Covid-19: Foreign Aid

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]]

My Lords, as the noble Lord said, we are still waiting to see the impact of Covid-19 on the economy here in the UK, and therefore the related impact on 0.7%. We have maintained our flexibility to manage our overspend against an uncertain gross national income figure, and we will continue to do so as we approach the end of the year. We are committed to full transparency, and the statistics on international development will provide a detailed breakdown of our overspend across departments. We will also continue to update the development tracker online to show the latest on programmes and projects.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, African countries have been very hard-hit economically by the pandemic, and health spending clearly must be a priority. But will the Government work with others to make sure that cash transfers, which are so vital for those in the informal economies, especially women and girls, continue to be provided?

[Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is right that Africa has been incredibly hard-hit. We absolutely continue to support cash transfers and indeed the wider social protection net. That is one of the best ways to get support directly to the people who so need it.