Stabilisation Unit: Finance

Patrick Mercer
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £269 million stabilisation aid fund will be allocated for use by the Stabilisation Unit.

Mr. Douglas Alexander
The Stabilisation Unit is performing a number of roles in respect of the stabilisation aid fund (SAF):

Helping to design the criteria and allocation mechanisms for the SAF;

Advising on priorities for SAF funding in Afghanistan and Iraq;

Helping to design some specific SAF programmes, and;

Providing civilian experts to deliver some SAF programmes.

The exact allocation of responsibility for managing SAF funds has yet to be determined and will depend on the final design of the programmes. Stabilisation Unit core funding will not be a charge to the SAF.