Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department is taking to increase the effectiveness of its aid programmes in the context of the Government implementing the sixth sustainable development goal.

To improve the effectiveness of UK Aid programmes that contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 6, the UK Government has shifted our approach from the direct provision of services to supporting partner governments to strengthen systems, a key theme in the recently published International Development White Paper. Our new WASH Systems for Health programme, mobilising in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malawi, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, contributes to this shift. We also use our convening power on the world stage, for example through chairing sessions at UN Water 2023 or via Sanitation and Water for All, to influence broader sector change.