To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department has allocated for human rights programmes in financial year 2009-10. (325317)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) integrates human rights work across its objectives. This means that funding for human rights can be given through numerous programmes.

The FCO holds the Strategic Programme Fund for Human Rights and Democracy dedicated specifically to supporting human rights projects. In 2009-10, this fund allocated approximately £5.8 million to human rights and democracy projects around the world. Work was funded in support of equality, strengthening civil society, freedom of expression, abolition of torture and the death penalty, among other issues.

The FCO’s 2009-10 programmes that fund human rights projects where these help to realise their core objectives include:

Strategic Programme Fund for Reuniting Europe (total programme value: £5.8 million);

Strategic Programme Fund for Counter-Terrorism and Radicalisation: £40 million;

Bilateral Programme Budgets: £27.5 million; and

the tri-departmental (FCO, Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence) Conflict Pool (£171 million in 2009-10) that funds conflict prevention and stabilisation work also benefited human rights projects/objectives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department's overseas activities of recent exchange rate movements. (325362)

I refer the hon. Member to my written statement to the House of 10 February 2010, Official Report, column 53WS.