International Development

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

Again, I would gently point out to the right hon. Gentleman that this Government have had to deal with a defence investment programme that was hollowed out by his party in government. We have had to deal with that, as well as the difficult fiscal circumstances they left us with. It is right to increase defence investment. We have had to take difficult decisions to do so, but those decisions were set out by the Prime Minister over a year ago and then confirmed in the spending review. We are reforming how we do development so that we can maximise and increase the impact of every pound we spend. We are choosing not to do what the right hon. Gentleman’s party is proposing, which is to reduce international development to 0.1%. That would damage important programmes that we need for the future.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

I welcome this development reset. I support the Government’s decision to invest in our country’s security now and our ambition to support development more in future. On Yemen, given the conflict and the overall fragility in the region, how do the Government ensure that UK aid spent there does not fall into the wrong hands?

[Yvette Cooper]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for raising Yemen. This is a complex situation. We know there is immense humanitarian need, but there are also malign actors and huge risks around security, as well as that humanitarian crisis. That is why we have been working to ensure there are sufficient safeguards, but also working closely with international organisations and agencies in Yemen. It is important that we ensure that the investment we put in gets to those who need it most.