Official Development Assistance: Vulnerable Children

Lord Sikka Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

That is the aim of many countries that we are working in. They want to move on from being an aid recipient and be a partner with us, not least in the area of business and economic growth. Relationships, such as on infrastructure and in higher education, are starting to develop. I would like the FCDO to play a leading role in this. As we move towards a change in our approach, having that expertise here in the UK to facilitate those relationships, in finance or technology, is exactly the direction that we should be going in.

[Lord Sikka (Lab)]

My Lords, as there is a lull, I might take an opportunity to ask the Minister a question. The Department for Work and Pensions has stated that, as a result of the planned benefit cuts, an extra 50,000 UK children will be pushed into poverty. Can the Minister explain why that outcome is acceptable to the Government?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, that would be straying slightly beyond my remit on development. However, I would point out that all of us ought to be deeply concerned about the lack of attendance at school, about mental health affecting too many of our young people and about too often their inability to access the world of work at an early age. We know that that scarring can last a lifetime. The work that the Department for Work and Pensions is doing is about supporting properly those young people into careers so that they can lead fulfilling, healthy lives.