Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the use of Special Drawing Rights to (a) support low income countries and (b) tackle the covid-19 pandemic.

Through the UK's G7 Presidency, the UK has encouraged the channelling of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by stronger economies to benefit low-income and vulnerable countries including to further support health needs and to help enable greener, more robust recoveries in the most affected countries. The Chancellor has committed to channel around 20% of the UK's new allocation of SDRs, including a new loan of SDR 1 billion (approximately £1 billion) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.