Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Annual Meeting by the Prime Minister of £2.7 million in funding to support LGBT+ grassroots human rights defenders, and advance equality and freedom across the Commonwealth, what plans the Government has to provide such funding to other parts of the world.

The UK is committed to championing LGBT+ rights internationally and supporting those who defend them. As well as working across the Commonwealth, our programmes also work in countries across the world, such as Belize and Seychelles, supporting human rights defenders to promote the implementation of new laws and policies that better protect LGBT+ people from violence and discrimination. As an example, we are strengthening data in support of LGBT+ people at risk in and fleeing from Afghanistan, as well as continuing to support at-risk Afghans, including LGBT+ people, to come to the UK and we expect more to arrive in the UK in the coming months.