Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of reducing Official Development Assistance funding to the Mines Advisory Group on the people's lives in countries where that charity operates.

The FCDO's aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against the challenging financial context of COVID-19. Officials considered any impact on women and girls, the most marginalised and vulnerable, people with disabilities and people from other protected groups, when developing advice to Ministers. The FCDO carried out a central Equalities Impact Assessment which looked at our bilateral country spending.

As the Foreign Secretary said at the International Development Committee on 22 April, the FCDO has been engaging with NGOs and others and will be listening to feedback on the plan set out. We are working closely with the Mines Advisory Group to allocate demining funding in a way that maximises impact for people affected by mines.