Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) viability of the Productive Safety Net Programme.

The UK has been a longstanding supporter of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) which has reached millions of vulnerable people throughout Ethiopia and has helped to promote resilience to drought. In January this year I [Minister Andrew Mitchell] announced a package of support to the PSNP budgeted at £11.6 million. This will reach 250,000 people living in extreme poverty.

As a member of the Donor Working Group responsible for overseeing PSNP the UK is working with the Government of Ethiopia and other donors to track programme performance against agreed aims.