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 funding entitled Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use.

Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use (£140 million, 2015-23) is flagship UK forest programme. It aims to catalyse private investment into sustainable businesses, creating jobs, supporting growth and protecting and restoring forests.

To date, the programme has mobilised over £1 billion of private investment across 4 million hectares of land, benefiting over 250,000 people, mainly small farmers and poor rural communities in remote forest regions of developing countries.

Working in this way ensures that the impact of UK funding is amplified, through mobilising a greater level of private investment, generating enhanced benefits for poor people, the climate and nature.