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 to end violence against women.

Due to the severe impact that the pandemic has had on our economy, we are taking the tough decision to spend 0.5 per cent of our national income next year on Official Development Assistance, rather than the usual 0.7 per cent. Despite these fiscal pressures, 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 Government intends to return to the 0.7 per cent target when the fiscal situation allows. The new strategic framework for our aid announced by the Foreign Secretary will ensure we can deliver UK aid better, even if our budget is smaller, by combining aid with diplomacy and focusing our efforts where the UK can make a world-leading difference.

It is not possible at this stage to go into the specifics of programme cuts. Amended programmes and projects are reflected on?DevTracker and will continue to change in the normal way. Tackling violence against women and girls is a core part of this Government's mission and we remain steadfast in our commitment to this agenda.