Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with reference to the Prosperity Fund's Global Trade Programme, what steps he is taking to ensure that aid funding allocated under this programme reaches the poorest people in the countries involved.

​No country can defeat poverty without sustained economic growth. Middle income countries are home to around two thirds of the world's poor, and therefore need to not only generate new investment, growth and jobs, but also need to ensure that economic growth resulting from trade is inclusive and genuinely helps to reduce poverty, support gender equality and women's economic empowerment. It is in the UK's interest to support middle income countries to tackle these challenges.

Through the Prosperity Fund Global Trade Programme we are providing technical assistance to facilitate free trade and open markets for Official Development Assistance eligible middle income countries, in turn enabling greater investment with global value chains to create jobs and prosperity and lift the poorest sectors of society out of poverty.