Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria the Government plans to use to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the fight against West Africa's Islamist insurgency; and what steps the Government is taking to provide social and economic support to that region after that conflict ends.

The Government condemns all acts of terrorism committed by extremist groups, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM). We are committed to working with West African countries and our international partners to support the fight against Islamist insurgencies in West Africa. We consider a wide range of factors when assessing the effectiveness of the fight against these groups, including reporting from our staff in country and information from international partners.

We provide a comprehensive package of security and stabilisation support across West Africa to tackle the immediate impact and long-term drivers of conflict, and to support local communities. Examples of this support include: a contribution of £2 million in 2019-20 and a further £3 million in 2020-21 to the Lake Chad Basin Regional Stabilisation Facility, to strengthen community security, provide basic services and support livelihoods; and our adaptive social protection programme in the Sahel, which has helped over 92,000 vulnerable households across the Sahel adapt and build their resilience to climate change, a key driver of instability.