Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with its European counterparts on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5.

The implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5 is a priority for DFID discussions with all our partners, including European counterparts. This includes important discussions to drive progress on gender equality at international forums like the G7 and working as part of the EU negotiating block to achieve strong outcomes at the Commission on the Status of Women.

The UK has strongly influenced the European Union’s (EU) Gender Action Plan, which will focus collective EU efforts to achieve Goal 5. This includes seconding UK national experts to assist the EU to design the Plan and to monitor progress. The UK regularly participates in discussions with EU counterparts to review implementation.