Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the potential merits of funding more programmes that support gender equality as their main objective.

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting gender equality around the world, and stands in solidarity with women's rights organisations who are on the frontline of that fight. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recognises that advancing gender equality and breaking down the barriers faced by women and girls is essential to development and to delivering the missions of this government overseas.

The FCDO is taking steps to strengthen the integration of gender equality across the Department's work. This will ensure we maximise the impacts for women, girls, and marginalised groups across all our spend and through our diplomatic levers, including by driving innovation to generate sustainable funding flows for women's rights.