To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made in following up the Gleneagles commitments of (a) the annual increase of gross national income (GNI) to overseas aid by G8 countries since the 2005 summit and (b) the proportion of GNI being allocated to debt relief by those countries. (138021)

At the 2005 Gleneagles summit, the G8 and other donors committed to increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) by $50 billion a year by 2010, compared to 2004. The summit also agreed a proposal to cancel the outstanding debts of eligible heavily indebted poor countries.

Figures from 2006, the most recent year available, show that ODA from G8 countries was $75 billion, 0.26 per cent. of GNI. Debt relief from G8 countries as a proportion of GNI was 0.06 per cent. The following table shows total ODA, and ODA which was allocated as debt relief from G8 countries from the Gleneagles baseline year of 2004, to 2006.

The UK was the second largest bilateral donor in 2006, with ODA reaching $12.6 billion, 0.52 per cent. of GNI. We are on track to reach 0.7 per cent. of ODA/GNI by 2013, two years ahead of the EU schedule of 2015.