Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled FCDO Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) summary 2022 to 2023, published on 30 March 2023, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his projects in Bahrain covering (a) capacity building for civil society organisations and (b) research skills and training for journalists.

The FCDO remains committed to supporting reform in Bahrain, including through projects delivered via the Gulf Strategy Fund, itself subject to robust oversight measures and rigorous risk assessments to ensure projects are effective, consistent with our values and in line with our human rights obligations. We work closely with implementing partners to ensure that projects deliver results and value for money, including in the case of the two projects in question which provided training for a) 38 members of civil societies; and b) 26 members of the Bahrain Journalist Association, both of which received positive feedback from beneficiaries.