Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the press release, Foreign Secretary announces free speech funding, published by his Department on 2 November 2017, in which countries the funding for press freedom is being spent.

Under the Magna Carta Fund the FCO has allocated over £1.5m for projects on media freedom and freedom of expression this year. The allocation to specific projects and countries is still being decided, but NGOs will be invited to bid to run projects that support a free media. Further money is available for press freedom through the Good Governance Fund, which covers Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, and through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund.