Written questions by Law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of further investment in agricultural supply chains in northern Nigeria to help promote the region’s (a) climate resilient agriculture, (b) peace and (c) security.

The UK is committed to supporting peace and stability in Northern Nigeria. Our work is strengthening agricultural supply chains in the region, to boost sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, and help address drivers of conflict.Our Propcom+ programme works with agribusiness, State and Federal government authorities, and wider development partners, to support investment and growth in climate-smart agriculture in Nigeria, including in the North. Since 2022, Propcom+ has worked with over 750,000 farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs, nearly half of which are women, to adapt to the effects of climate change. In addition, the UK's Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria programme (SPRiNG) is working to reduce rural violence in Northwest and North-central Nigeria. It does this by supporting productive livelihoods for farmers and pastoralists, and by strengthening conflict early warning, management and response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Oral Statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 631, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in overseas development aid on local development service providers.

To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the government has taken the decision in the current fiscal and economic circumstances to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.The impacts of reductions are being worked through, informed by equality impact assessments. Inevitably, reducing our ODA spend means that for some countries and themes there will be less to spend.However, we are committed to transforming how we work in partnership with countries and organisations on development, reflecting the changing needs of our partners through four essential shifts. This includes moving from international intervention to local provision, working through local partners and civil society to deliver sustainable, locally-led solutions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration he has given to allow British International Investment to borrow from the financial markets to support the expansion of its international development goals.

In the first two years of British International Investment's (BII) current strategy (2022-2023), BII has invested approximately $3 billion into developing economies and mobilised an additional $2 billion in private capital on top of this. BII is evolving its approach to mobilising private capital, including through its new Mobilisation Facility announced by the Prime Minister at UNGA. As part of preparations for BII's next strategy, we will consider options to enable BII to continue mobilising private capital at scale.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of asking British International Investment to produce a critical minerals strategy that (a) strengthens the UK's supply chains and (b) supports its development goals.

British International Investment's (BII) mission is to help solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation. With regards to the critical minerals sector, BII's role is currently most relevant where it supports investments in the enabling infrastructure around critical minerals projects. As part of BII's next strategy, we will consider whether and how BII's approach to critical minerals should evolve.