Poverty: International Development Aid

Debate between Lord Londesborough and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 15th January 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

It is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Londesborough (CB)]

My Lords, the White Paper makes several laudable commitments, some of which require significant upfront investments, such as access to basic services, and that brings us the uncomfortable question of how these projects will be resourced, given not one but two huge hits to our ODA budget: some 25% lost due to the UK abandoning its 0.7% commitment, and almost 30% of what is left being spent on housing refugees in the UK. Can the Minister confirm the net budget for overseas aid once both these factors are taken into account?