Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from other governments in relation to their decision to cut Official Development Assistance to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income.
We have been discussing the UK's ODA decision and commitments with our development donor partners. The UK remains a development superpower. We will spend £10 billion on ODA in 2021.
That means, this year (2021) the UK will be the third largest ODA donor in the G7 as a percentage of GNI, based on OECD 2020 data, and will spend a greater percentage of our GNI on ODA than the US, Japan, Canada or Italy. Of the countries that also meet the NATO 2% target, as a percentage of GNI the UK will be the most generous aid spender. Collectively, across aid and defence, the UK will spend £56 billion in 21-22. Even at 0.5% GNI, the UK's 2021 spend is above the preliminary 2020 average of OECD Development Assistance Committee member states - at just 0.41%.