Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the projected level of loss of UK soft power in the Western Balkans in the next five years.

Last year, the Government invested over £31 million in programmes in the Western Balkans, supporting women and girls, protecting democratic values, and enhancing resilience to hostile state influences, including funding for counter-disinformation and cyber defence support. We will set out details of future funding allocations in the coming months, we continue to be committed to pursuing a wide range of objectives in partnerships across the region focussed on stability, security, and prosperity among other issues.