Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what economic outcomes he requires to be met to restore the Overseas Development Assistance budget to 0.7 per cent of gross national income.

In July the Chancellor set out the responsible fiscal circumstances under which the UK will make the return to spending 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA): when the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s fiscal forecast confirms that, on a sustainable basis, the Government is not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. This is set out in further detail in the Chancellor’s written ministerial statement, here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-12/hcws172.

The ODA fiscal tests are now forecast to be met in 2024-25. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely and, each year over the spending review period, will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.