Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the proportion of the foreign aid budget allocated to programmes which prevent violence against women and girls.

The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has frequent discussions with the Minister for Development on the allocation of the foreign aid budget. The UK will focus spend according to the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy, which includes women and girls, while maximising the best value for money and our flexibility to respond to new or emerging priority issues. Last month, the UK hosted an international conference to drive urgent action to prevent sexual violence in conflict and announced £12.5 million new funding for this. We will be launching a new International Women and Girls Strategy in 2023.