Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to increase the capacity of support for (a) disarmament, (b) demobilization, (c) reintegration and (d) defection programmes in Somalia during the current Somali offensive against al-Shabaab.

The UK recognises the importance of stabilisation to security in Somalia and the region. We coordinate with international partners, the UN and the Somali Government to understand the needs of communities and support stabilisation efforts, including through our Early Recovery Initiative. The UK supports Somalia's National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants, which aims to establish a safe pathway for low-risk combatants to disengage from non-state armed groups and sustainably reintegrate into communities. The UK also supports the Somalia Stability Fund (SSF), contributing £38 million since 2016 and leveraging a further £52.7 million from others donors over the same period demonstrating their confidence in the Fund and UK leadership. During my visit to Somalia in November, I [Minister Mitchell] pursued these issues as well as proposals to enhance UK support with the Federal Government of Somalia, including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the Somali Defence Minister and National Security Adviser.