Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to ensure that official development assistance is spent effectively on tackling poverty and gender inequalities after the merger of his Department and the Department for International Development.

Spending 0.7 percent of our national income on aid is enshrined in law. The UK International Development Act (Gender Equality) 2014 also makes a consideration of gender equality in all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) a legal requirement, ensuring that gender equality remains at the heart of our work.

The Prime Minister is committed to a unified British foreign and development policy that will maximise our influence around the world, including on gender equality and poverty. We will continue to be guided by our responsibilities under the International Development Act, including a commitment to poverty reduction. As the Prime Minister has said, the work of UK aid to reduce poverty will remain central to the new Department's mission.