Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help reduce debt in the global South; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require private creditors to participate in debt reduction in that region.

The UK is a leader on international debt issues. We are full participants in international debt initiatives, like Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and Common Framework and as a member of the Paris Club.

The UK, alongside international partners, expect private sector creditors to participate in debt restructurings on terms at least as favourable as country creditors and we remain focused on delivering UK-led contractual reforms to enhance private sector participation.