PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
PREVENTION OF DEBT CRISES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (1 June 2015)

That this House supports taking action to prevent debt crises taking place in developing countries, as these delay development and can cause great suffering; welcomes the $130 billion of developing country debt which was cancelled through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative; notes that lending to low-income countries has trebled since 2008, and that the IMF and World Bank state that 45 low-income countries are at moderate or high risk of not being able to pay their debts; further notes that multilateral institutions are responsible for 60 per cent of loans to low income countries; in this context, urges the Government to keep giving bilateral aid as grants rather than loans; further urges the Government to require the multilateral institutions that it funds to take further measures to ensure loans do not lead to unpayable debts; calls on the Government to support a UN Intergovernmental Tax Body to give developing countries a say in creating fairer global tax rules, and to support and implement the UN principles on responsible borrowing and lending; and further calls on the Government actively to support and participate in the UN negotiations to create new international bankruptcy rules for states which will indicate to the private sector that it will no longer be bailed out at taxpayer expense for reckless lending.

Sponsored by:
Mr Roger Godsiff (Labour)