Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide (a) long-term and (b) flexible funding for programmes to help tackle the causes of conflicts in fragile and conflict-affected states.

The Spending Review 2021 provided a three-year settlement of £2.65 billion to the cross-government Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Launched in 2015 it operates in over 80 countries and territories, delivering more than 90 programmes and combines Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other, non-ODA funding sources and integrates activity of a number of British government departments, including the FCDO. The Fund is managed by the Cabinet Office and yearly allocations are signed off by the National Security Council.

The 'Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a More contested and Volatile World' sets out how the UK will meet that challenge head-on. The new Integrated Security Fund (UKISF) will expand upon the existing CSSF. It will have a wider remit, funding projects both at home and overseas to tackle some of the most complex national security challenges facing the UK and its partners. With additional funding from other programming, the Fund will have a budget of almost £1 billion and will continue to spend UK aid money in line with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee rules and guidance.