Malawi, working towards global goal 1—no poverty—the report details that our Scottish Government international development support partners have helped 2,860 farmers to increase their wages by 227 per cent, and 158 disabled Malawians increased their income by an average of 344 per cent through our Global Concerns Trust livelihoods project.

In Zambia, global goal 4—quality education—is being pursued through our Open University in Scotland-funded project, Zambian education school-based training, which is helping to improve the quality of primary school teaching and learning in Central Province.

In Rwanda, we are supporting WaterAid to improve health and sanitation in vulnerable communities and schools, contributing to good health, gender equality and clean water and sanitation.

In Pakistan, our scholarship schemes have enabled more young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to study at Pakistani universities and children from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds to attend primary and secondary school.

The report goes wider than our international development fund, and takes a holistic look across Scottish Government international development activity during 2017-18. It also reports on work funded from our climate justice fund and our humanitarian emergency fund.

Importantly, we are increasingly developing a collaborative approach across ministerial portfolios: a collaborative, stepwise approach that is committed to policy coherence for sustainable development, committed to our aim to do no harm to developing countries, committed to the “beyond aid” agenda and committed to sharing Scotland’s expertise for global good.

Through our hydro nation work, for example, we are supporting and delivering peer-to-peer training and knowledge exchanges on drilling boreholes, water governance and resource management between our Scottish Government water division and the Malawian Government. That governmental partnership supplements the water mapping initiative that is highlighted in the report, under which approximately 30 per cent of Malawi’s water and sanitation assets have been mapped through our climate justice fund-supported programme, led by the University of Strathclyde.

In health, it has been hugely encouraging to see the joint development with the health portfolio of the Scottish Government to take forward our global health initiatives—an approach that was praised by Bill Gates when he visited Scotland in January.

In the wider public sector, our funding supports Police Scotland to carry out specialist training with its peers in the Malawian and Zambian police forces on tackling gender-based violence, improving child protection and better protecting minority groups.

My visit to Zambia and Malawi last month took place during United Nations global goals week, the theme of which this year was the power of collaboration—across government, the private sector, civil society, the media and the UN. I hope that the report and the debate will provide evidence of that collaborative and supportive approach, and I look forward to hearing the contributions of members from across the chamber about what we are doing in communities and in government, and how we can achieve more together.

I move,

That the Parliament notes the publication by the Scottish Government of Contribution to International Development Report 2017-18, which presents its contributions to international development in collaboration with partners, particularly in its partner countries, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan, in support of the UN Global Goals; further notes the cross-cutting themes on policy coherence for development in areas such as health, education, climate change and human rights, while safeguarding beneficiaries; welcomes the significant contributions of international development organisations, civic society, universities, the NHS and Police Scotland to global citizenship and collaborative international development initiatives; believes that ongoing collaborations with the Department for International Development, Comic Relief and other donors, and the co-creation of international development initiatives with the NHS, Police Scotland, universities, civil society organisations and others, will continue to strengthen Scotland’s position as an outward-looking, committed global citizen; considers that Scotland should continue to provide a positive and progressive voice in the world, for compassion, tolerance, diversity and social justice; recognises the strong cross-party approach and support for international development across the Parliament, and reaffirms strong support for Scotland’s distinct and collaborative contributions to international development to help tackle global challenges, including poverty, injustice and inequality.

16:11  

I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this important issue and welcome the minister to his new role. This is the first “Contribution to International Development” report from the Government and it is a welcome analysis of the work undertaken across portfolios and in our partner countries. I thank Tearfund, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Christian Aid and the Scotland Malawi Partnership for their briefings in advance of the debate and for all the work that they do within their organisations and in civic society.

It was in 2005 that the then First Minister, Jack McConnell, signed a co-operation agreement with the President of Malawi. I am proud that, with cross-party support, this strand of the Scottish Government’s work has grown. The agreement built on Scotland and Malawi’s long history and ensured collaboration on education, health, sustainable economic development and civic governance. Initially, it was not without its critics, including from the Scottish National Party, which was then in opposition. The SNP argued that concerns over corruption and governance should delay the partnership, even though that would have meant delaying support for people who needed it. Nevertheless, the partnership was supported by civic society, and Scotland went into it with its eyes open.

A key part of our work then was, as it must be now, about supporting better governance. The Scotland Malawi Partnership makes good points about the lack of genuine governance-strengthening projects funded by the Scottish Government and whether more can be done to proactively develop governance projects, bringing Government, Parliament and civic society together. I hope that the minister will reflect on that.

Reflecting on his recent visit to Malawi, the minister highlighted that Scotland’s contribution to Malawi has been important and transformative. Increased wages, an increase in production and an increase in the number of children enrolled in schools are a few of the advancements. I am therefore pleased that, 13 years on from its first signing, the First Minister has signed an updated joint agreement to ensure that both countries continue to work together.

The original agreement was the first step towards setting up our international development fund, which supports developing countries, assists in times of international crisis and considers how our policies can positively affect the developing world. It is important that we continue to ensure that there is policy coherence for development—a point that the minister expanded on. The report is a welcome step in that direction. I am pleased that the work of the Scottish Government continues to build on those successes and I acknowledge the increase in the fund to £10 million a year, the establishment of a welcome annual climate finance fund of £3 million a year and the introduction of a humanitarian fund of £1 million a year.

