Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to point 49 on page 29 of his Department's policy paper entitled UK government's strategy for international development, CP 676, published on 16 May 2022, what is meant by locally owned; and whether his Department has taken recent steps to implement locally owned policies.

Local ownership of development means that design, decision-making and delivery should involve local partners, who understand the context of the challenges to be addressed. The FCDO prioritises strong partnerships with national and local organisations to boost impact and sustainability, building on our commitments to the 2011 Busan Partnership and the 2016 Grand Bargain.

For example, the FCDO has sought where possible to localise our response to the crisis in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian government.

Our multi-year Shifting the Power partnership with Comic Relief aims to strengthen local civil society organisations, and enable local people to make funding decisions.