Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of her Department's spending on the Somali police Goodir Unit; and what steps she is taking to report to Parliament on the potential effect of that spending on her Department's capability work.

As I [Minister Cleverly] stated in my answer of 8 November to your question 68471, the UK is working with the Somali Police to improve their capability and capacity for investigating and stopping terrorist threats, in line with international human rights standards. Our support builds on the Somali Police Force's capability to combat the threat from Al Shabaab and strengthens compliance with international human rights standards.

Tackling Al Shabaab is one of the UK's top international counter-terrorism priorities, as we seek to keep the UK and our interests at home and overseas safe from the threat of terrorism. The group is also the largest obstacle to stability and reconstruction in Somalia. Our work with the Somali Police's Goodir Unit complements other counter-terrorism work the UK conducts to counter Al Shabaab and contributes to our work supporting a more stable and secure Somalia. All monitoring and evaluation is completed in line with Conflict, Security and Stabilisation Fund program requirements, which include consideration of value for money.