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 on the UK’s reputation as a global research and innovation leader.

The COVID-19 pandemic's economic impact has forced the Government to take the difficult decision to temporarily reduce ODA to 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI). The Foreign Secretary has set out a strategic approach to ensure maximum impact for our aid spend. This includes the use of ODA to support research to identify what development interventions are most effective and to develop and test new technologies and innovations that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development, such as climate change and infectious diseases.

Difficult decisions will be necessary, and we are currently running a prioritisation exercise on allocations, to ensure that every pound we spend on ODA goes as far as possible and has greatest impact. For this reason, I am not yet able to comment on the direct implications for specific programmes or activities.