Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the value for money of (a) funding projects in China and (b) allocating the same funding to countries with substantially lower levels of income and domestic resources under her Department's Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund is a competitive grant scheme that supports projects which tackle the illegal wildlife trade, and wider environmental crime, while contributing to poverty reduction in developing countries.

Applications to the fund are assessed against published criteria, including their expected impact, value for money and strategic contribution to tackling environmental crime. An independent advisory group reviews eligible applications and provides expert advice to support funding decisions.

Defra has not undertaken a separate comparative assessment of the matters raised.