Description
In 2001 following a series of cross-cutting reviews to improve the UK Government's approach to and effectiveness of conflict prevention activity across departments, two conflict prevention 'pools' were created. These brought together the knowledge, skills and resources of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department for International Development (DfID). Initially, each department put in funds from their own budget, with the Treasury providing additional resources. Today the Pools bid for money alongside their parent departments in each Governmental Spending Round. There are two Pools: one for sub-Saharan Africa (the Africa Pool, chaired by the Secretary of State for International Development) and one for the rest of the world (the Global Pool, chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs). The Pools have a unique funding arrangement specifically voted by parliament for conflict prevention and reduction. For 2004/05 the allocation for the Africa Pool is £60 m (rising to £67.5 m by 2007/08) and for the Global Pool is £74 m per annum. These figures relate to programme costs not administration. The Pools also finance peacekeeping and other operations, which are funded annually by Parliament in accordance with expenditure forecasts.
