Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 30 October (HL9430), what assessment they have made of whether their financial contribution to the work of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator is Official Development Assistance compliant.

The breakdown of the UK's financial contribution to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) is outlined in the Written Answer HL9851. This includes up to £548 million for the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, up to £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), up to £40 million to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, and up to £23 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

We have assessed this spend, and the vital work it supports, to be eligible as Official Development Assistance (ODA) under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ODA Directives. In line with these Directives, the primary purpose of the UK's ODA spend in this area is to promote the welfare and economic development of developing countries, and address the problems they face due to COVID-19. This includes ensuring that organisations supported to drive the research and development of effective vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments negotiate access agreements with private sector partners, and prioritise products that are suitable to the contexts, systems, and population needs of people in developing countries. This will be crucial in mitigating the humanitarian and economic crisis they face from the COVID-19 pandemic.