Yet, despite Scotland and the United Kingdom’s record, we can—and must—do more. One in 10 people live in extreme poverty, half of them in sub-Saharan Africa; 2 billion people live in countries that are affected by fragility, conflict and violence; 80 per cent of illnesses in developing countries are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions; an estimated 131 million girls worldwide remain out of school; and more than 21 million people are forcibly displaced by weather-related hazards every year. The sustainable development goals set ambitious targets for us to meet. However, during times of financial constraint for Governments, international development is often an easy target for those who wish to see aid cut, despite it being less than 1 per cent of our gross national income. In response to those calls, we must be clear that we will not waver in our determination to help others. It should be a source of pride that, in percentage and in cash terms, we are one of the most generous countries when it comes to helping others, and we must continue to meet the 0.7 per cent target that was set under the millennium development goals.

I support the Scottish Government’s recent contribution to the response to the humanitarian tragedy in Indonesia. Of course, the UK Government will make a significant contribution on behalf of us all, but we can demonstrate our empathy without that distracting from our core business.

We must also ensure that we are not complacent when it comes to safeguarding. It is right that the Government, as a major funder of many charities in the sector, ensures that robust safeguarding policies are in place to protect vulnerable groups, and that any such instances that the Government is aware of are fully and promptly investigated. We cannot just assume, as we have done in the past, that those agencies are above reproach because of the work that they do. I welcome Oxfam’s 10-point plan, which it published this week, and although I appreciate that much of what happened took place under umbrella organisations and away from Scottish offices, I still hope that other charities continue to review their practices.

The world is facing some of the most complex and interwoven security and development challenges of our time: on-going wars, unprecedented numbers of refugees, global terrorism, climate change and food insecurity. Our economic development was able to benefit from a model that is now hurting developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America.

In June, I hosted an event in Parliament for faith leaders in Scotland to come together to call for strong action on climate justice, and to recognise that the consequences of all our advantages and use of resources negatively affect the poorest countries in the world. That is why Labour’s amendment to the motion highlights the calls for the Government to commit to

“zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”.

We have a strong moral obligation to take action now, and to set strong targets that resonate across the world and show that a different path is possible. Progress does not come by standing still.

At the time of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, many of the technologies that could help us to reach our goal were only in their infancy or had yet to be developed. The opportunity to be more ambitious than before is now here, and it is imperative that we take it. We must affirm our belief that tackling climate change is one of the biggest challenges that we face around the globe. Scotland must continue to be a beacon for change in the interests of everyone.

I move amendment S5M-14425.2, to insert after “global citizen”:

“; notes that it is crucial for Scotland to ensure its policymaking across government is consistent with the commitment to global justice, climate justice, human rights and international development and therefore commits to setting a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest in the new Climate Change Bill”.

16:17  

I am delighted to be able to take part in today’s debate and to lead for the Conservative Party, and I welcome the minister to his role.

Many organisations throughout the country are doing so much in relation to international development, and there have been significant advances in human development since 1990. The average lifespan is now seven years longer than it was at that time, and more than 130 countries now have universal enrolment in primary education.

However, there remains a significant disparity between the most and least deprived, and the most and least developed countries, and much of the world’s population continues to face significant levels of poverty and deprivation. The Scottish Conservatives believe that it is incredibly important that the Scottish and UK Governments play their parts in supporting such individuals through collaboration with international development.

With regard to international development, the Scottish Government seems to excel, in particular, in collaboration across business and research and, importantly, across civil society. Tying that approach in with existing projects and initiatives allows the £10 million budget to go a lot further than it otherwise would. There is no better example of that than the work that goes on throughout the country to build on Scotland’s long-standing relationship with Malawi.

As a co-convener of the cross-party group on Malawi, I have seen at first hand the exceptional work that has taken place. Like the minister, I attended the recent Scotland Malawi Partnership AGM in Glasgow, which was an inspiring event, with many individuals showing off their talent and commitment.

There are more than a thousand links between Scotland and Malawi throughout civil society that contribute in many ways. The Scotland Malawi Partnership estimates that for every £1 that is spent by the Scottish Government’s Malawi development programme, £10 is contributed by civil society. That is an outstanding achievement of which we should be very proud.

The report sets out some of the great achievements in Malawi and in our other partner countries that have contributed to achieving the UN’s global goals. In Malawi alone, the achievements include significant improvements in relation to wages for many, more children enrolling in targeted schools, more girls being able to access schools and a fall in the mortality rate. All those achievements are welcome factors. The approach of leveraging money to support international development efforts from sources other than Government should be applied more widely.

As I have said in the chamber before, although we must, of course, continue to provide humanitarian assistance when it is required, we should wherever possible look to shift from direct funding to ensuring that a self-sufficient business enterprise model is taken up. I therefore welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement this week that it will collaborate with the United Nations development programme on a two-year programme to leverage private capital to help to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals. That is exactly the approach that we should be taking.

