Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget (a) from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent and (b) as a result of the UK’s decreased GDP on Government support for programmes supporting people to raise their incomes or maintain or gain a better job or livelihood.

We remain firmly committed to helping the world's poorest people and we will retain our position as a leader in the global fight against poverty. The FCDO is now conducting a rigorous internal prioritisation process that will establish our portfolio in 2021. As outlined in the Foreign Secretary's previous statement to Parliament, promoting trade and job-creating investment will remain one of our core priorities for ODA. Programmes that support people to raise their incomes or maintain or gain a better job or livelihood will be critical to poverty reduction efforts and our role as a force for good in the world.