Written questions by Ribeiro-Addy.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the history of Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism is accurately and thoroughly taught in schools.

The history curriculum includes a statutory time period at key stage 3 titled “ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901” which includes the non-statutory example of Britain’s transatlantic slave trade. Due to the flexibility of the history curriculum, these topics can also be taught, where relevant, across the three key stages.Schools can access resources from bodies such as Oak National Academy, the Historical Association and others to ensure their teaching is accurate and thorough.In reforming the curriculum following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we are clear that all pupils should have a robust understanding of our nation’s history.

What consideration his Department has given to aligning the UK’s net zero policies with commitments to communities impacted by historical UK-linked emissions.

The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, published on 29 October, sets out how the UK will continue to reduce emissions in line with the landmark 2008 Climate Change Act. In the UK, the Government’s approach to the transition is built on the principle of fairness – for households by ensuring energy security and protecting billpayers, and for workers by ensuring decarbonisation is a route to reindustrialisation. The UK is committed to working with other countries and groups across the world to maintain momentum on climate change, and also to ensure that workers and communities globally benefit from the economic transition to net zero.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of historical UK-linked deforestation and extractive industries on biodiversity loss in the Global South; and whether her Department supports global ecological restoration initiatives.

Global deforestation rates peaked in the 1980s at around 15 million hectares per year, driven by a range of factors, including global demand for agricultural commodities, timber and wood products. Deforestation rates have since declined to around 10 million hectares a year but much more needs to be done to protect forests, which are a vital refuge for biodiversity, support the livelihoods of over one billion people worldwide and are crucial to limiting the damaging effects of climate change.The UK is supporting efforts to restore critical global ecosystems and is on track to deliver £3 billion in International Climate Finance for nature and biodiversity by March 2026. This includes funding to international initiatives such as the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which aims to restore 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems globally by 2030.

What quantity of plutonium has been recovered from the dismantling of the Mk4A Trident warheads since the start of the dismantlement programme; what proportion has been re-cycled and re-used in new warheads; where is the surplus plutonium currently stored; and what has been the cost to date of the dismantlement programme.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided to the hon, Member for Newton Abbott (Martin Wrigley) on 1 September 2025 to Question 70223.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with CARICOM member states regarding the ten-point reparations plan put forward by the CARICOM Reparations Commission.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with international bodies, including the United Nations, on the issue of reparations for historical injustices.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that funding for programmes supporting women’s and girls’ rights, education, and health is maintained in the current and future aid budgets.

The UK continues to place women and girls at the heart of our international work, including playing a key role in the global effort to tackle violence against women and girls. We are also continuing to support countries to build resilient and sustainable health systems, and partner with governments to strengthen their own education systems. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be announced in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support Indigenous communities affected by historic UK-linked resource extraction projects.

The UK is a leading player in global efforts to support indigenous communities, and tackle climate change and nature loss, including contributing £40 million to help operationalise the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage in 2025. Our International Climate Finance has helped 137 million people adapt to the effects of climate change, provided 89 million people with improved access to clean energy, and helped to mobilise billions in private investment.We also continue to support initiatives which strengthen climate resilience in small island developing states (SIDS). This includes the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and Commonwealth Investment Network. These initiatives were discussed at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting on 25 November.On proposals for reparations, I refer the Hon Member to the response provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with international financial institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, on cancelling or restructuring debt for Global South countries facing economic crises.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 to Question HL9091.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the G7 and G20 on the expansion of the Common Framework for Debt Treatments to provide deeper and more timely debt cancellation for highly indebted countries.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 to Question HL9091.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of a UK-supported debt-for-climate swap programme to help low-income countries finance climate resilience projects.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 to Question HL9091.

Media and Sport, with reference to the All Party-Parliamentary Group on Afrikan-Reparations's report entitled Laying Ancestors to Rest, published in March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the Human Tissue Act 2004 to require the repatriation of human remains over 100 years old.

