Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the long-term economic effect of the International Citizen Service projects on communities in developing countries.

The most recent evaluation of the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme was conducted in October 2017 and found that, on economic development, ICS entrepreneurship projects helped new entrepreneurs to start up businesses, and helped established entrepreneurs to build links with new markets and develop skills, such as record keeping.

Entrepreneurship projects are fully consistent with the priorities set out in DFID’s Economic Development Strategy, published in January 2017.

DFID and VSO, who deliver ICS, are currently undertaking research on the long-term economic benefits, to be completed over the next 18 months.