However, there is an area where I would like to see the Scottish Government do more. Governance, which has already been touched on, was the first strand of the original Scotland and Malawi co-operation agreement and it is still a key priority in the Scotland Malawi Partnership today. However, the partnership has raised concerns about the lack of governance-related projects that the Scottish Government has funded in the past decade, and I share some of those concerns. We need to have a strong governance arrangement in place to ensure that the projects and initiatives that we support in our partner countries are successful. I would welcome more work in that area to bring forward projects that give opportunities for open and respectful discussions about the governance arrangements that apply.

The report is encouraging with regard to what we have achieved, but we must not forget that there are two Governments that are actively involved in the process of international development. The UK Government has long been committed to international development, and since 2015 it has been legally bound to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on international aid. We should be very aware of that. In 2015, we were one of only six countries that spent that 0.7 per cent. We should all be proud of that.

We in the Scottish Conservatives are committed to ensuring that Scotland and the UK continue to be good global citizens. We therefore whole-heartedly support the Scottish Government’s international development initiatives in Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan, as well as the wider efforts of the UK Government. We can and do work together in so many areas, which has made huge differences to the individuals and organisations of those nations. I look forward to seeing what more can be achieved and to further successes in the future.

16:22  

Like colleagues, I welcome the Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development to his post.

Scotland’s international development programme is a brilliant example of pushing the boundaries of devolution, living up to our global responsibilities and doing some genuine good in the world. We have both the responsibility and the privilege of being able to act.

The Greens welcome the inclusion of the principle of policy coherence in today’s motion from the minister. It is not the sexiest terminology in politics, but it is essential for our work here to have real meaning. International development cannot be isolated in a silo. Decisions that are taken across the portfolios of this Parliament, Westminster, Brussels and even our council chambers have impacts across the planet. My amendment, which was not selected, drew attention to two examples of that, and Claire Baker’s amendment, which the Greens will support, makes the same case.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said this month that we are on course for 3°C to 4°C of global warming. That is civilisation-ending stuff. The crisis is already devastating the most vulnerable people on the planet. Many low-lying areas such as island nations and densely populated river deltas face wipe-out. Tens of millions or, probably, more will lose their homes and livelihoods. Many will lose their lives. Many, indeed, already have.

The Government’s development strategy includes a very welcome climate justice fund, which has gradually been added to and increased over the years. Those funds are vital for climate crisis mitigation work in the most vulnerable communities for people who could not have done less to cause the crisis. However, this year, BP invested more than £420 million in two new North Sea oil sites. Since 2011, it has invested £2 billion in redeveloping the Schiehallion field, unlocking 450 million barrels of oil. We are spending only a fraction of the billions that are being thrown into extracting even more oil and gas on mitigation efforts for the impacts of the climate crisis.

Oil from our oil fields goes to transport in particular, and we should certainly work at getting it out of that, but I wonder whether the member has considered that it is also a currently irreplaceable feedstock for many of our industries—

I have to ask you to make it a short intervention. Mr Greer will have to absorb the time.

Does the member agree that it should be seen in that context?

I appreciate the member’s point, but if we are to have any hope of stopping the climate crisis, we need to leave more than 80 per cent of known reserves unburned. At our current rate of burning versus use of the reserves for other purposes, we are burning far more than 80 per cent, and of course gas can only be used for burning.

The SNP’s energy spokesperson, Alan Brown MP, today praised a new report that indicated that 15 billion barrels of oil could be extracted from the North Sea between now and 2050. The Scottish Government has repeatedly welcomed new oil and gas discoveries and has lobbied the UK Government for more support for that industry. Those are not the actions of a party and a Government that is serious about climate justice. That is not policy coherence.

Neither is the Scottish Government’s continued funding of companies that are involved in the arms trade at the same time as it supports peace-building and reconciliation efforts through another department. Those are excellent efforts, which we would all commend, but more than £18.5 million has been given to arms companies over the past decade, recipients of which include Raytheon, the world’s largest guided missile producer. Its equipment has been used by a Saudi air force that is guilty of war crimes against children in Yemen.

Selex Leonardo, which sold communications hardware to the Assad regime in Syria in the month when sanctions were imposed, has also received handouts, as has Chemring—[Interruption.]

Will the member take an intervention?

I am sorry—the member is concluding. You have four minutes and four minutes only, Mr Greer.

Okay. The minister can respond in his closing remarks.

Another company that has received handouts is Chemring, which manufactures tear gas that has been used against protesters during the Arab spring in Egypt and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Not a single human rights assessment was carried out for any of those companies prior to funding. It is difficult to reconcile the support for arms companies with our commitment to human rights, for which I know that the minister is a powerful advocate. I appreciate that the Scottish Government has introduced new guidance to suggest that human rights checks should be carried out before granting funding, but the status of that guidance remains unclear and improvements to it need to be made.

Clearly, there is much more work to do to ensure that policy coherence is achieved. I am sure that the Government would rather avoid accusations of hypocrisy or incoherence. I know that the minister is committed to making this Government’s international development work a trailblazer across the world. I hope that the Government can turn its words into actions and, with coherence and commitment, demonstrate Scotland’s commitment to just international development.

