Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department conducted an impact assessment for the reduction in aid spending from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent with specific consideration to the impacts on Afghanistan including on (a) refugees, (b) democratic collapse, (c) gender equality and (d) NGO staff, workplaces, and programmes.

The temporary reduction in the aid budget has not affected programmes in Afghanistan. The UK will double its aid to Afghanistan, which will provide urgent life-saving assistance to millions of people suffering from the conflict, drought and COVID-19.

Total UK aid to Afghanistan this year will be £286 million. The UK's total aid contribution to the country since 2001 is now around £3.5 billion.