PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Development Aid (5 October 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes have been (a) ended, (b) scaled back and (c) cancelled before inception as a result of the £2.9 billion reduction announced in July 2020.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

Difficult decisions have been necessary to identify the savings needed to ensure we meet the 0.7 per cent commitment this year, however all steps possible were taken to minimise the impact of the reduction in development assistance, including where appropriate and practical, delaying payments to future years instead of ending programmes completely. This was done in a way to ensure continued support for five Official Development Assistance (ODA) priorities; bottom billion poverty reduction, climate change, girls' education, COVID-19 and Britain as a force for good. As usual, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's National Statistics publication - 'Statistics on International Development' will provide a full breakdown of UK ODA spend for the previous calendar year. The Statistics for International Development published in Autumn 2021 will provide a full breakdown of the UK's ODA spend for 2020.

Answered by:
Mr James Cleverly (Conservative)
13 October 2020