Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, from which budget the planned £700 million empowerment fund will be allocated; and whether those funds will be counted as Official Development Assistance.

The Empowerment Fund, which is expected to consist entirely of Official Development Assistance funding, is currently under development. Details of the Fund, including governance and oversight arrangements, will be announced to Parliament in due course.