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 potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UK strategic interests in the Middle East.

Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Middle East remains vital to achieving our priorities which include preventing further conflict, supporting stability, and lifting vulnerable people out of crisis, and the UK continues to be a trusted and reliable partner across the region.