Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking (1) unilaterally, and (2) multilaterally, to protect lower and middle income countries from adverse impacts of COVID-19 on literacy rates.

Education is a top priority for this Government and FCDO is taking decisive steps internationally to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on learning. We have adapted our bilateral education programmes in 18 countries to provide child protection, continuity of learning (e.g. through radio and home learning kits) and are helping schools prepare to re-open safely. Improving foundational skills, especially getting more children reading by the age of ten, is central to our plan to ensure more girls benefit from 12 years of quality education.

Multilaterally, we are also leading efforts to build back better in education and protect learning. The UK is partnering with Kenya to co-host the 2021 Global Partnership for Education (GPE) financing summit, and as the largest donor, supported establishment of a dedicated $500 million COVID-19 accelerated funding window to maintain basic education. We topped up our contribution to the global fund Education Cannot Wait, to which we are the also the largest donor, and provided funding to support an additional 5,500 teachers in refugee camps via the UN refugee agency.