PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Development Aid: Water (15 July 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the reduction in the UK foreign aid budget from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent on clean water projects across the globe.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

The Government has made the difficult and temporary decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.7% to 0.5% to account for the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our support to global health - which embraces many aspects of water, sanitation and hygiene - remains a priority for this year's budget.

The UK has helped over 62 million people gain access to safe water and/or sanitation between 2015 and 2020 - but many more need to be reached to secure universal access. For this reason, we will move beyond supporting the delivery of water and sanitation facilities, refocusing our efforts and influence on strengthening national systems that are able to deliver and sustain inclusive and resilient water and sanitation services at scale. This approach will support our ambition for global health and make the best use of tax payers funds.

Answered by:
Wendy Morton (Conservative)
20 July 2021