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 the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.

The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) remains a top priority for the UK Government. We are the only government in the world to have a Prime Minister's Special Representative as well as a dedicated team and funding focused on tackling conflict-related sexual violence. Our core PSVI objectives are strengthening justice for survivors of sexual violence in conflict and holding the perpetrators to account; supporting all survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and tackling the stigma they face; preventing conflict-related sexual violence through engagement with faith, media and other stakeholders. No decisions have been taken on FCDO budget allocations for the financial year 2021/22. PSVI is a policy campaign to raise awareness of and encourage global action on, tackling conflict-related sexual violence through diplomacy, advocacy and convening power. It uses modest but catalytic programme funds, not large-scale programming, to make progress on this agenda.