Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will restore the parameters for spending of overseas development aid to its previous criteria.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) is an international standard used to measure aid flows to developing countries. Spend classified as ODA must meet the definition and rules that are set and governed by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). All UK ODA spending is classified according to the ODA rules set by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. This Government is committed to restoring ODA spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of GNI as soon as fiscal circumstances allow. The Government will set out its approach to the House in due course.