Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking in talks with the EU to address any negative consequences of Brexit for developing Commonwealth countries.

The PM has made clear that the UK has a longstanding and firm commitment to the Commonwealth and to the values it upholds, of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The UK remains committed to its 0.7% GNI ODA target for development spending. At present, some of this development assistance is spent through the EU and some bilaterally. Leaving the EU means that we will take our own decisions about how to spend development assistance. The UK wants to continue working with the EU and its Member States to effectively tackle development challenges in countries around the world and we remain clear about the importance of continued UK support to commonwealth countries.

The UK has also committed to extending the non-reciprocal duty free access granted to LDCs under the EU’s current Everything But Arms initiative, to ensure the world’s poorest keep their existing duty-free access to UK markets and providing new opportunities to increase trade links.