Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of the promotion of democracy and human rights through the Arab Partnership Fund in 2014-15.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Arab Partnership was created in 2010 and became a key part of the Government’s response to the Arab Spring. This initiative comprised two parts: the FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund and the DFID-led Arab Partnership Economic Facility. Between 2011 and 2015 the Arab Partnership Participation Fund provided funding totalling £42,803,007 for projects in the region. In financial year 2014/15 the fund provided £10,512,791 of which £8,498,003 was allocated to projects promoting human rights and democracy across the Middle East and North Africa region.