Last Friday, Michael Gove, MP for Surrey Heath, met with his constituent, Christine Kemp, to discuss global hunger. Christine is a UNICEF Children’s Champion and supporter of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign which is a coalition of more than 100 organisations, working together to demand changes to the food system that will benefit hungry people.
Christine asked Michael to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to ask him to ensure the Government meets its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on aid to poor countries and to crack down on tax dodging by big companies.
Michael said:
“I am grateful to Christine for taking the time to meet with me to discuss this important issue. Hunger is one of the most serious development challenges the world faces. Nearly a billion people around the world do not get enough food, and under-nutrition holds back the growth and development of millions of children. I am pleased the Government is committed to tackling these problems.
This year, the Government will meet its commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on development spending, and is the first G8 country to meet this commitment. Britain will continue to lead the fight against global hunger in 2013. As President of the G8 this year, the UK will build on the work we have already done to stop hunger. Ministers will use a major event before our G8 summit to drive further global action to reduce hunger and malnutrition. They will also drive forward progress on the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which aims to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next ten years through sustainable agricultural growth.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister has put tackling tax avoidance at the top of the G8 agenda. We live in a globalised world where no one country can, on its own, effectively tackle tax evasion and aggressive avoidance, which is why the UK is taking this opportunity to galvanise collective international action. In the Prime Minister’s recent letter to G8 leaders he highlighted that they can lead the way in information sharing to tackle abuses of the system, including in developing countries, so that Governments can collect the taxes due to them.”