Rt Hon Justine Greening MP

Secretary of State for International Development

Department for International Development

22 Whitehall

London SW1A 2EG

Dear Justine,

I very much welcome the UK’s support for the UN Global Goals to end extreme poverty by 2030, and agree with those constituents who are WaterAid supporters about the importance of the goal to achieve access to clean water and a safe toilet for everyone.

However, I understand that water and sanitation accounts for just 2% of the current aid budget and would like to encourage you to increase the Government’s expenditure on water and sanitation.

As my constituents say:

Clean water and safe toilets are internationally recognised as human rights. The wider benefits also seem clear - a hospital cannot deliver effective health services without access to safe water. A girl can easily be deterred from attending school if there are no decent, private toilets for her to use – particularly when she starts her periods.

It’s critical that the global ambition to achieve access to clean water and a safe toilet for everyone by 2030 is backed up by concrete action that will ensure it's met - on time and for the sake of all those worldwide who continue to suffer the immediate and long term problems associated with lack of proper sanitation. That depends on funding being available and I hope the Government will do better in future.

It also depends on a robust legislative framework that’s fit for the post-2015 development agenda. I was, therefore, interested in the International Development Select Committee’s recent report on UK Implementation of the SDGs. It says:

The Government should use this critical juncture to consolidate and update the four International Development Acts (2002, 2006, 2014, and 2015) into one single Act. This should include: a legal requirement that poverty reduction (including through the provision of global public goods) is the primary purpose of all ODA spending (including by other government departments); a commitment to support the achievement of the SDGs, a requirement for DFID to report regularly on its contribution to progress in its bilateral partner countries; and a legal requirement for more systematic efforts towards, and reporting on, policy coherence across Government in support of the SDGs.

Your Government’s commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on aid is a very positive step and I’m sure you’ll join me in wanting to make sure it’s not undermined in any way.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,