Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the working relationship between the Whitehall Africa Group and the Africa National Security Strategy Implementation Group; and what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk of duplication of effort of those two groups.

The Sub-Saharan Africa National Security Strategy Implementation Group (NSIG) is an internal governance mechanism established to oversee the development of HMG’s strategic policy priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is led by a Senior Responsible Officer at Director General level. The Whitehall Africa Group (WAG) is responsible for implementing the strategic approach set out by the NSSIG for those areas of policy within its remit, including overseeing discrete country and regional strategies and acting as the Regional Board for Sub-Saharan Africa’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund allocation. The WAG is chaired by the FCO Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, who sits as a member of the NSIG. This construct allows for a productive working relationship between the two structures, which ensures that HMG’s engagement is effectively and coherently delivered, without any duplication of effort.