Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they used to decide to reduce UK funding to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) by 60 per cent; what assessment they have made of the statement by UNICEF of 1 May criticising this decision; and whether they consulted with (1) UNICEF, and (2) other international donors to UNICEF, (i) before, and (ii) after, taking this decision.

We have prioritised our aid to be strategic, and remain a force for good across the world. Following a thorough review, the FCDO's aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK remains an important donor to UNICEF and the UN, Ministers and officials have been engaging directly with UNICEF. The FCDO will be maintaining all its assessed contributions to the UN, including upholding our share of the UN Regular Budget, the UN Peacekeeping Budget, and payments to the budgets of UN specialised agencies of which we are a member.

We are also working with partners to help them assess and manage the impact of UK funding reductions on individual programmes and we will share further details on this in due course. We continue to look to UN leadership in finding multilateral solutions to global challenges, including poverty, insecurity, girls' education, climate change, and pandemics. Our continued leadership on COVAX with the WHO and other partners is evidence of our multilateral approach.