International Development

Tommy Sheppard Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Ministerial Corrections

The following is an extract from International Development Questions on 4 March 2020.

[Tommy Sheppard (Edinburgh East) (SNP)]

3. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to her Department.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

My apologies: I am short on voice today, about which many in the House will no doubt be very relieved. The Government’s 2019 spending review allocated sufficient funding to ensure that the UK can deliver on our commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance in 2020-21. Thanks to this Government’s focus on a strong economy, we can deliver on this commitment, improving the lives of millions in developing countries—for example, by giving more than 14 million children access to a decent education, immunising 56 million children and supporting 52 million to access clean water and better sanitation in the past two years alone.

[Official Report, 4 March 2020, Vol. 672, c. 819.]

Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Trevelyan):

An error has been identified in my response I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard).

The correct response should have been: