Written question asked by James Cleverly (Conservative) on Wednesday, 26 February 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 March 2025. It was answered by Hamish Falconer (Labour) on Monday, 10 March 2025 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

North Africa: People Smuggling

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering people smuggling in North Africa in each of the last five years.

Answer: The North Africa Cooperation on Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (NACSAT) project provided £3.1 million for a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) anti-people smuggling programme across Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the three years up to November 2021. Across fiscal years 2022 to 2025, the UK has provided a further £490,000 to UNODC programmes training North Africa law enforcement and border officials to identify and respond to cases of suspected people smuggling. The Foreign Secretary is clear that migration, including the disruption of people smuggling and organised immigration crime, is a top Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office priority.

Secondary information