Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Not Addressed
Funding cuts to gender-specific programming devastate women and girls, denying vital support.
Conclusion
Funding cuts to gender-specific programming will be devastating for women and girls, starving them of vital support and services. The Government has not learned lessons from the previous Government about the severe impacts of funding cuts to programming for women and girls. (Conclusion, Paragraph 77)
Government Response Summary
The government response highlights British International Investment's role in strengthening the private sector in fragile and conflict-affected states through economic resilience and job creation, but it does not address the committee's concerns regarding funding cuts to gender-specific programming.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
55. We recognise the importance of strengthening the private sector in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) and we welcome the Committee’s recognition of the role British International Investment (BII) in these contexts. 56. BII has a strong and improving track record of investing in challenging markets, with the largest FCAS portfolio of any European bilateral Development Finance Institution (DFI). In 2024, 62% of BII’s new commitments were in Africa and 36% in Asia. 57. BII’s investments support economic resilience, job creation, and access to essential services—indirectly contributing to the conditions that help mitigate displacement pressures. 58. BII’s flexible capital and risk appetite allow it to invest in the riskiest markets and parts of the capital structure, supporting systemic change and catalysing private investment where others cannot. (Recommendation 7, Paragraph 88) The FCDO should work alongside British International Investment ahead of its 2026 strategy refresh, including on how BII can place more emphasis on, and better target investment at, mitigating the drivers of displacement across fragile and conflict-affected states. Government response: Agree 59. We agree that the FCDO should work alongside BII ahead of its 2026 strategy refresh. We will work closely with them to explore a wide range of priorities. This will include consideration of BII’s ambitions in frontier and fragile markets, in line with its overall strategy and mandate to strengthen the private sector. 60. BII is already a leader in investing in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS), with the largest FCAS portfolio of any European bilateral DFI. 61. BII’s leadership in establishing the now multi-donor funded Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) platform helps to unlock investable opportunities that would otherwise not exist in frontier markets. 62. BII investments support wider drivers of displacement through job creation, access to services and economic resilience. As detailed in our wider response, the FCDO will also continue to utilise other means to combat displacement directly. Localisation (Conclusion 11, Paragraph 96) Despite long-standing commitments, the Government is not making sufficient progress in meeting its commitments to localisation in humanitarian programming. The steps taken by the UNHCR on improving localisation in its partnerships should serve as a blueprint for how the Government can make progress in this regard.