Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase (a) access to safe and affordable drinking water and (b) the quality of life of young children.

WASH is an essential part of the UK's work on global health and education. To maximise impact when providing safe and affordable drinking water, we are changing our approach from direct delivery to helping governments strengthen the systems that they need to deliver sustainable, resilient and inclusive WASH services at scale.

Our systems approach benefits the quality of life of children, and forms part of our work on ending the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children. Our support promotes equitable access to nutritious diets, quality health services, addresses health impacts of climate change and improves access to WASH services.