Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the scope of the College of British Diplomacy will be.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 20 October to Question 79228.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she held discussions with her Rwandan counterpart on the security of the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 October to Question 82441.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she plans to publish the UK Antarctic Strategy.

As confirmed in the Government's response to the Environmental Audit Committee's report into the UK and the Antarctic Environment, a UK Antarctic Strategy will be published by the Government by the end of the year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, on what dates his Department raised James Scott Rhys Anderson with the Russian authorities.

I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK formally recognises Palestinian State, published on 21 September 2025, what (a) technical and (b) financial support she is providing to the Palestinian Authority.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK formally recognises Palestinian State, published on 21 September 2025, what demands she has made of the Palestinian Authority to conduct extensive reform.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, what the outcome was of the discussion between the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy on 24 July 2025.

I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 75426 on James Scott Rhys Anderson, when he last received an update from (a) Russia and (b) Ukraine on the health of James Scott Rhys Anderson.

I thank the Hon Member for his close interest in this important case and I refer him to answer 75426. I will keep him and other Members informed as and when there are further developments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the speech entitled PM statement on the recognition of Palestine: 21 September 2025, what her (a) criteria and (b) definition is of a viable Palestinian State.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK formally recognises Palestinian State, published on 21 September 2025, when she plans to take further action to sanction senior figures in the Hamas leadership.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made on the Middle East by the Prime Minister on 14 October, in which he addressed at length the issues arising from the UK's decision to recognise the State of Palestine. Any further updates will be announced in the normal way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 72362 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what progress he has made on an independent investigation since 11 July 2025.

Like many other states, the UK has used estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to report casualty numbers in the Gaza conflict, which uses figures as reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 72362 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what the source is of the (a) 2,294 and (b)16,389 figure.

Like many other states, the UK has used estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to report casualty numbers in the Gaza conflict, which uses figures as reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of potential security threats posed to the British cycling team who competed in the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Travel Advice provides information and advice to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel. The FCDO updated our Travel Advice for Rwanda on 18 September ahead of the UCI Road World Cycling Championships. Advice to groups on matters of safety and security will always be consistent with the advice available to the public in FCDO travel advice on GOV.UK. Our Travel Advice remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the Government including local knowledge from our embassies, information provided by the local authorities in each country, and in some cases, information gathered by the intelligence services.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 45 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, how much funding her Department plans to provide for digital technologies in each of the next five years.

All details will be announced in the usual way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her counterparts in the Gulf states to help shape International norms.

The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her counterpart in Singapore to help shape International norms.

The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her Japanese counterpart to help shape International norms.

The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her Australian counterpart to help shape International norms.

The Government is delivering this objective through both multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, and through bilateral engagement with a range of global partners, including Canada. The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to counterparts across the world about trade cooperation and security, to ensure we can deliver for the UK's future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 45 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what recent progress she has made on establishing a College of British Diplomacy.

The College will be launched in the coming months. In preparation, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) launched on 6 October a new pilot Global Network Programme, a flagship initiative of the forthcoming College. Further details will be confirmed in the usual way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 45 of the National Security Strategy 2025, published in June 2025, CP 1338, what progress she has made on establishing a new Soft Power Council.

The Soft Power Council was launched on 15 January 2025. The Council is supporting the UK to take a more strategic approach to soft power, helping to build relationships, deepen trust, enhance our security and drive economic growth.