Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to ensure that official development assistance funding is prioritised for poverty reduction projects.

The Government published a new UK Aid Strategy (UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest) in November. The Strategy brings together the Government’s poverty reduction objectives with a commitment to tackle some of today’s biggest global challenges such as mass migration and global climate change. The Government will shape its Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending according to four strategic objectives, all of which support poverty reduction and are aligned with the UK national interest. The Government’s commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on international development, and strong UK leadership on the Global Goals, signals the UK’s intent to eradicate poverty in our lifetime.