Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has received from the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development on the effects of global debt on low-income countries; and what action she plans to take in response to such representations.

Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a key priority of this government. Debt servicing costs are at their highest for 25 years and are crowding out vital investments in growth and development. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely with HM Treasury to support countries facing high debt burdens and struggling to finance their development priorities, with the Chancellor recently launching the London Coalition, which brings together public and private creditors to support more sustainable financing in developing economies.

This Government recognises the importance of a broad range of perspectives in addressing debt challenges, and we welcome the valuable contribution of the Jubilee Report to those discussions. More broadly, we commend the pioneering work of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), both in terms of the life-changing support it delivers through its partners in developing countries, and its advocacy and campaigning for long-term systemic change through measures such as debt relief. The Minister of State for International Development met the CAFOD Chief Executive and African inter faith leaders in December 2025 to discuss these and other issues.