In the midst of the recent cabinet reshuffle, the Department of International Development (DfID) has seen Andrew Mitchell move to the role of Chief Whip and Justine Greening take up the reins of Secretary of State for International Development.
UNA-UK's Chairman, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, and Executive Director, Phil Mulligan, wrote to the Secretary of State, congratulating her on her new appointment. The letter noted the recent achievements of the Department on improving aid transparency and its focus on results, and asked for the the following assurances:
a) work with the Prime Minister on developing a new UN development framework, ensuring that is genuinely sustainable
b) maintain the government’s commitment to 0.7% GNP spending on aid
c) defend the ring-fencing of aid and development spending during the next comprehensive spending review
The full letter can be viewed below.
Writing on the Huffington Post UK website, Phil Mulligan reflects on how the changes at DfID may affect the UK's international development policy. This comes at a crucial time for the Department, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to expire in 2015 and as David Cameron is due to hold his first meeting at the General Assembly in September as co-chair on the UN High-level Panel on the post-MDG framework.
