Clause 5 - Meaning of ``assistance''
International Development Bill
11:15 am
Mr Chris Mullin (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development; Sunderland South, Labour)
If the hon. Gentleman wants me to be frank, my instinct is that his proposal would not fit within the terms of the Bill and that the Committee is the wrong place in which to raise it. If he wants to probe my instinct, he must set out his proposition in more detail and explain how it relates to the alleviation of poverty and the other objectives of the aid budget. However, the Committee is not the right place to do that and time is limited. None the less, if he wants to write to me I shall be happy to reply. I ask that the amendment be withdrawn.
It being twenty-five minutes past Eleven o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Adjourned till this day at half-past Two o'clock.