Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130, how many and which organisations applied for funding for community projects to tackle female genital mutilation through schemes operated by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2014-15; and which such applications were (i) accepted and (ii) rejected.

In 2014-15, the Government provided over £380,000 to community organisations through the Home Office’s female genital mutilation (FGM) Community Engagement Initiative and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s FGM and forced marriage prevention projects.

A total of 179 applications were received, and 29 of these applications were funded. The Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130 provides a list of the organisations whose applications were successful. The Government did not provide specific funding for FGM community engagement projects in 2013-14 or 2015-16.

We know that changing attitudes within communities is key to ending FGM and we will continue to work with community organisations and survivors through the FGM Unit’s stakeholder group and ongoing outreach programme to drive this work forward.