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 aid spending on the global influence of (a) China and (b) other countries.

To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision in the current fiscal and economic circumstances to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.

This was not an ideological decision, but a hardheaded one, recognising that resources devoted to diplomacy, development and defence have had to evolve over time to reflect the global context.

The UK Government is fully committed to the UK playing a significant role on development; it is both in our national interest and in the interest of our partners.