To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what priority is accorded to the provision of (a) water and sanitation and (b) health and education in his Department’s decision-making processes on aid distribution. (274941)

The provision of water and sanitation and health and education are millennium development goals (MDGs). The UK Government are committed to achieving the MDGs and the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Third White Paper stated that water and sanitation and health, education and social protection are essential services. The importance of improving these services is reflected in DFID’s commitment to spend at least half its bilateral financial support on them.