Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential effect of reductions in the Official Development Assistance budget on (1) poverty, (2) inequality, and (3) the UK's reputation, in the global south.

The UK is a world leader in development, committed to the global fight against poverty and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In 2020 we spent £14.5 billion Official Development Assistance (ODA) fighting poverty and helping those in need, despite the seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK and global economy. This included £1.7 billion supporting the effort to fight coronavirus, £1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance, and we gave more than half of our regional bilateral aid to countries in Africa.

In 2021, the UK will still spend over £10 billion and remain one of the largest ODA spenders in the world. Based on 2020 OECD data, the UK will be the third largest ODA donor in the G7 as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2021 and will spend above the average for OECD Development Assistance Committee members (0.41%). As we move through the spending cycle, as is standard, we will review the impact of projects and our spend, in order to inform future spending decisions and policy making.

On 13 July the Government gave Members of Parliament the opportunity to debate its proposed course of action and a pathway back to 0.7%. The House voted clearly with a majority of 35 votes to approve the approach set out in the Treasury's Written Ministerial Statement. Improving economic forecasts shows that HMG may meet its fiscal tests to return to spending 0.7% of GNI on aid in financial year 2024/25.