Thursday 24th September 2026
Responding to the UK Government’s pledge to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), announced at the United Nations General Assembly, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Education, Bambos Charalambous MP, said:
“A 77% reduction in the UK’s contribution to the Global Partnership for Education raises serious questions about the Government’s priorities for international development and the basis on which this decision was made. This reduction is significantly disproportionate to the overall reduction in the UK’s ODA budget. Ministers should therefore explain why education has been asked to absorb a disproportionate share of those reductions, and what assessment was made of the implications for the countries and children who rely on GPE funding.
Education has been a longstanding priority for successive UK Governments and is closely connected to a number of this Government’s wider international development objectives, including economic development, health, stability and its work to tackle violence against women and girls. We will be asking Ministers to set out how this decision fits with those commitments. The UK has also played a significant role in GPE over many years. A decision of this scale has implications for the UK’s ability to work with other donors and international partners on global education, and Parliament should have the opportunity to scrutinise the Government’s approach.
We will be writing to the Secretary of State to seek clarity on the decision, including the case for the level of reduction and its implications for the Government’s wider international development strategy. We will also ask what steps the Government intends to take to maintain its support for global education during GPE’s 2026–2030 strategic period.”