Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 31
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)
We are encouraged that the department appears to understand the importance of harmonising development programming and the importance of considering issues of age, gender, nutrition and food security across the piece. However, it is important that this Government build on the progress of the last by identifying where there is still room for improvement, adequately focussing on addressing underlying causes of hunger, and addressing any inconsistency in policy. It is also important that this is seen as a whole of Government approach rather than simply one that impacts departments spending Official Development Assistance, and that measurement of progress is vital across the full range of programming. (Conclusion, Paragraph 84)
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.