At the end of March, Luke wrote to Amanda Solloway MP, Minister for Science, Research, and Innovation, asking that the Government reconsider plans to cut Overseas Development Aid. Writing on behalf of a concerned constituent, Luke highlighted the importance of ODA funding, which facilitates scientific research and benefits the lives of millions of people around the world.

In his response to a letter from a constituent raising the issue, Luke Pollard MP wrote:

I am very concerned about the Government’s plans to cut Overseas Development Aid from the legally mandated 0.7% of GDP to 0.5% of GDP. This is a cruel aid cut that not only hits some of the poorest people on the planet, reduces British influence but also affects ODA-funded programmes in the United Kingdom including here in Plymouth.

In his letter to Amanda Solloway MP, Luke wrote:

The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of working together as a global community, and ODA research is a huge part of this. It does not seem right that the government is looking into widescale cut-backs and termination of already awarded research, and this undermines the trust of researchers who dedicate so much time and energy to this work. It may well also undermine the trust and relationships that these researchers have developed with overseas partners.

You can see Luke’s letter to Amanda Solloway MP in full, as well as her subsequent response, above.