Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will set out the critieria his Department uses to define a girls' education programme.

Girls' education programmes are FCDO investments to increase education access, attainment and opportunities for girls. Standing up for the right of every girl to 12 years of quality education is a major priority for this Government and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. As the effects of the COVID-19 crisis play out, the socio-economic impact on girls has become increasingly clear and the focus on girls' education across the world is more important than ever.

Between 2015 and 2020, the UK supported at least 15.6 million children to gain a decent education, of which 8.1 million were girls. Our bilateral programmes and funding to organisations like the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait make the UK a global leader in promoting girls' education.