Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what the current mechanisms are for delivering UK overseas development aid in Afghanistan, and (2) what steps they will take to ensure the efficacy of this funding and its delivery in the future.

We stand with the people of Afghanistan to support a more stable, peaceful future for the country. Total UK aid to Afghanistan this year is now £286 million, one of our largest bilateral programmes.

As part of this £286m, £30m has been allocated for life-saving aid to Afghanistan's neighbouring countries to help those who choose to leave Afghanistan. Of this £30m, £10 million will be made available immediately to humanitarian partners, such as the UNHCR, to enable essential supplies such as shelters to be despatched to the Afghan borders as well as to set up sanitation and hygiene facilities. The remaining £20 million will be allocated to countries that experience a significant increase in refugees to support reception and registration facilities and provide essential services and supplies. As with all the FCDO's programming, when delivering the funding we will be guided by our Programme Operating Framework, which supports high standards of programme delivery, risk management and due diligence in the wide range of difficult places we work.