Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 19 March 2026 (HCWS1425), why the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s ODA allocation decreases from £93 million in 2026-27 to £64 million in 2027-28.

The Government has taken the difficult decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027 to fund an essential increase in defence spending. Departmental ODA allocations in the years up to 2028/29 reflect the new approach to development and priorities set out by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on 19 March (HCWS1425), which followed an evidence-based evaluation of the impact and value for money provided by the UK's existing portfolio of ODA programmes.