Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 17
3rd Report - The Government’s efforts to achieve SDG2: Zero Hunger
Published 18 Mar 2025
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee The UK Government’s work on achieving SDG2: Zero Hunger All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The next frontier for international development programming and policy is the meaningful and mainstreamed inclusion of local decision making. Whether at national or regional government level, or closer to the grassroots at NGO or household level, the Government has some ambitious and worthy intentions. For example, we welcome the Government’s resolve to support the national plans of their Official Development Assistance- eligible partners. However, a concerted effort will be needed across the FCDO for these aspirations to become a reality. (Conclusion, Paragraph 60) Leadership on the international stage
From: International Development Committee, 3rd Report - The Government’s efforts to achieve SDG2: Zero Hunger (HC 515), 18 March 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 May 2025 (deadline 18 May 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government's response to the Committee's report on SDG2 mostly 'partially' agrees with its recommendations, disagrees with reconsidering the cut in ODA, and ties many decisions to the ongoing Spending Review.
- On the reduction in ODA from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI, the Government says it "disagree[s] with this recommendation", calling the decision "a necessary one", and remains committed to returning to 0.7% "when fiscal circumstances allow".
- It does not think separate assessments of climate finance or of the impact on smallholder farmers are appropriate or warranted "at this stage", but "will consider the case for further impact assessment in 2026", depending on the Spending Review outcome.
- On the Child Nutrition Fund pledge, the Government says it is "not in a position to agree or disagree" and will set out spending plans after the Spending Review.
- It agrees on staffing, saying it "hope[s] to recruit new Food and Agriculture advisory expertise to fill critical gaps in 2025/2026", and has paused the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy refresh, to consider "options for updating it" after the Spending Review.