I am sorry to chase people, but it is a short debate with very short speaking time.

16:26  

I formally welcome the minister to his post. Given our work together on the Justice Committee, I am confident that he will be an able and conscientious minister and I wish him well in that role.

As co-convener of the Malawi CPG along with Alexander Stewart, I was delighted that one of Ben Macpherson’s first engagements after his appointment was to visit the warm heart of Africa. Over the past decade or so, I have been fortunate to make a number of visits to Malawi, and I never cease to be amazed by the extent of the links between our two countries and inspired by the benefits that those links, from grass roots up, are delivering for communities both here and in Malawi.

I appreciate that the report, which I very much welcome, covers a wide range of issues, but I hope that members will understand if I focus my brief remarks this afternoon on Malawi—although I should indicate in passing my support for the amendment from Claire Baker.

As I said, the historical friendship between Scotland and Malawi has, over recent years, given rise to a distinctive and successful approach to international development by successive Scottish Governments, dating back to the work of Jack McConnell and the signing of the first co-operation agreement in 2005.

The Government-to-Government and Parliament-to-Assembly links work in synergy with a wider collective effort across schools, churches, universities, hospitals, community groups, businesses and all sections of civil society. There is not a part of Scotland that does not have a story to tell about the links that it shares with communities and counterparts in Malawi. I believe that the Scottish Government’s efforts have a disproportionate impact and enjoy such popular support precisely because of their connections and the interplay with wider civic efforts.

In areas such as health and education, particularly for girls and women, sustainable development projects are delivering tangible and, hopefully, long-lasting benefits to the people of Malawi. Of course, more can and needs to be done, not least in relation to governance, as Alexander Stewart rightly said. However, we should be proud of what has already been achieved in a model of engagement and partnership that is increasingly seen as an exemplar for other countries by the United Nations.

In that context, it is appropriate to flag up some misgivings about the decrease in the scale of the Malawi development programme that the Scottish Government announced recently. For the reasons that I have already outlined, the case for ensuring that Malawi remains the prevailing focus of Scotland’s international development and engagement strategy is compelling. It is a matter of fact that the Scottish Government does not have the wherewithal to replicate the scale of what the UK Government does through the Department for International Development. With a thousand times less financial resources at our disposal, Scotland needs to target that resource in ways that can make the biggest difference. Concentrating on initiatives that build on the unique and proven Scottish model that sees Government, Parliament and civil society come together in a focused and impactful way in one country-to-country and people-to-people partnership makes sense. That chimes with the “New Global Partnership” that the UN’s sustainable development goals look to deliver, and it is a reason not to set ourselves up as a mini-DFID, with the risk that we spread our efforts too thinly and ineffectively.

Will the minister give way?

No—the member is concluding.

Perhaps the minister can pick up his point in his closing remarks.

Let me conclude on a more positive note by paying tribute to the far-sighted investment by successive Scottish Governments in networks such as the Scotland Malawi Partnership and its sister, the Malawi Scotland Partnership. Each £1 that is invested in the SMP helps lever in more than £10 of inputs from wider civil society. That is a remarkable return and the sort of area where Scottish ministers, with relatively modest input, are able to leverage wider investment and deliver lasting change.

Our relationship with Malawi encapsulates the very positive contribution to international development that Scotland has made and can continue to make, and I look forward to supporting those efforts into the future.

Zikomo kwambiri.

I remind members who are about to speak that speeches should be four minutes long.

16:30  

I am pleased to have been called to speak in this debate on the newly instituted report on Scotland’s contribution to international development. The report, which has been widely welcomed, represents an important step in our continuing work to ensure that Scotland discharges its role as a good global citizen.

At the outset, I take this opportunity to welcome the minister publicly to his new post. I know that he will do a fantastic job. At the same time, however, I want to pay tribute to the work of his immediate predecessor, Alasdair Allan, who was assiduous in work on tackling poverty and inequality across the globe.

It is clear from the report that much progress continues to be made in respect of Scotland’s contribution to international development. I am extremely heartened by the fact that the report recognises, in addition to the very significant funding that is available from the Scottish Government and the high standards of transparency that are in place, the importance of working across Government portfolios so that the full weight of Government can be brought to bear on seeking to improve, for example, the health and education of some of the world’s poorest citizens, and on helping them to meet the significant challenges of climate change.

In my view, what is most significant is the importance that the Government, in its international development work, places on real two-way partnership working with civic society here and in the countries that are involved. That approach, which is what marks Scotland’s distinctive contribution to international development, has been widely commended by our peers.

We need look only at the enormously important work—as members have mentioned—that is taking place in Malawi to see how that distinctive approach is delivering on the ground. The Scotland Malawi Partnership has pointed out that the key approach of real nation-to-nation and citizen-to-citizen joint working acts as a civic multiplier. As we have heard, every £1 that is spent on the Scottish Government Malawi development programme brings in more than £10 in inputs from wider civic society. As a result of that innovative approach, 109,000 Scots have been actively involved in some way with a link in Malawi, and some 208,000 Malawians have been involved. We all benefit from that fantastic hand of friendship, as can be seen in every constituency in Scotland.