Museums are independent of the government and are responsible for decisions relating to the care and management of their collections, including the return of human remains, therefore no such assessment has been undertaken. However, DCMS has previously issued Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums which encouraged museums to establish an advisory framework to assist in determining repatriation claims and provided a set of criteria which need to be taken into account in assessing claims. Individual museums publish policies on their approach. We are considering how best to update the guidance, which is now 20 years old.A number of museums, including the Natural History Museum, the Horniman Museum, and the Pitt Rivers Museum, working in close partnership with the communities or countries of origin, have returned human remains. Separately, the Museums Minister met this month with DHSC to discuss broader issues of human remains including those relating to the Human Tissue Act 2004.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps with museums and other institutions to repatriate African ancestral remains to their countries of origin.

Museums are independent of the government and so decisions related to their collections are for their trustees to make. However, DCMS has previously issued Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums which encouraged museums to establish an advisory framework to assist in determining repatriation claims and provided a set of criteria which need to be taken into account in assessing claims. Museums publish their own policies under this guidance. We are considering how best to update the guidance, which is now 20 years old. A number of museums, working in close partnership with the communities or countries of origin, have returned human remains to communities or countries in Africa, including the National Army Museum returning locks of hair of Emperor Tewodros II to Ethiopia, and Glasgow University’s Hunterian Museum recently returning ancestral remains of six people to South Africa.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with Commonwealth nations on climate finance to address the impact of climate change on small island developing states.

The UK is a leading player in global efforts to support indigenous communities, and tackle climate change and nature loss, including contributing £40 million to help operationalise the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage in 2025. Our International Climate Finance has helped 137 million people adapt to the effects of climate change, provided 89 million people with improved access to clean energy, and helped to mobilise billions in private investment.We also continue to support initiatives which strengthen climate resilience in small island developing states (SIDS). This includes the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and Commonwealth Investment Network. These initiatives were discussed at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting on 25 November.On proposals for reparations, I refer the Hon Member to the response provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the role of UK aid in supporting economic and social initiatives aimed at addressing the legacy of colonial exploitation and enslavement.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the African Union and CARICOM regarding the role of debt cancellation in broader reparations discussions.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 to Question HL9091.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to increase support for women and girls in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions.

The UK continues to place women and girls at the heart of our international work, including playing a key role in the global effort to tackle violence against women and girls. We are also continuing to support countries to build resilient and sustainable health systems, and partner with governments to strengthen their own education systems. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be announced in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the UK’s contributions to international climate funds, such as the Loss and Damage Fund, in addressing the environmental harm caused by historical emissions.

The UK is a leading player in global efforts to support indigenous communities, and tackle climate change and nature loss, including contributing £40 million to help operationalise the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage in 2025. Our International Climate Finance has helped 137 million people adapt to the effects of climate change, provided 89 million people with improved access to clean energy, and helped to mobilise billions in private investment.We also continue to support initiatives which strengthen climate resilience in small island developing states (SIDS). This includes the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and Commonwealth Investment Network. These initiatives were discussed at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting on 25 November.On proposals for reparations, I refer the Hon Member to the response provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with international partners on the development of legal frameworks for climate reparations.

The UK is a leading player in global efforts to support indigenous communities, and tackle climate change and nature loss, including contributing £40 million to help operationalise the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage in 2025. Our International Climate Finance has helped 137 million people adapt to the effects of climate change, provided 89 million people with improved access to clean energy, and helped to mobilise billions in private investment.We also continue to support initiatives which strengthen climate resilience in small island developing states (SIDS). This includes the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and Commonwealth Investment Network. These initiatives were discussed at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting on 25 November.On proposals for reparations, I refer the Hon Member to the response provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.

Media and Sport, whether her Department had held discussions with museums and other cultural institutions on the potential merits of engaging with communities on colonial-era acquisitions and the transatlantic slave trade.

Museums in the UK are independent from the government and so decisions on engaging with communities are operational matters for them and their trustees to decide. The Department is in regular contact with our 15 sponsored museums, and as part of this has from time to time had discussions on these issues. The Horniman Museum informed us that it had consulted local communities regarding the Benin Bronzes in its collection, before reaching a decision to transfer legal title to the objects to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The Department is working closely with National Museums Liverpool on the development and refurbishment of the International Slavery Museum (ISM), which is being co-produced working closely with Liverpool’s communities, and will include a space for a new National Centre for Teaching Black History.