Overseas Aid: Press Freedom

(asked on 7th July 2021) - View Source

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 the effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending on the UK's ability to support organisations and projects promoting press freedom.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 12th July 2021

Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation decisions were taken by Ministers in line with the objectives set out in the Integrated Review. These took account of a full range of factors, including analysis of potential impacts on beneficiaries of UK aid. Ministers were appraised of qualitative analysis, sectoral analysis of thematic trends, and further quantitative analysis of draft business plans to assess the impacts of ODA reductions. Ministers also considered the impact on supply partners, drawing on FCDO programme managers' advice on how best to manage reductions to specific programmes.

Defending media freedom is a top priority for the UK. Reductions to spending on media freedom and media development have been less severe for this important area. For example, our support for UNESCO's Global Media Defence Fund remains unchanged. We engaged closely with partners that were affected by reductions to prioritise their activities to ensure the best outcomes for their programmes. Our ODA support is further strengthened through our extensive diplomatic network, which engages with counterparts to defend media freedom around the world.

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