Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government's policy is on the (a) number and (b) content of the Sustainable Development Goals produced by the UN Open Working Group.

The UK maintains that a short set of goals and targets to replace the Millennium Development Goals would be ideal, but we recognise the strong consensus among UN member states to maintain the Sustainable Development goals and targets on the Open Working Group in their current form.

The UK has consistently supported the content of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals. We welcome in particular Goal 1 on ending extreme poverty, Goal 5 on Gender which strongly reflects UK priorities including ending female genital mutilation and early forced marriage, and Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies, good governance, and access to justice.