Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the reduction in spending on governance, democracy, and anti-corruption work through Overseas Development Assistance will affect the budgets of (a) the National Crime Agency and (b) other UK law enforcement agencies.

As announced last year, the impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce how much we spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK will remain a world leading donor, spending over £10 billion in 21/22. No decisions on sectoral budgets have been made yet.

The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget this year, including defending open societies. The recently published Integrated Review sets out the UK Government's commitment to fight corruption and illicit finance as threats to democratic values and open societies around the world. The UK will ensure effective governance and resilience at home and cooperate with other countries on the basis of transparency and good governance.