Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to determine whether to allocate funding to organisations to help tackle FGM in Kenya.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is investing £35 million in the second phase of the Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to end female genital mutilation (FGM) that is targeting support to grassroots African organisations leading change from within their communities, including in Kenya. The UK recognises the importance of working with specialist organisations, which is why the ALM Programme has established a grassroots grants mechanism through which smaller community-based organisations can receive funding and capacity development to lead sustainable change within communities. All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of programs working on eradicating FGM that his Department (a) has awarded and (b) plans to award funds to.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.

The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.

In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.

All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to which (a) charities and (b) other organisations his Department has allocated funding to help tackle FGM in the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.

The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.

In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.

All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what funding from the public purse was provided to grassroots organisations working to eradicate FGM in their communities in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.

The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.

In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.

All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office what steps his Department takes to ensure that a significant percentage of the funds awarded to Options Consultancy Ltd reaches grassroots led organisations.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO has controls in place to ensure that funds awarded to Options Consultancy Ltd, and to all suppliers, are used for their intended purposes. The FCDO's 'rule book' which guides all FCDO programme spending, known as the Programme Operating Framework, contains clear rules and guidance on the lifecycle of a programme from design to delivery. The FCDO agrees upfront with suppliers such as Options Consultancy what each programme must deliver, including how local knowledge and expertise will be used to strengthen delivery. There are established mechanisms to monitor and verify that Options Consultancy Ltd are delivering on these agreements. The FCDO recognises that inclusion of grassroots led organisations in the supply chain improves overall value and increases the chance of lasting impact.

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