Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of British International Investment's new investments were 2X qualified in the last financial year; and what proportion of those had (a) 51% women ownership or founded by woman, (b) 30% women in senior leadership, (c) 30-50% women in workforce, (d) product/service disproportionately benefits women and (e) 30% of DFI loan proceeds or portfolio companies meet 2X criteria.

The Government has agreed that British International Investment (BII) should ensure that 25% of its commitments between 2022-26 qualify as gender lens investments. In the first two years, 38% of new commitments are 2X qualified.

In 2023, £297 million qualified against 2X. Investments can qualify against more than one dimension of the 2X criteria. The proportion is as follows: A) 9%; B) 79%; C) 78%; D) 22%; E) 65%. Figures for 2024 will be confirmed in July 2025 as part of BII's Annual Review process.

BII publishes its investments, including whether they qualify as 2X qualified investments, on its website (https://www.bii.co.uk/en/our-impact/search-results/).