Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Home Office, if she will commission an independent review of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund aid programme delivered by her Department to assess the effectiveness of that aid reaching religious minorities.

The work of the CSSF is subject to regular independent review, including by external bodies such as the Independent Commission for Aid Impact and the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. Programmes are required to be both conflict and gender sensitive at a design stage to ensure that they are focused on achieving National Security Council objectives and do not inadvertently reinforce the drivers of social exclusion. Where analysis suggests it would be appropriate, we work with specific groups such as religious minorities. For example, in Sri Lanka the CSSF has supported inter-ethnic and inter-faith dialogues in the Eastern part of the country, through the establishment of District Inter-Religious Committees. In Iraq the CSSF is working with local government to deliver community action plans, including social cohesion and conflict mitigation activities. Further information on CSSF programmes is available via the published Programme Summaries, Annual Review summaries and our Annual Report on GOV.UK.