Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to improve global access to education.

The new International Development Strategy and the 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan set out the FCDO's approach to achieving our global targets of 40 million more girls in school, and 20 million more girls reading by age ten, by 2026. This includes using our diplomatic network to scale up efforts to get girls into school and learning; maximising the effectiveness and accountability of international education funds; and delivering high-quality bilateral education programmes. In 2021, as G7 President and hosts of the Global Education Summit and COP26, we led the world in prioritising girls' education in the global COVID recovery.

This year we launched the Girls' Education Skills Partnership with the private sector to provide one million adolescent girls and young women with skills and training. We will use the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda in June to encourage more countries to sign the Heads of State declaration on education finance. We are working closely with partners ahead of the UN Secretary General's Transforming Education Summit in September to galvanise action for those most in need. We are building a new Coalition on Learning with like-minded partners to prioritise foundational learning for all as part of COVID recovery, and beyond.