To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports his Department has received on coercive family planning policies in other countries; and if he will make a statement. (259056)

I have been asked to reply.

The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold records on reports of coercive family planning overseas.

The UK government's policy on population and sexual and reproductive health in the developing world is about providing choice, not coercion. Couples and individuals should be able to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children, and have access to the information and services to be able to do so. DFID actively works to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice as set out in at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.