Research: Overseas aid

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

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 partner of choice in international research and development projects.


Answered by
James Cleverly Portrait
James Cleverly
Home Secretary
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

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 develop and test new technologies and innovations, that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development, such as climate change and infectious diseases.

Despite the extremely tough fiscal position, Spending Review 2020 (SR20) sets out the government's plan to cement the UK's status as a global leader in science and innovation by investing £14.6 billion in R&D in 2021/22, an increase in government R&D investment that will allow us to support the [UK's] R&D system through this difficult period.

Reticulating Splines