To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding the Government has allocated to tackling the practice of female genital mutilation at home and abroad.

The Government are absolutely committed to preventing and tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The Home Office announced on 18 July 2013 that it will provide £15,971 of funding towards a new prevalence study, to be carried out by Equality now and City University.

Other funding which the Government have allocated to tackling FGM on domestic and international initiatives since 2011 is as follows:

Home Office—£100,000 fund over two years to provide grants of between £2000 and £5000 to frontline organisations supporting work to strengthen the voice of women to speak about FGM and work to abandon the practices; and,

Department for International Development—£35million programme to address FGM, in Africa and beyond. The aim of the programme is to see a reduction in cutting by 30% in at least 10 countries over five years.