I would like to mention the tremendous work that is being done in my Cowdenbeath constituency by Dalgety Bay parish church, which has since 2007 been twinned with the congregation of—I will probably not pronounce this properly—Engcongolweni church in rural northern Malawi. The charity Dalgety Bay Friends of Engcongolweni was set up some years ago and, as a result of the work of all who are involved under the secretaryship of Robin Arnott, together with the church, there have been some amazing achievements. The work that has been done and money that has been raised have, among other things, secured clean water for the village, funded and stocked a pig farm, and paid for secondary-school fees for eight pupils. That figure is expected to rise to 80 pupils over the next years. Moreover, with the proceeds from the pig farm, maize has been purchased for orphans and widows to ensure that they have food to eat when supplies are otherwise scarce.

Elsewhere in my constituency, pupils from Beath high school, which is partnered with Mendulo school in the Luchenza region, are just back from a visit to Malawi, and other schools including Dalgety Bay primary school, Donibristle primary school and Lochgelly high school have active two-way school-to-school links with schools in Malawi. Those links between our citizens and the citizens of Malawi are not only transforming lives in Malawi, but are inspiring generations of young Scots to be good global citizens.

I am very proud of the fantastic work that is going on in my constituency, and I am also very proud of the role that my country is playing in international development to ensure that we live up to Robert Burns’s vision that

“Man to Man the warld o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.”

16:34  

As all members so far have done, I thank the Government for bringing the debate to the chamber, and welcome the report that we are talking about. As my colleague Alexander Stewart pointed out, one of the things that the Scottish Government has got right on this matter is its partnering with other organisations here in Scotland and, perhaps more important, in other countries, from which we get much value. I am pleased that Ross Greer is sponsoring, and that the minister will speak at, the Tearfund event next Tuesday to celebrate the 50 years for which Tearfund has been working across the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world.

In the short time that I have, I will mention two projects that I had the pleasure of visiting in the summer, and which are sponsored by the Scottish Government. I had the privilege of going with Tearfund to Rwanda. To be honest, I was not sure what to expect—it was my first trip to Africa. What I saw impressed and inspired me, but something that I had not expected was that it challenged me to bring back from that country ideas that we can learn from here in Scotland, as we seek to help people in our country.

On the second day we were there, we were taken to one of the more deserted parts of the country and went for about a mile’s walk along a path to where we suddenly saw a large Scottish flag. That was because the Scottish Government has put money into water projects in Rwanda over a number of years. There was a lovely Scottish flag and a Rwandan flag and, perhaps more important, there was a tap that served five different villages and provided them with water that they did not have previously. That project was not delivered by the Scottish Government; it used Scottish Government money, but it was delivered by a local partner. That is to the credit of what the Scottish Government has done.

The second group of projects that we visited involved self-help groups. The Scottish Government has been funding two particular groups to do with farming and environmental issues in Rwanda. What challenged me was a group of 20 individuals in a village that experiences real poverty. The 20 individuals, who were mostly women, had got together into a self-help group and had put aside a small amount of money each month. The money had built up over a number of months; in due course, those people could borrow from it to buy things to help them to grow food for their village and local community.

Every individual in that self-help group had been able to pay back the money that they had borrowed, and the group was increasing the work that it does. Again, money was given by the Scottish Government, but the project was delivered by local partnership, which is deeply effective. That is the way forward—but we have to make sure that we learn lessons from those people and countries, as well as giving them money and helping them.

16:38  

As convener of the cross-party group on fair trade, I want to focus my comments in the very brief time that we have on the importance of fair trade and the crucial role of civic society in Scotland in the promotion of international development.

As we edge closer to the Brexit cliff, with the prospect of our trade rules being rewritten and new trade deals being negotiated, it is no exaggeration to say that it will be make or break for millions of farmers and workers in the world’s poorest countries who trade with us. Therefore, the fair trade principles of better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for workers have never been more important.

Fair trade challenges the injustices of conventional trade, which too often discriminate against the poorest producers. That is why the campaigning work of the Fairtrade movement and others to deliver trade justice for millions of vulnerable farmers and workers in developing countries is as crucial today as it has ever been. I want to pay tribute to the volunteers and campaigners across Scotland who promote those fair trade principles, week in and week out.

Earlier, I mentioned my role as convener of the cross-party group. That group has been at the forefront of supporting fair trade, from welcoming producer visits to Parliament to hosting the launch of the new international fair trade charter last month, along with the chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organization, the chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation and the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, thus ensuring that Scotland was one of the global focal points for the international Fairtrade movement.

As well as being the convener of the cross-party group on fair trade, I have the privilege of being the chairperson of my regional fair trade steering group. That means that I see at first hand the commitment to fair trade of local fair trade groups, local businesses, workplaces and the council in Dumfries and Galloway. Last week, I was proud to sign off our application for continued Fairtrade status for the region.

