Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of official development assistance spent in the least developed countries.

UK aid aims to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s objectives as set out in the 2015 UK Aid Strategy. As such, the UK focuses most of its aid spending on countries with the highest need; in low-income, fragile, and conflict-affected regions. Some assistance is provided to middle-income countries where there are still enduring high levels of poverty. These countries may no longer need grant aid, but may require assistance in other ways, such as technical expertise or help raising their own revenue to reduce poverty. The 2016 bilateral and multilateral development reviews (available here and here) set out our approach to allocations in more detail.