About the Group

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Debt, Aid & Trade (APPG for DAT) has an extensive membership of 172 MPs and Peers in the UK Parliament. It is chaired by Ann McKechin MP who is a member of the International Development Select Committee in the UK Parliament. It is also one of the most active groups in Parliament; and enjoys an excellent profile both inside and outside of Westminster. It owes its heritage to the APPG for HIPC and the Jubilee 2000 Campaign, but changed its name after the 2005 General Election to focus more holistically on the macroeconomic issues within the international development debate.

The group looks to foster cross-party interest and support for increased debt relief; the need for increased international aid and to promote a more equitable and just international trading system for developing countries. It meets regularly to discuss such pivotal issues and has recently held a series of high-profile events to coincide with the UK Presidency of the G8. Speakers in this series include Rt. Hon Hilary Benn MP; Luisa Morgantini MEP; Hon. Protais Musoni of Rwanda and Dr Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General of CIVICUS, and Rt. Hon Jack McConnell, (First Minister of the Scottish Executive).

The Group has also produced timely and well researched work in conjunction with Jubilee Deb Campaign on issues of international development. This included the groundbreaking report, If Not Now, When? Urgent recommendations on debt cancellation for a strong and prosperous Africa, which was submitted to the Commission for Africa and subsequently had a wide range of policy recommendations adopted. Amongst those consulted during the debt hearings in 2004/05 were Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP; Mr Donald Kaberuka, (Rwandan Finance Minister) and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, author of the UN Millennium Project Report.

Other key areas of work has included supporting the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign in Parliament and successfully pressing the UK government to commit to a timetable for providing 0.7% of GNI in working towards the UN Millennium Development Goals

The All Party Group also played an integral role in launching the International Parliamentarians’ Petition campaign in Westminster calling for the enhancement of democratic oversights of the World Bank and IMF policies. To date, the petition has received over 1,000 signatures from parliamentarians in over 50 countries around the world. The petition had its formal launch at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington achieving widespread international media coverage, and the work on the IPP goes on

The Group also has strong links with all major NGOs within the development arena, as well as cooperating regularly with think-tanks and embassies across London. It also has many links with international organisations and parliamentary networks in Europe and Africa.

The APPG has a very strong executive drawn from the Labour Party, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats alike. For a full list of members and the break down of the executive please click here.

This site provides information about progress in debt relief, aid and international trade, also listing an update of events, research papers, recent parliamentary questions, early day motions and parliamentary debates. It also provides links to NGOs, think-tanks, University and IFI sources.