Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

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UK cross-government fund (2015–2024) for addressing conflict, instability and threats to national security overseas; replaced by the Integrated Security Fund


Conflict, Stability and Security Fund
Type Government fund
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Dissolved 1 April 2024
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Headquarters London
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The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) was a cross-government fund established on 1 April 2015 to address conflict, instability and threats to UK national security overseas. It integrated resources from defence, diplomacy, development assistance, security and intelligence in support of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review. The fund was overseen by the National Security Council, with the National Security Adviser as Senior Responsible Officer. Approximately half its budget was classified as official development assistance (ODA). On 1 April 2024 it was renamed the Integrated Security Fund, incorporating additional cyber and economic-deterrence elements.[1][2]

Governance and purpose

The CSSF shifted control of conflict-related spending from the previous joint Conflict Pool (DFID, MoD and FCO) to the National Security Council. This embedded intelligence oversight more deeply: the Intelligence and Security Committee has noted the fund’s strong links to British intelligence agencies, including the Secret Intelligence Service, and its facilitation of funding towards intelligence-related activities. Priorities were set by the NSC to leverage synergies across defence, diplomacy, development, security and intelligence. Activities included human-rights training, strengthening local police and judiciaries, political reconciliation, strategic communications, and support to third parties. The 2018 Fusion Doctrine further promoted a whole-of-government approach, increasing the scope for intelligence influence across departments.[3][4]

History and scale

The fund replaced the Conflict Pool and represented a significant increase in resources. In 2015/16 the allocation was £1.033 billion (roughly 50% ODA), with major early transfers from the DFID budget administered largely by the FCO. Annual budgets thereafter typically exceeded £1 billion until later reductions. Top programme areas consistently included Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, and refugee-related work in Jordan and Lebanon. The fund operated in more than 40 countries. Critics, including the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, described elements of it as opaque and potentially functioning as a “slush fund.” Independent Commission for Aid Impact reviews examined effectiveness and accountability. Detailed contractor-level breakdowns have never been fully published for security reasons; known recipients and programme summaries appear in annual reports, parliamentary answers and investigative reporting.[5][6]

Selected annual figures

Year Approximate allocation Notes
2015/16 £1.033 billion ~50% ODA; Syria ~£60m, Afghanistan ~£90m
2016/17 £1.127 billion 48% ODA; Syria £64m, Somalia £33.5m
2017/18 £1.194 billion 51% ODA
2018/19 £1.25 billion 52% ODA
2019/20 £1.28 billion 50% ODA
2020/21 £1.37 billion 49% ODA
2021/22 £858.6 million 40.4% ODA
2022/23 £830 million Ukraine response intensified
2023/24 £850 million Final year before transition to ISF

Figures drawn from parliamentary statements and CSSF annual reports; exact totals and ODA percentages vary slightly by source.[7][8]

Syria and regime-change related activity

The CSSF was a principal funding vehicle for UK support to Syrian opposition entities, stabilisation and strategic communications. Declassified UK has reported that the UK spent approximately £350 million promoting regime-change-related activity in Syria. Funding supported media and communications work for the moderate armed opposition (including Free Syrian Army press-office functions), civil-defence capacity (via Mayday Rescue / White Helmets), and contractors such as Incostrat, ARK Group / Ark FZC, Adam Smith International and Albany Associates. Government framing emphasised civilian protection and counter-Daesh work; critics characterised substantial elements as information operations and opposition-support programming aligned with National Security Council priorities. The Guardian reported in 2016 on the use of the fund for the “propaganda war” against Isis and related communications activity.[9][10]

Related units and complementary activity

The CSSF funded or complemented a range of information, communications and counter-disinformation capabilities, including:

These sat within the broader Fusion Doctrine approach.[8][11]

Known recipients and contractors

The following have been identified in official summaries, parliamentary answers or investigative reporting as receiving CSSF (or closely related) funding. The list is incomplete because of security classifications and aggregated reporting:

Syria-focused contractors (Incostrat, ARK, Mayday, Albany, Adam Smith International) are the most extensively documented in leaked tender documents and subsequent reporting.[10][9]

Scrutiny and criticism

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy’s 2017 report highlighted opacity in objectives and achievements, limited project disclosure, and concerns that the fund could function as a slush fund. It recommended stronger Cabinet Office ministerial oversight. ICAI reviews examined aid effectiveness and the integration of development and security objectives. Transparency advocates and investigative outlets have repeatedly noted the difficulty of tracing specific contractor payments and the dual-use character of some strategic-communications work. Government responses have emphasised the necessity of classification for national-security reasons and the value of flexible, cross-government instruments.[6][12]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ UK Parliament, Conflict Stability and Security Fund Settlement, Financial Year 2015-16 : Written statement - HCWS392, 12 March 2015.
  2. ↑ UK Government, About us - UK Integrated Security Fund, accessed 10 October 2026.
  3. ↑ Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Annual Report 2022–2023, 5 December 2023.
  4. ↑ UK Government, National Security Capability Review – March 2018, March 2018.
  5. ↑ Ben Gummer, Conflict Stability and Security Fund 2015 /16 and settlement for 2016 /17 : Written statement - HCWS123 UK Parliament, 21 July 2016.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Karen McVeigh, Secrecy around £1bn aid and security fund raises ‘significant concern’, say MPs The Guardian, 7 February 2017.
  7. ↑ UK Government, CSSF Annual Report 2017 to 2018.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 UK Government, Conflict, Stability and Security Fund annual report 2023 to 2024, 5 December 2024.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Declassified UK, Revealed: The UK has spent £350-million promoting regime change in Syria, 20 July 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ian Cobain, Alice Ross, Rob Evans and Mona Mahmood, How Britain funds the ‘propaganda war’ against Isis in Syria The Guardian, 3 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Declassified UK reporting on CDMD and related programmes.
  12. ↑ Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, HC 208, 6 February 2017.
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