Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to use the Global Partnership for Education replenishment fund to help ensure that there is equitable education financing for the most marginalised children, including children with disabilities.

The UK has made strong commitments on inclusive education for children with disabilities, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is an important vehicle for improving mainstream education systems to be inclusive of all learners. The Prime Minister and President Kenyatta of Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit: Financing the Global Partnership for Education in London this July. A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering the two global objectives endorsed by G7 Foreign and Development Ministers - to get 40 million more girls in school, and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years.

As one of the biggest donors to GPE, the UK has been instrumental in ensuring equity and gender is hardwired throughout GPE's new strategy for 2025. During the pandemic, GPE funding has targeted the most marginalised children, with 54 countries including interventions for children with disabilities and special needs in their Emergency Response Plans. For example, in Nepal, fast-tracked GPE funding guaranteed accessible remote learning content with captioning, interpretation, and inclusive examples that do not stigmatize.