Catherine McKinnell, Labour MP for Newcastle North, today tackled Ministers during international development questions in the Commons on the need to introduce UK legislation to improve the transparency of British companies operating abroad. Catherine was successful in securing a meeting for herself and representatives of the ‘Publish What You Pay’ campaign with International Development Minister, Alan Duncan.

Catherine said:

“Oil, gas and mining revenues are critically important economic sectors in about 60 developing and transition countries. For example, in 2008, exports of oil and minerals from Africa were worth roughly $393.3bn – nearly nine times the value of international aid to the continent.

“Yet, these resource-rich countries rank amongst the lowest in the world in terms of poverty, economic growth, authoritarian corruption and mismanagement, and fuel conflicts. Enabling them to increase their tax take from UK companies benefiting from their natural resources is a sustainable way in which to help them end their long-term aid dependency.

“The United States’ Dodd-Frank Act means that companies registered on Wall Street are now forced to disclose all payments on a country-by-country basis, including tax payments.

“I asked the International Development Minister, Alan Duncan, to meet with me and representatives of the Publish What You Pay campaign, in order to discuss whether he has any plans to introduce similar legislation in the UK. I am delighted that he has agreed to have a meeting, and look forward to working with NGOs such as CAFOD and Oxfam to take this campaign further.”

ENDS

Notes:

1. The USA’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed into law on 21 July 2010. The new law includes a provision obliging all SEC-listed companies engaged in oil, gas or mineral extraction anywhere in the world to report how much they pay to each government in their annual SEC filing. Therefore, to access US capital markets, companies will have to publically disclose all royalties, taxes and payments, on a project- and country-specific basis.

2. Publish What You Pay (PWYP – http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/) is a global network of civil society organisations that are united in their call for oil, gas and mining revenues to form the basis for development and improve the lives of ordinary citizens in resource-rich countries. Members and supporters in the UK include: ActionAid, Amnesty International, CAFOD, CARE International, Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility, Global Witness, ONE Campaign, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and Transparency International.