Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of requesting a meeting of the G20 to discuss a co-ordinated response to (a) the omicron variant of covid-19 and (b) any future covid-19 variants.

The UK Government is working closely with international partners, including through the G7, G20 and other fora, to respond to the spread of new variants. The Secretary of State for Health convened two urgent G7 Health Ministers meetings following the emergence of the Omicron variant under the UK's G7 presidency in 2021, and on 30 December the UK pledged up to £105 million to help vulnerable countries respond. We will continue to work through the G20 under the Indonesian presidency to deliver a robust response to COVID-19, deliver rapid, equitable and global distribution of vaccines, and strengthen global health and finance coordination for effective pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.