Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2025 to Question 42468 on Development Aid: Cost Effectiveness, what impact assessments his Department undertook as part of the Spending Review; and if he will publish his Department's criteria for determining (a) the levels of ODA funding for the (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27 financial years and (b) whether those levels constitute value for money.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Equality impact assessments are an essential part of how we make decisions on ODA allocations. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through based on various factors including impact assessments.

Our initial 2025/26 ODA allocations aim to maximise the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office's flexibility ahead of setting final ODA allocations, while meeting legally binding commitments and existing live contracts and agreements and allowing crucial new work to continue through an exemptions process. They will play an important role in laying the foundations for the pivot in our approach to development and sharpening of our priorities to help smooth the transition to 0.3 per cent.

As part of the Spending Review for 2026/27 onwards, HMT set out the fiscal parameters for ODA over the Spending Review (SR) period. The Foreign Secretary led an evidence-based process to inform the Treasury's ODA allocations across departments for the SR period. Planned programming was assessed against effectiveness, delivery against our sharpened priorities, and coherence across government.