Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on global poverty reduction of the increasing proportion of the UK aid budget spent by Departments not subject to the International Development Act 2002.

The UK Aid Strategy, published in November 2015 (CM 9163), is clear that the government shapes all of its ODA spending according to the four strategic objectives set out in the strategy. All four of these strategic objectives support poverty reduction and all are aligned with the UK national interest. The Aid Strategy also commits the UK to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which have the eradication of poverty as their central objective.

In order to qualify as ODA, all expenditure must meet the eligibility criteria established by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee.