Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

This Government are resolutely committed to development, but we recognise that we must do it differently. We will ensure that the aid budget delivers value for money and has impact globally. Supporting and growing economies will be at the heart of how we spend ODA going forward, and further decisions on the ODA budget, including specific programmes, are subject to the spending review and resource allocation processes.

[Damian Hinds]

These severely constrained budgets call for thinking smarter, not simply smaller, so what work are the Government doing with the World Bank and other international institutions to make sure that UK development spend is fully leveraged so that every penny is as effective as possible?

[Stephen Doughty]

The right hon. Member raises a very important point, and we of course continue to engage closely with our partners at the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions. Multilateral co-operation allows a global scale of investment and delivery that outstrips what countries can achieve alone. We are also looking at other ways, including through the important work of British International Investment and other bodies, so we are going to look across the board and multilaterally to increase our impact.

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

The International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014 says the Government must have due regard to spending aid in a way that contributes to gender equality. Following on from the earlier question, will the Minister confirm that supporting women and girls is a ministerial priority and that we will continue funding vital programmes that support women and girls in many areas?

[Stephen Doughty]

It certainly is, and women and girls will remain at the heart of our programming. I can assure my hon. Friend that equality impact assessments are an essential part of how we make decisions on ODA allocations. Indeed, Minister Chapman will be appearing before the International Development Committee later today, and I think she will be setting out our approach to the equality impact assessment and other processes.

[Sir Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)]

Will the Minister ensure that Britain properly replenishes Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a brilliant programme that has benefited so much from British leadership as well as taxpayers’ money? When making his decision on how big that replenishment should be, will he remember that the polling shows that 83% of our constituents think this is a brilliant use of taxpayers’ money and that we should support it?

[Stephen Doughty]

The right hon. Gentleman and I have engaged on these issues for a long time, and he knows that I recognise the importance of Gavi’s work and that of other bodies such as the Global Fund. We are proud to have supported Gavi to vaccinate over 1 billion children, saving 18 million lives and generating $250 billion in economic benefits. We are considering our next investments as part of the spending review process, and we look forward to the June event.

[Joe Powell (Kensington and Bayswater) (Lab)]

The reduction to 0.3% will require painful decisions, but there are innovative financing mechanisms on which Britain could lead—for example, increasing special drawing rights, using the exchange equalisation account, guarantees and debt relief. Can the Minister commit to working with the Treasury to look at all these non-ODA instruments in which Britain could show leadership and fund our development programmes?

[Stephen Doughty]

I absolutely can make that commitment. I will not go into any individual item on my hon. Friend’s list of suggestions, but as I said in an earlier answer, we are looking at all measures by which we can support development and economic growth globally, working with multilateral partners.

[Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)]

12. What steps his Department has taken to commemorate Victory in Europe Day.

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[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

T2. Will the Minister confirm the state of the current negotiations over the future of Gibraltar, including whether they will be concluded before the EU-UK reset, and will he confirm that the views and interests of the Gibraltarian people will be paramount?

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

The hon. Gentleman can be absolutely assured on that latter point. I spoke to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar just this morning. We have been working closely with him and, indeed, with our EU and Spanish counterparts, and all sides agree on the importance of concluding a treaty as soon as possible. We are working closely with all the parties in that regard, and we will only conclude an agreement that protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, provides certainty for the people of Gibraltar and secures their future prosperity. We will endeavour to achieve that in due course.

[Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)]

T6. Over the past few days, The Times has reported that an airport worker and his wife, who works in the NHS, have been raising funds in the UK through an unregistered charity called Zayir UK and sending them to Hezbollah-linked groups in Lebanon. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that charitable donations in the UK cannot be used to fund terrorism in the middle east?