Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has of the effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending on the Tomorrow's Cities programme on the ability of vulnerable communities in Kenya, Nepal, and Ecuador to protect themselves from flooding and fires caused by climate change.

The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.

BEIS published its R&D ODA allocations for financial year 2021/22 on May 27th. Our R&D ODA spend has been allocated in line with the priorities of the Strategic Framework for UK ODA, as outlined by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his letter to the Chair of the International Development Committee on 2^nd December 2020, whilst prioritising those projects with the most value-for-money and honouring existing legal commitments. Specifically, one of these Strategic Framework priorities is climate change, as you have outlined, which is why this Government has allocated £11.6bn from 2021-25 to support climate change activities in developing countries through our International Climate Finance portfolio.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22.

We have been working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written to all impacted award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding this year, and to explore options for individual programmes. Full details of this process have been published on the UKRI website, and further information about the impact on the countries you refer to can be found on the Tomorrow’s Cities website.