Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Foreign Secretary and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of covid-19 on the budget for the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

As with all Government Departments, BEIS has had to adjust our allocation of ODA funding in response to the predicted fall in Gross National Income during 2020. The impacts of this adjustment on the Global Challenges Research Fund were discussed with both HM Treasury and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office during the process of agreeing the overall savings.