Last month, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to Dumfries for its annual conference. Campaigners from local groups across Scotland gathered to share ideas, hear from others, develop new plans and welcome Kilombero rice farmers who were visiting Scotland from Malawi as part of a UK-wide tour supported by Just Trading Scotland, which is based in Paisley. In an age of uncertainty, cynicism and fake news, the conference and Scotland’s international links are real examples of how a community-based grass-roots approach strengthens the commitment to global connections and development. That highlights the minister’s earlier point that networks and civic society partnerships that link to communities and partnerships globally are central to the success of Scotland’s long-standing commitment to international development.

The Fairtrade networks are supported by the work of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, which supplies information, knowledge, training and resources to local Fairtrade groups and promotes Fairtrade businesses in Scotland.

From the launch of Campaign Coffee Scotland in 1979 and the first Scottish Fairtrade towns—Aberfeldy and Strathaven—in 2002, Scotland has always played a leading role in developing fair trade. There have been many milestones along the way, from the opening of Bala Sport, which is a Glasgow-based Fairtrade sports balls social enterprise, in 2014 to the launch of the world fair trade tartan in 2017 through a partnership between Villageworks Cambodia and Fair Trade Scotland Ltd. The minister will agree that that tartan makes for an excellent tie.

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum has supported many of those milestones, and its work has led to a step change in fair trade activity in Scotland. That resulted in Fairtrade nation status in 2013, which was reconfirmed last year. I commend the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for the work that it does and its vision to take fair trade to the next level in Scotland, and I strongly urge the Scottish Government to continue the welcome support that it gives to the forum.

We have rightly heard much in the debate about the important and necessary role of aid in development, but we cannot and should not underestimate the essential role of trade in international development. That means that we must continue to put supporting fair trade at the heart of the Government’s contribution to international development.

16:42  

I welcome Ben Macpherson to his important new role.

Scotland is a country with a rich network of non-governmental organisations, charities and academic centres that are focused on international development. Many of those groups work in collaboration with, or are funded by, the Scottish Government. That collective effort mirrors the United Nations 2015 to 2030 global goals agenda, the goals of which are embedded in a number of Scottish Government policy areas, such as tackling poverty, taking climate action and, of course, international development.

Scotland can deliver ethical leadership through adopting international standards of best practice and by seeing policy coherence, which is a key aspect of the beyond-aid agenda, reverberate through our domestic and international development policy. We must embrace policy coherence for aid to work effectively. Coupled with that, we need to ensure that communities in aid-recipient countries are treated as partners and collaborators. Policy coherence ensures that development work that is done abroad is not undermined by policies at home. The UN global goals even outline that Governments’ integration of development policy coherence must be a precursor to those global goals being achieved.

I highlight the Scottish Government’s sustainable energy for all—or SEforAll—programme as an example of policy coherence currently working well in Scotland. The SEforAll projects are aimed at reducing energy inequity and building climate resilience in Malawi through renewable technology and education initiatives. That echoes the Scottish Government’s ambitious and far-reaching climate targets that are set out in the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill and which are still developing. The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland sustainable and curbing our carbon emission impact on the world.

Nearly one in five people around the world does not have access to modern energy services, and that lack of energy resulted in an estimated 2 to 3 per cent loss of gross domestic product in developing countries over the period of the millennium development goal agenda. In Malawi, only 9 per cent of the population has access to electricity; the figure falls to 1 per cent in rural areas.

In 2014, Scotland had the honour of welcoming Dr Kandeh Yumkella, who was a special representative of the then UN secretary general and chief executive of the sustainable energy for all UN initiative, to Glasgow for the Commonwealth conference on energy, equity and development. He emphasised that energy inequity impacts on the running of hospitals and health services, water availability, food security and schools. Tackling that inequality is crucial.

The funded SEforAll projects target energy inequity by working directly with rural communities to plan renewable technologies with local businesses. That mirrors international standards. In 2011, when the UN initiated the programme under Ban Ki-moon, he explained how renewable technology is the “golden thread” connecting development, social inclusion and environmental protection. Empowering and working in partnership with aid-recipient communities has powered two schools and health clinics with electricity and has resulted in 795 households purchasing those energy services and products in four rural villages in the Chikwawa district.

All that illustrates how Scotland has employed lessons of best practice from the development community’s beyond-aid strategies—promoting policy coherence, community empowerment and partnership—which are widely called for. Scottish Government adoption of beyond-aid strategies amplifies our efforts to achieve global goals. As a small nation with global reach, we can make it known that Scotland is an advanced, sustainable and ethical country through consistency and integrity.

16:46  

I, too, welcome the new minister and this new report. The debate has confirmed that the Scottish Government’s contribution to international development continues to enjoy strong cross-party support, as it has done since it was initiated by Jack McConnell back in 2005, when Patricia Ferguson was appointed as Scotland’s first international development minister. It has also confirmed a larger truth: Scotland’s contribution is not confined to Government alone, but involves and engages tens of thousands of people across civil society.

Members have focused mainly on the partner countries of Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Pakistan, while acknowledging that Scotland also makes a wider contribution directly and indirectly in many countries around the world. That point is made well by Scotland’s International Development Alliance, with which I work closely, with the convener of the cross-party group on international development.

