Duty to lay statement before Parliament if 0.7% target not met
2
1
If an annual report laid before Parliament in the year 2016 or any subsequent calendar year shows that the 0.7% target has not been met in the report year, the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after laying the report, lay before Parliament a statement complying with subsections (3) and (4).
2
If an annual report laid before Parliament in the year 2015 or any subsequent calendar year shows that the 0.7% target has been met in the report year but—
a
the report is revised under section 1(4) of the 2006 Act by a subsequent annual report, and
b
the effect of the revision is to show that the 0.7% target was not met in the report year,
the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after laying the subsequent report, lay before Parliament a statement complying with subsection (3).
3
A statement under subsection (1) or (2) must explain why the 0.7% target has not been met in the report year and, if relevant, refer to the effect of one or more of the following—
a
economic circumstances and, in particular, any substantial change in gross national income;
b
fiscal circumstances and, in particular, the likely impact of meeting the target on taxation, public spending and public borrowing;
c
circumstances arising outside the United Kingdom.
4
A statement under subsection (1) must also describe any steps that the Secretary of State has taken to ensure that the 0.7% target will be met by the United Kingdom in the calendar year following the report year.
5
In this section “the report year”, in relation to an annual report, means the period of 12 months which is the most recent relevant period, as defined by section 1(2) of the 2006 Act, to which the information included in accordance with paragraph 1(h) of the Schedule to that Act relates.