Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 February (HL5444), what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the UK's commitment to spend 0.79 per cent of Gross National Income on overseas aid with cuts in spending for other public services.

The government takes a balanced approach to government spending, getting debt falling but also investing in our key public services like the NHS, and keeping taxes low. It also believes that the UK has a moral obligation to the world’s poorest, and the UK will continue to keep its promise to spend 0.70 per cent of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance (ODA). This represents less than 2 per cent of total public spending.