Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether programmes supporting women and girls will be disproportionately impacted by the aid cuts; and if so, what plans they have to mitigate that impact.

Promoting gender equality and advancing women and girls' rights around the world is a priority for the UK Government. Both the Integrated Review and recent G7 Leaders' Communique confirms this commitment.

The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce the overall amount we spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Despite this, the UK remains committed to advancing gender equality, as evidenced by co-hosting the Global Partnership for Education replenishment, a focus on gender at COP26 and co-leadership of a new global Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as part of the Generation Equality Forum. The UK's G7 Presidency has prioritised action which places gender equality and girl's education at the centre of our COVID-19 response and recovery. We remain bound by the UK International Development Act (Gender Equality) 2014 to ensure gender equality remains at the heart of the UK's work on international development and in humanitarian crisis.