Official Development Assistance

Lord Bruce of Bennachie Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Bates, on the debate and on his powerful speech and say how much I enjoyed working with him as the Development Minister.

As co-chair of the APPG for Aid Match, I urge the Government to make more use of it. The Minister complained about the loss of public support for aid, but aid match can draw people in. It can and should be more than a gimmick. Experience has shown that, when people can see how their donations change lives, it encourages giving. It may also help people appreciate the difference between urgent emergency and long-term commitment to building health systems, educating young people—especially women and girls—and training for secure livelihoods. Will the Minister explain how the Government will balance multilateral spending versus bilateral commitments? She should also explain how the Government will divide the aid budget between humanitarian assistance and development assistance.

Long-term partnerships with Governments in developing countries can help build capacity and resilience. We should not underestimate the good will that flows from such programmes. Will the Government consider working with such Governments to help build their own capacity and delivery? This requires relatively small amounts of funds in technical assistance and diplomatic support—no substitute for the aid cuts, but at least positive progress. How does the Minister propose to work with the private sector, first, to expand UK trade and investment and, secondly, to encourage businesses to provide philanthropic support to build capacity and strengthen bilateral partnerships? The full impact of the aid cuts has yet to be felt, but the demise of USAID has already had consequences.

Finally, what are the UK Government doing to build partnerships to help aid and development funding maximise achievement by co-operation and efficiency savings through pooling teams and resources, nationally and internationally? The UK was a world leader in the field; I urge the Government to show how we can be again.