Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Official Development Assistance

Tuesday 20 April 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Foreign Secretary and junior Ministers speak regularly with G7 counterparts about official development assistance.
  • Recent bilateral conversations on international development were held with French Foreign Minister Le Drian and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi.
  • UK remains a development superpower, spending more percentage of GNI on ODA than US, Japan, Canada or Italy in 2021.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Mitchell Con Sutton Coldfield
Foreign Affairs
Context

The MP inquired about discussions regarding international development aid during the G7 presidency, highlighting concerns over Britain's commitment to ODA.

Question

What recent discussions have there been with G7 counterparts on global flows of official development assistance? The focus is on supporting responses and recoveries from covid-19. In particular, are there concerns that despite chairing the G7 in a pandemic, when international aid has never been more crucial, other countries like Germany, France, and the US have increased their ODA spending while Britain cuts humanitarian aid leading to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths?

Answer from Wendy Morton

Foreign Secretary and junior Ministers, including myself, speak regularly with G7 counterparts about official development assistance. The most recent bilateral conversations on international development were held with French Foreign Minister Le Drian and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi. As G7 president this year, we support work towards a sustainable, inclusive recovery, and the agenda for May's meeting includes sustainable recovery discussions. We remain a superpower in development based on OECD data for 2021; UK will spend more percentage of GNI on ODA than US, Japan, Canada or Italy in 2021 and will still allocate £10 billion to ODA this year.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answerer did not address the specific concern about Britain's commitment to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA as promised, focusing instead on maintaining a positive stance on current aid commitments and comparing to other nations without acknowledging deviations from previous promises.

How: We Remain An Active Internationalist Nation, Based On Oecd Data

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Q2 Andrew Mitchell Con Sutton Coldfield
Foreign Affairs
Context

The MP questioned the UK government's adherence to its promise of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA, noting that despite being chair of the G7 during a global pandemic, other nations have increased their ODA while Britain has cut humanitarian aid.

Question

Are there concerns about the UK's commitment to official development assistance when other countries are increasing theirs? The MP highlights Germany's adherence to 0.7%, France's embrace of it, and America's $15 billion increase in spending while Britain cuts aid leading to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths among women and children.

Answer from Wendy Morton

I do not accept what my right hon. Friend is saying. The UK remains a development superpower, spending more percentage of GNI on ODA than US, Japan, Canada or Italy in 2021 and allocating £10 billion to ODA this year. We will return to 0.7% when fiscal situation allows.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answerer did not address the specific issue of breaking manifesto commitments on ODA spending, focusing instead on current aid allocations and future intentions without acknowledging the deviation from previous promises.

How: Based On Oecd Data For 2021, Remain An Active Internationalist Nation

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