The alliance, which has more than 140 member organisations, works in about 140 countries around the world. It considers that reporting on Scotland’s contribution to international development should not be confined to what the Government does at its own hand or to the four partner countries, but should cover all the organisations that are active in all those countries.

The other point emphasised by those working in the development field is that this policy area is not for one minister or one department alone, but it is important across the whole range of Government as, indeed, Ben Macpherson has highlighted. Therefore, the minister’s presentation of the report in the context of the UN global goals is welcome.

The goals reflect recognition that development in other countries is intrinsically linked with development at home, as a number of members have said, and that the steps that we need to take to support the world’s poorest countries are linked to the steps that we need to take to achieve sustainable and inclusive development in Scotland.

That is the context in which our amendment highlights the case for Scotland setting a target of zero net emissions by 2050. That case, as ministers will know, has strong support among NGOs. It reflects the point that climate change has the greatest impact on those who did least to cause it, and the need for countries such as Scotland to take the largest share in the actions that are needed to mitigate that, which Ross Greer, Liam McArthur and other members stressed in general terms.

Claire Baker and Alexander Stewart mentioned the Scotland Malawi Partnership’s calls for more Scottish Government support for governance-related projects in Malawi. It says that it is regrettable that there have been few of those in the past decade, and that that situation needs to be addressed. All of us in this Parliament know, from our own experience, that the best actions—and, indeed, the best investments—can be undermined if they do not have good governance to ensure that they are delivered. With this—the broadest, deepest and, in some ways, oldest of Scotland’s international partnerships—we should heed the call from the Scotland Malawi Partnership for a rebalancing of our efforts in the future.

In co-operating on the sustainable development goals in Scotland’s own national performance framework, we will make it easier to achieve the policy coherence for international development to which the minister referred, and which I think is a step in the right direction. However, we can never be complacent or rest on our laurels: the need for global action for development and justice is urgent and serious. Our efforts must be constantly reinvigorated by recognising and responding to new challenges and by finding new ways in which to add value to those efforts.

On that basis, I am certain that there will continue to be support, across this Parliament, for Scotland’s contribution to international development and for policies that can tackle poverty and inequality, both here in Scotland and around the world.

I call Jamie Greene to close the debate for the Conservatives.

16:50  

This has been a very short debate, which is symptomatic of the many short debates that we have had this week. However, I will attempt to do it justice as best I can.

It is fair to say that, internationally, a lot of progress has been made over the past couple of decades. According to the World Bank, there has been a 36 per cent reduction in absolute poverty in the last 40 years, which means that more than a billion people have been lifted out of it. However, let us not kid ourselves or forget that, in that time, the world’s population has exploded, and that more than 1.5 billion people still do not have access to energy for their basic needs, and rely on wood and charcoal for heating and cooking—things that we take for granted here in Scotland. While I suspect that the Scottish Government has no statutory requirement to dedicate either resource or funds to international aid, the fact that it does so is highly commendable.

We can see good practice and good will right across Scotland and in all walks of life, whether it is through the state-sponsored intervention detailed in the report or from large-scale organisations such as Enactus and WaterAid Scotland or local groups. In my region, the Valdete Trust, which is based on the island of Arran, is a group that helps people with degenerative diseases in Albania, of all places. It is very heartening that it is within the Scottish psyche to support our friends, wherever they may be and whatever their needs are.

The report focuses very much on the good work that the Scottish Government is doing in Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia and Pakistan. Many of those schemes involve long-standing relationships, some of which have historical importance. There are countless countries and projects in which the Government could invest, so it has to make difficult decisions on where it thinks that Scottish intervention will have the most impact.

Alexander Stewart mentioned some concerns over governance, to which I will add my thoughts on the effectiveness and value of our strategy. Currently, Scotland’s international development fund allocates 20 per cent of its budget towards capacity strengthening, which funds projects such as Police Scotland working in Zambia or the training of 50 Pakistani women each year in conflict resolution and peacekeeping. However, the question is: how does the Government ensure that every pound spent is spent effectively? If we look across the border, there is an Independent Commission for Aid Impact whose focus is to evaluate how effective aid spending has been. At the moment, the UK Government’s Department for International Development has a pledge to ensure that, for each pound spent on aid, there is at least a pound’s worth of impact. We could argue that the impact should be more than that invested, but it is a good start. I accept that analysis at that level is very difficult and, as I have said, I appreciate that difficult decisions have to be made on what will have the biggest effect on those who need it, so I wish the minister well in that regard. However, I ask that he gives some thought to how he will evaluate how his budget is being spent and how he will alter future spending decisions.

Today’s motion contains the phrase

“cross-cutting themes on policy coherence for development”,

which is a little bit of jargon, but I hope that it means that the Scottish Government accepts that aid cannot be given in a silo. It must have a real impact on the communities and people to whom it is delivered. The Global Concerns Trust is an excellent example of that. It provides education to disabled people in Malawi, which has allowed them to increase their income and create more than 160 new businesses. To me, that sounds like targeted aid delivering tangible results. Development projects that help countries to develop business and to invest in capital and human infrastructure are the right ones, and we should encourage them. The revived African Lakes Company, Malawi Mangoes, and Community Energy Malawi are all great examples of projects with tangible benefits and results.

