Hilary Benn: Policy change

Hilary Benn has said less pressure will be put on poor countries to privatise key industries.

The international development secretary also pledged that the developing world will no longer have to open its markets in order to gain access to UK development aid.

Under the new policy, countries with high levels of corruption or human rights abuses will still face barriers, but those with good governance and poverty reduction plans will receive money much more easily.

Benn urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as other donor countries to follow Britain's example.

He also stressed the importance of countries having a greater say on how the aid they receive is spent and a better guarantee that money will continue to flow in the long-term.

Donors should focus more on outcomes of aid packages - such as health and education - rather than specific strategies to achieve these aims, he said.

"We are moving away from conditions set by donors towards agreed benchmarks for measuring progress on countries’ poverty reduction programmes as a whole," Benn said.

"At the same time, the government will continue to take into account decisions on human rights and international obligations, and will ensure that money is spent on the purpose for which it was intended and that there is no corruption."

Transparency

The new policy outlines plans for the UK to channel more than half of its resources for developing country through the local government's own budget for reducing poverty.

It will increase the proportion of its aid delivered through pooled funding, prioritise aid to low income countries and agree joint strategies with other donors and partner governments.

"The right kind of partnership must have reducing poverty and improving people’s lives at its heart, alongside upholding human rights and strong financial management," Benn added.