Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Permanent Secretary sought a ministerial direction prior to the announcement in November 2020 that the Government would not allocate 0.7 per cent of GNI in 2021 for Official Development Assistance.

As the Secretary of State is acting in accordance with the provisions that govern spending on Official Development Assistance, including the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, no Ministerial Direction was sought.