Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Prosperity Fund in the delivery of her Department's goals.

The UK ended its traditional bilateral aid programmes with China in 2011 and ended all financial aid to the Indian government in 2015. Instead the UK is now building relationships with these countries focused on trade and investment and on working together on global issues. We need to be clear that the Prosperity Fund is part of this new more mature partnership and allows us to share cutting edge UK expertise to support economic growth and development. This is good for these countries but is also strongly in our own national interest.