Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she take steps to increase Official Development Assistance above 0.5% of gross national income.

The government has set departmental budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26 to enable the UK to spend 0.5% of GNI on ODA in calendar years 2024 and 2025. On current forecasts, this will mean spending £13.7bn on ODA in 2024. The government remains committed to restoring ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI as soon as fiscal circumstances allow. As set out at Budget, the OBR’s latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast. These plans strike an appropriate balance between fiscal responsibility at home and our responsibility to support the most vulnerable, and ensure that the UK remains one of the most generous global donors of development assistance, using ODA resources to save lives whilst tackling key global challenges such as climate change, conflict, and epidemics.