Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee

Recommendation 14

14 Deferred

Publish a timeline to restore ODA spending to 0.7%, including a protected conflict budget.

Conclusion
For the UK to continue being a lead actor within the United Nations Security Council, and a leading global actor in the prevention and resolution of conflict, it is critical that the Government sets out a pathway and 47 timeline as to how it will return to spending 0.5%, and ultimately 0.7%, of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance spend as soon as is fiscally possible. This should include details of a protected budget dedicated to conflict prevention, mediation and civilian-led peacebuilding. (Recommendation, Paragraph 66)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response details its past and ongoing efforts within the UN Security Council regarding Libya, leading sanctions, and renewing mandates. It does not address the recommendation to set out a timeline for returning to 0.7% GNI on ODA or a protected budget for conflict prevention.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred
21. The UK is the fifth biggest contributor to the UN Regular and Peacekeeping budgets. For 2025, the UK’s share of the UN Regular Budget is $148 million. For July 2024 to June 2025, the UK’s share of the UN Peacekeeping Budget was $255 million. Our mandatory contributions will not be impacted by ODA reductions. 22. HMG remains committed to restoring ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow. We will return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the UK is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within this Parliament. We will continue to monitor future forecasts closely. 23. Reducing the ODA budget to 0.3% of GNI reflects the evolving nature of the threats we face, but our budget remains substantial. The FCDO is working through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments. We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years in the coming months. The UK Government will prioritise multilateral institutions in the ODA budget, whilst also driving reform of the multilateral system to strengthen its work on humanitarian, health, climate, and the global financial system to help lower-income countries sustain their progress and become self-sufficient. 24. While agreeing with the remainder of the recommendation, it is not possible for HMG to commit to ringfencing any future spend. The decision to allocate ODA funds when the UK returns to 0.7% GNI will be considered by Ministers in line with their priorities.
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