Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make representations to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on the relaxation of international aid rules to permit countries to use their discretion in allocating aid funding to support relief efforts in other countries affected by natural disasters.

The Secretary of State for International Development wrote to the Chair of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) on 14 September to request that the DAC urgently develop options to ensure the aid rules reflect today’s needs, giving certainty to donors that aid to those impacted by Hurricane Irma can be considered official aid. This would take into account the scale of devastation and vulnerabilities of small island states. We will work with international partners to ensure the rules remain relevant.