Written questions by McMurdock.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK's contributions to the United Nations are not helping to fund initiatives that undermine the UK's national interests.

The UN is an important forum to counter those who oppose democracy, human rights, and free economies. It offers the UK a platform with global reach to play a leading role in solving international challenges - including the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tackling climate change.We want the UN to be as effective, efficient, and accountable as possible. The UK uses its influence to push for greater coherence and impact across the UN system in order to make the system more efficient, more representative and more responsive to those who need it most. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), together with colleagues across Government, actively works to ensure UK financial contributions to the United Nations and its agencies represent value for money to the British taxpayer and align with UK national interests. The FCDO rigorously scrutinises all UN budget proposals to ensure the proposed activities are in line with UK priorities and we continue to adjust the UK's engagement across the UN system to ensure the most effective promotion of UK interests.The Chancellor has launched Phase 2 of the Spending Review, covering 2026/27 to 2028/29. This will zero-base all spending, conducting a full line-by-line review of all public spending to assess whether it is a priority for this government and represents value for money for the taxpayer. The Spending Review will conclude on 11 June 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion entitled Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, published on 25 February 2019.

The 2019 ICJ Advisory opinion was not the only long-term challenge we faced, and claims that we negotiated this deal solely because of it are simply wrong. Since 2015, 28 international judges and arbitrators have expressed views on the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago. Not one has expressed support for the UK claim about sovereignty. Without a deal Mauritius would inevitably pursue a legally binding judgment. This lack of legal certainty would have real-world impacts on base operations and create space for our adversaries. Some of those impacts would be on simple but crucial things, such as securing contractors and getting overflight clearances. Our deal with Mauritius ends this legal uncertainty, and secures the future of the critical base on Diego Garcia well into the next century.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with partners in the Global South to help ensure that Official Development Assistance spending aligns with their development priorities.

Our mission is to build partnerships to help create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet. We will build modern, mutually beneficial, bilateral development partnerships to drive growth, protect our planet and strengthen security, which will help contribute to a safer, more prosperous UK. The UK's development cooperation maximises mutual benefit - delivering the greatest possible impact for the needs and aspirations of both the British people and our partners. The UK's development spending is central to achieving our mission and is informed by our approach to partnerships.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the £236.75 million allocated to Ukraine in the Official Development Assistance Programme was designated for (a) humanitarian aid and (b) economic development projects in 2024-25.

The bilateral Ukraine portfolio totals £282 million in 2024/25 covering humanitarian, stabilisation, energy, recover and reform programmes. The majority of this is through Official Development Assistance. This includes £122 million in humanitarian assistance which is delivered through key partners such as UNICEF, UNHCR and Mercy Corps.Our economic recovery programmes total £25.5 million for this year. These programmes will unlock hundreds of millions of pounds of private lending to bolster the growth and economic resilience in Ukraine. These programmes cover aspects from support to small business, to war risk insurance and infrastructure capacity building, working with key partners such as the International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.The remainder of this year's allocation will be used to support energy, social recovery, and governance reform programmes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which initiatives have been supported by the £216 million funding to Ethiopia through the Official Development Assistance Programme in 2024-25.

UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Ethiopia for 2024/25 was £216 million. Most of this allocation has been used to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid, focused on emergency health, nutrition, and social protection. This includes our Productive Safety Net Programme, supporting those in food-insecure households. We are also investing in education and health services, including a programme to prevent maternal, new-born and child deaths, as well as a programme that provides water and sanitation in drought affected areas. We have allocated UK ODA to promote peacebuilding including a sustainable peace process in Tigray, through disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of combatants. We are also investing UK ODA towards economic reform, job creation and revenue raising through more effective taxation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to UNRWA.

Since the Foreign Secretary restored funding to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in July 2024, the UK has committed £41 million this financial year to UNRWA, to deliver essential services for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, and to Palestinian refugees across the region. The UK remains opposed to anti-UNRWA Knesset legislation which came into force on 30 January, and unequivocally rejects attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We reiterated this position in our E3 joint Foreign Ministers' statement of 31 January, alongside France and Germany. As with all Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend, any new allocations provided to delivery partners (including UNRWA) are announced in the usual way.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase funding to the (a) United Nations and (b) its agencies.

The UK is a steadfast supporter of the UN. The UK's level of funding to the UN Regular Budget is dictated by the UN's Scales of Assessment process and is based on GDP and population size. For 2025, the UK's obligatory share of the Regular Budget is 3.991% of the total UN Regular Budget. UK voluntary funding to the UN is determined on a case-by-case basis. All future UK funding to UN agencies is subject to the current Spending Review process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to the World Health Organisation.

In November 2024, the UK announced new funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in support of its delivery and transformation agenda. The UK will continue to work with the WHO, Member States and other partners to support WHO's ongoing transformation and to strengthen its efficiency, transparency and responsiveness.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to the Asian Development Bank.

The UK has committed £120 million to the Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Fund thirteenth replenishment (ADF-14) over the four years 2025 to 2028. We have no plans to increase this commitment or to provide additional core funding to the Bank over this period. We are working through a Multi-Period Spending Review where all trade-offs in spend will be considered and subject to final Foreign Secretary approval.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to the World Bank.

