Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss a new debt relief programme at the G20 level, so that developing countries do not have to delay health and poverty reduction plans.

In 2020 the G20 and Paris Club agreed to the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) which has provided participating countries with fiscal space to respond to the pandemic, freeing up resources to fund social, health and economic measures. Preliminary estimates suggest the DSSI has suspended over $12.7 billion in debt service repayments.

In addition, to deliver a longer-term, more sustainable approach to dealing with debt vulnerabilities the UK and its G20 partners are now focusing their attention on the Common Framework for Debt Treatments. Agreed in 2020, the Common Framework was a landmark achievement for the G20. It commits both new lenders and more traditional lenders in the Paris Club to coordinated debt treatments, including debt cancellation if required. This should pave the way for more equitable and effective case-by-case restructurings for low-income countries.