Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of bilateral Official Development Assistance programmes have a focus on gender equality in the latest period for which data is available.

Official data, sourced from the Statistics for International Development and OECD DAC Creditor Reporting System, is available for 2021. This data indicates that in 2021 59 per cent of FCDO bilateral ODA programme budget spend had a focus on gender equality (of which 49 per cent was marked as Significant and 10 per cent marked as Principal). As part of our new International Women and Girls Strategy, we will ensure at least 80 per cent of FCDO's bilateral aid programmes have a focus on gender equality by 2030. This is a reflection of how we are prioritising gender equality in our work and investment moving forward.