Overseas Development Assistance: Budgets and Awards Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Lord Purvis of Tweed
Main Page: Lord Purvis of Tweed (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Purvis of Tweed's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Overseas Development Assistance: Budgets and Awards
Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts(3 years ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I know Sir Mark Lowcock well. I do not share his opinion. As the noble Lord himself has said, we remain very much committed to Yemen, both in terms of political settlement and the support we are providing through the UK aid pledge of £87 million for 2021-22.
Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
What are the fiscal conditions that would allow a return to 0.7%? The Minister said the economy has shrunk by 11%. Why are the Government cutting bilateral aid by 50%?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I am sure the noble Lord would acknowledge the contributions the Government have made to various challenges that we face domestically. That has called for hard decisions, including looking at ODA. As I said earlier, we will look to restore 0.7% at the earliest opportunity.