Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Support to Social Protection Programme grant.

The Social Protection Programme grant has been assessed as effective in reaching those in need and achieving the expected impact. It was doubled in size to respond to the back-to-back crises of cyclones and COVID in 2019 and 2020, reaching almost one million poor and vulnerable households. The programme benefit was increased to the equivalent of £100 over a six-month period, an increase from the previous £39.6 that beneficiaries would receive over the same period.