Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to ringfence official development assistance spending on projects for women and girls in upcoming spending plans.

We intend to update on the spending commitments set out in the International Development Strategy once we have worked through decisions with our partners and suppliers.

This financial year, we will prioritise spend in line with the Strategy, particularly focussing on humanitarian programmes and women and girls - while also taking the potential new and emerging needs and priorities of our partner countries into account.

Through our new Women and Girls Strategy, at least 80% of FCDO's bilateral aid programmes will have a focus on gender equality. This is a reflection of how we are prioritising gender and equality across our work.