Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy announced by the Prime Minister on 26 February 2020, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department retains decision making responsibility for Official Development Assistance with a primary objective of poverty alleviation.

The Prime Minister appointed separate Secretaries of State for the Foreign Office and DFID in the recent reshuffle.

The Integrated Review will be a wholesale reassessment of the UK’s foreign, defence, security and development policy. DFID is closely involved in the Review’s work. We are clear that tackling global poverty is in the UK’s interest and is the right thing to do.

A range of departments across Whitehall undertake ODA programming, with DFID support and guidance, but most UK ODA is still spent by DFID. All UK ODA is spent in accordance with the rules set by the OECD DAC and the UK’s International Development Act 2002. As outlined in the Conservative manifesto, this Government will continue to be a champion of the rules-based international system. Where the UK has considered the international aid rules to be outdated, we have led the way in working with others to push for reforms. Ensuring the rules remain fit for purpose is an ongoing commitment.