The UK pledged £1.98 billion to the 21st replenishment (IDA21) of the International Development Association (IDA) which works with the poorest countries globally, in late-November 2024. IDA21 runs between July 2025 and ends by June 2028. IDA's three-year replenishment cycle means donors are next scheduled to pledge in 2027. In April 2024, the UK also announced a contribution of £100 million in Hybrid Capital to the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), an arm that provides development finance to middle income countries. The UK remains supportive of proposals for a future IBRD general capital increase as part of wider efforts to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase funding to the OECD.

All 38 Member countries contribute to funding the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Part I budget based on a proportion that is shared equally among member countries and a scale that is proportional to the relative size of their economies. The Part I budget for 2024 was EUR 229.9 million. The OECD biennial Part I budget negotiation for 2025/26 concluded in December 2024. Members collectively agreed to an overall Part I budget of EUR 235 million in 2025 and EUR 238 million in 2026, representing no increase to the OECD's budget in real terms. During the discussions, the UK worked with other members to agree to measurable efficiencies and savings linked to long term organisational reform and transparency to ensure that the organisation delivers value for money for members.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to improve consular services to ensure faster response times.

The Government is committed to strengthening consular services and continuously reviews its processes to provide an effective service to those who require consular assistance, including through feedback, insight and lessons learned. Calls to our 24/7/365 consular team are answered within the target of two minutes, and a new FCDO digital triage AI tool which British nationals responses to their questions online within seconds rather than days.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to balance the level of consular support it provides citizens abroad and the need to maintain diplomatic relations with host countries.

Strong bilateral relations are essential to enable the FCDO to support British nationals overseas. This government is committed to building broad and deep relationships with countries across the globe to enable us to pursue our international priorities, including support for British nationals overseas.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide more effective support through (a) embassies and (b) consulates to UK nationals during crises abroad.

FCDO consular assistance is available 24/7, 365 days a year. We have improved the ability to expand our enquiry handling during a crisis through new digital telephony and AI tools.Whenever a major incident happens overseas and a crisis evolves that affects British nationals - a natural disaster or extreme weather event, a large-scale accident, civil unrest, terrorism or conflict - the FCDO flex and scale our consular response to support those who are directly affected. If a cross Whitehall response is required, the FCDO will lead and coordinate the UK Governments effort, this might include coordinating an assisted departure or an evacuation (as a last resort).The FCDO is committed to learning lessons from past crises and completes a lessons-learned exercise after every crisis response. These lessons enable the FCDO to improve processes and systems, and to review what has worked to enable better preparation and mitigation of future crises. The lessons are also implemented into the continuous training offer available to FCDO staff.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) communication and (b) coordination with local authorities in foreign countries to improve consular assistance to British citizens.

The FCDO provides tailored consular assistance to more than 20,000 British nationals abroad in new cases every year and supports an additional c. 8,000 involved in long-running cases. In FY 2022/23 this included support to c. 4,000 arrested or detained British nationals, c.3,500 who were hospitalised and c.1,300 who were victims of crime. Consular staff also supported the families of c.4,900 who died overseas. Consular staff are contactable 24/7, 365 days a year. Staff across the FCDO network invest continually in relationships with governments, local authorities and third-party organisations around the world to enable the FCDO to support the UK's international priorities, including support for British nationals overseas.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to improve coordination with local governments to expedite consular processes for British citizens.

The FCDO provides tailored consular assistance to more than 20,000 British nationals abroad in new cases every year and supports an additional c. 8,000 involved in long-running cases. In FY 2022/23 this included support to c. 4,000 arrested or detained British nationals, c.3,500 who were hospitalised and c.1,300 who were victims of crime. Consular staff also supported the families of c.4,900 who died overseas. Consular staff are contactable 24/7, 365 days a year. Staff across the FCDO network invest continually in relationships with governments, local authorities and third-party organisations around the world to enable the FCDO to support the UK's international priorities, including support for British nationals overseas.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Prime Minister has received an invitation to the US President's inauguration.

The Prime Minister congratulates President Trump on his inauguration and looks forward to working with him. The US is a dependable ally.The precedent is that only Ambassadors based in Washington DC are invited to attend the inauguration ceremony as representatives of foreign governments. Individual MPs or notable figures from the UK and other countries may attend at the invitation of individual members of congress, or Party officials, but they will be attending in a personal capacity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will end aid spending to countries which have a space programme.

We are committed to taking a modern approach to international development and to using our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to achieve better development outcomes as part of a coherent international approach, with a strong focus on poverty reduction and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Over the coming months, Ministers will decide 2025/26 ODA allocations to lay the foundations for our ODA spending in future years. These will be published in the next Annual Report and Accounts.The next phase of the Spending Review will set departmental budgets from 2026/27 to 2029/30.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on steps to tackle Islamic extremism in Europe.

Reducing the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from terrorism, violent extremism and extremism is a high UK Government priority. These threats are global challenges and international co-operation is essential. We already work closely with our European partners on all three topics, both bilaterally and through our close security relationship with the EU. We held our first dedicated UK-EU Counter Terrorism Dialogue in February 2024 and will host the next iteration in February this year. I regularly discuss joint-working with European counterparts to tackle terrorism, violent extremism and extremism in all their forms. I work closely with my counterpart, the Home Office Security Minister and other Ministerial colleagues, on these issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support the family of Tyler Kerry following his death in Turkey and (b) help ensure that their concerns about the investigation are

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been providing consular support to Mr Kerry's family since 29 November. FCDO support for bereaved families includes providing guidance on bereavement support; repatriation; and media handling alo...