Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether HM Treasury's suspension of non-essential aid spend until September applied to humanitarian aid spending.

The Government has provided significant support for Ukraine and taken a leading role in international diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance. Some of this urgent support to Ukraine is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Given the Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit initial allocations to ensure all ODA-eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.

To achieve this, the Government is currently prioritising critical overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We will prioritise spending that is vital to protect against immediate threat to life and wellbeing, will prevent people falling into humanitarian need, or will prevent delays to accessing healthcare, primary education, sanitation and clean water, in addition to considering the value for money of any decisions.