Letter dated 14/04/2026 from Lord Lemos to Baroness Hodgson of Abinger, Baroness Featherstone and others regarding issues raised during the debate on UK Development Partnership Assistance: a modern approach to development, country partnerships bilateral programmes and prioritisation of multilaterals, soft power, women and girls and women peace and security, global health, vaccines and pandemic preparedness, climate migration and economic drivers of instability, debt sustainability, spend on domestic asylum costs, rebuilding expertise after the launch of the merged FCDO. 5p.

Letter dated 14/04/2026 from Lord Lemos to Baroness Hodgson of Abinger, Baroness Featherstone and others regarding issues raised during the debate on UK Development Partnership Assistance: a modern approach to development, country partnerships bilateral programmes and prioritisation of multilaterals, soft power, women and girls and women peace and security, global...

The government has a seven-point framework for working with African states. These include climate, migration and investment. However, UK aid is falling.

The government has a seven-point framework for working with African states. These include climate, migration and investment. However, UK aid is falling.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this important debate, and my co-sponsors from across the House—the hon. Members...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this important debate, and my co-sponsors from across the House—the hon. Members...

The hon. Member is raising some good points about national security and migration. He is probably well aware that the top three nationalities that come to the UK on small boats are from conflict-affected states: Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. Does the hon. Member share my concern that the UK dismantling...

The hon. Member is raising some good points about national security and migration. He is probably well aware that the top three nationalities that come to the UK on small boats are from conflict-affected states: Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. Does the hon. Member share my concern that the UK dismantling...

I thank the hon. Member, who is my colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee. His background and expertise in this area is unrivalled, and I agree 100% with his sentiment; it is money badly spent when we do not invest in conflict prevention. The decision to cut our official development...

I thank the hon. Member, who is my colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee. His background and expertise in this area is unrivalled, and I agree 100% with his sentiment; it is money badly spent when we do not invest in conflict prevention. The decision to cut our official development...

My hon. Friend speaks about security and education. A charity in my constituency, School in a Bag, based in Chilthorne Domer, has delivered 160,000 school bags filled with stationery to children all over the world, giving those who live in the most deprived circumstances the tools for an education and...

My hon. Friend speaks about security and education. A charity in my constituency, School in a Bag, based in Chilthorne Domer, has delivered 160,000 school bags filled with stationery to children all over the world, giving those who live in the most deprived circumstances the tools for an education and...

I agree 100%. What is so wonderful about Britain is how, time and again, communities step into the void left by Government spending, but we cannot rely entirely on the charity and good will of others.

The UK’s contribution to global health, education and nutrition, which are the foundations of our...

I agree 100%. What is so wonderful about Britain is how, time and again, communities step into the void left by Government spending, but we cannot rely entirely on the charity and good will of others.

The UK’s contribution to global health, education and nutrition, which are the foundations of our...

My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech. This weekend, the Government announced £5 million for Sudan and £6 million for Gaza. By contrast, the Government are spending £2.2 billion of ODA on hotels to house asylum seekers in this country. Does my hon. Friend share my view that the...

My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech. This weekend, the Government announced £5 million for Sudan and £6 million for Gaza. By contrast, the Government are spending £2.2 billion of ODA on hotels to house asylum seekers in this country. Does my hon. Friend share my view that the...

I agree 100% with my hon. Friend. Purely on a value-for-money basis, it is wiser to spend money where people are, to prevent them from getting on the road, than to try to house them here.

Migration and global instability do not begin at our borders. They begin when climate change...

I agree 100% with my hon. Friend. Purely on a value-for-money basis, it is wiser to spend money where people are, to prevent them from getting on the road, than to try to house them here.

Migration and global instability do not begin at our borders. They begin when climate change...

Does the hon. Member agree that at a dangerous moment geopolitically, with tensions high and multilateralism facing challenges—which, as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, we are more than aware of—it is incumbent on all of us to advocate an approach that treats global co-operation, our international obligations and our...

Does the hon. Member agree that at a dangerous moment geopolitically, with tensions high and multilateralism facing challenges—which, as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, we are more than aware of—it is incumbent on all of us to advocate an approach that treats global co-operation, our international obligations and our...

I agree 100% with the hon. Member. The more we work with our partners, the more we can deliver. We are living in an interconnected society; there is no way we can do this alone. We must work with others, and we must show leadership in that space.

If aid spending...

I agree 100% with the hon. Member. The more we work with our partners, the more we can deliver. We are living in an interconnected society; there is no way we can do this alone. We must work with others, and we must show leadership in that space.

If aid spending...

It is always a pleasure to serve under your guidance, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for his powerful and accurate speech, with which I associate myself.

Recent reductions have meant that UK ODA has dropped from the legally enshrined 0.7% to 0.5%, and it...

It is always a pleasure to serve under your guidance, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for his powerful and accurate speech, with which I associate myself.

Recent reductions have meant that UK ODA has dropped from the legally enshrined 0.7% to 0.5%, and it...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), the Chair of the International Development Committee, because I want to refer to one or two things that the Committee has been doing. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing the...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), the Chair of the International Development Committee, because I want to refer to one or two things that the Committee has been doing. I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing the...

The right hon. Member hits on a very important point. There is not much wider public support, for two big reasons: corruption in some of the countries to which aid is going, and the misappropriation of food and other produce that is delivered. Until we address those issues, we will...

The right hon. Member hits on a very important point. There is not much wider public support, for two big reasons: corruption in some of the countries to which aid is going, and the misappropriation of food and other produce that is delivered. Until we address those issues, we will...

That is partly right, because negative stories have prevailed and we have not had people on the other side rebutting them, as we have not had advocates on the ground. I feel that many non-governmental organisations became far too corporate in their approach: they did not have the local people...

That is partly right, because negative stories have prevailed and we have not had people on the other side rebutting them, as we have not had advocates on the ground. I feel that many non-governmental organisations became far too corporate in their approach: they did not have the local people...