The notion of “trade, not aid” is common parlance in today’s international aid circles. In fact, Nobel prize winner Angus Deaton highlighted that development aid should never undermine local capacity. Our intervention should facilitate basics and also facilitate business.

I will make a brief reference to Labour’s amendment. It has noble intentions but I think that it adds to the debate a new layer that 58 minutes is simply not enough time to properly debate.

I would like the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee to do its work and be given the time and space that it needs to report back to Parliament on emissions. I would also like the independent Committee on Climate Change to do its work and inform both Governments—I would like to see what it advises before we take a view.

In closing, I offer the minister the support of those on the Conservative benches in the work that his department is doing, but I do so with a request—that if we truly want to “leave no-one behind”, as his document says, Scottish aid must be delivered effectively, productively and safely, and everyone involved must do so in an accountable way.

16:55  

I thank all members who have participated in what has been an excellent debate. Before I make my concluding remarks, I will address some of the points that have been made, just for clarity.

Liam McArthur and Claire Baker raised the question of a diminished focus on Malawi. We are absolutely committed to Malawi as a focused partner. The £11.5 million that I announced for our new development and assistance projects for 2018 to 2023 includes a significant commitment to Malawi, including £1.5 million for civil society and governance work, which covers another point that has been made. We are also funding capacity building gains through our small grants programme in order to develop governance. We have given that focus and priority in considering previous applications for programme proposals. We will continue to encourage more Scottish organisations to partner with us on that, as well as taking forward our own initiatives. [Interruption.]

Excuse me a minute, minister. I see that Angus MacDonald cannot hear you, and neither can I. You have a very gentle voice, for which I commend you, but the noise of other members saying their farewells to each other is interrupting you, so I ask them to be quiet.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will try to speak a bit louder.

For clarity, £3 million per annum is designated from the international development fund for Malawi, which receives the largest amount of funding through the fund. Let us be absolutely clear on that.

On the points that Ross Greer raised, for clarity, I point out that the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies do not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions. Our agencies’ support is focused on helping firms to diversify and develop non-military applications for their technology.

We have heard powerfully from most speakers about the partnership working and collaboration in the way in which the Scottish Government and Scotland as a whole approach international development and about the important impact that that can have. That is why, in opening the debate, I spoke of our commitment to policy coherence for sustainable development. The report provides a summary of the Scottish Government’s key contributions to the UN global goals in our partner countries under our international development, humanitarian, emergency and climate justice funds. It also details how collaboration across Scottish Government portfolios is increasingly delivering success beyond aid spend. That includes citizenship education, partnerships on water with the Malawian Government and our global health network.

To address another point that has been made, our Climate Change (Scotland) Bill will add to that. I am passionate about tackling climate change and respect those in the NGO sector, colleagues and others who are pushing for a strong climate bill. The Scottish Government is also passionate about delivering a strong bill within the limits of feasibility. We have that question before us as the bill develops. It is important to emphasise that tackling climate change in a purposeful, robust and achievable way will make the biggest impact and difference both in Scotland and in working towards achieving the UN global goals.

In all the international development and humanitarian emergency work that we support, we aim to reflect our commitment to global goal 17—partnership—by including the civil society networking organisations that we support. That point was emphasised by many speakers.

Our support for a wide range of international development organisations also helps us to hear a myriad of views and voices. That is important because it helps us to build a myriad of collaborations, not just to deliver development programmes but to progress lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex equality and rights, push for greater female empowerment, better protect those in marginalised groups and enhance the influence of young people.

Safeguarding was raised and I have been heartened by the commitment shown across the sector in Scotland, to working together to effect culture change and improve safeguarding. We have worked closely with Scotland’s International Development Alliance and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator to support the sector, in particular by funding the alliance to develop a safeguarding support package, the pilot of which was launched last month at its annual conference.

Our efforts and commitment to safeguarding to protect vulnerable people will continue to form an integral part of our international development work in the years ahead. We will continue to collaborate with DFID, OSCR, the alliance and the wider international development sector in doing so.

In conclusion, I am delighted to present our “Contribution to International Development Report 2017-18” and glad that it has received positive feedback. It will continue to evolve over time in both format and content as we respond to our partners here in Scotland and in our partner countries. What will not change is our approach to international development itself. We will continue to focus on areas where development investment is most needed and where it can be effective and deliver impact, and to act as a good global citizen, contributing internationally by reference to the interests of our partner countries, rather than to our own interests.

That approach is in tune with our values of compassion, solidarity and internationalism. In this time of uncertainty, flux and challenge, those values are increasingly important. We should be proud of the collective achievement that our distinctive international development contribution has achieved both in the past year and since 2005. We should be proud of the contribution that we have made together, both for the benefit of Scotland as a good global citizen and for the intrinsic benefit of working in partnership in the interest of others and for global good.