Written questions by McMurdock.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to encourage respect for a) democratic processes and b) human rights.

The issues raised in the Hon Member's question are among the most important priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and our work in these areas cannot adequately be summarised in the answer to one parliamentary question. However, he can find regular updates about them by following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what is the purpose of the project entitled Board game [Belarus] Shtetl.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how many migrants have been supported by the project entitled Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration for Migrants Stranded on the Territory of Belarus.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much foreign aid has been spent in Belarus since 2020.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how much has been spent on the project entitled Board game [Belarus] Shtetl.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what has been the total cost of the project entitled Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration for Migrants Stranded on the Territory of Belarus.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, whether any of the people supported by the project entitled Social care and dementia support to Jewish communities in Belarus are British citizens.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, what policy objective is there for creating the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, how much has been spent to date on the project entitled Promoting Belarusian national identity.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Eastern Neighbourhood Small Projects Programme, whether she has any plans to continue providing foreign aid to Belarus beyond current commitments.

The UK does not provide funding to the Belarusian regime. Assistance in Belarus is delivered through our Embassy in Minsk and is focused on supporting vulnerable people and communities who have limited or no access to alternative charitable support. Such projects are small scale and humanitarian in nature. The Hon Member can find details of all programmes supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at the Development Tracker website on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. The information the Hon Member has requested is therefore not centrally held and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Peter Mandelson played a role in discussions with the United States on the sovereignty and future governance of the Chagos Islands.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether foreign aid has been distributed in Afghanistan since 2021.

The Hon Member can find details of all UK Official Development Assistance spending in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) annual accounts, or in the annual statistics on international development published on GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the projected spending for the Chevening Scholarships programme is for each year from 2026 to 2030.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 23 February to question 112516. The top 10 countries in terms of scholar numbers were Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, India, China, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Malaysia.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the budget is for the Chevening Scholarships programme in each year from 2024 to 2030.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 23 February to question 112516. The top 10 countries in terms of scholar numbers were Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, India, China, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Malaysia.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which ten countries' students have received the greatest number of Chevening Scholarships and Fellowships in the last ten years.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 23 February to question 112516. The top 10 countries in terms of scholar numbers were Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, India, China, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Malaysia.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to her Department’s ‘Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey,’ programme, what assessment she has made of the cost-effectiveness of the funding spent on this programme so far.

The Government is working with Turkey to help it manage the challenges of hosting approximately 2.3 million refugees, the majority of whom have fled conflict and persecution in Syria. The February 2023 earthquakes near the Turkish-Syrian border had a devastating impact on refugee communities, killing thousands and destroying much of the temporary accommodation in which they had been staying.The Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey programme helps to ensure refugees receive humanitarian assistance, decent livelihoods and education, and aims to prevent onward movement into Western Europe. The programme also helps Syrian refugees make informed decisions about voluntarily returning to their own country when conditions allow.Proposed programme activities are assessed in advance for the impact they will have in meeting the UK's development partnership objectives and for their cost-effectiveness in achieving that impact. Official Development Assistance programmes are evaluated on an ongoing basis for their performance against their agreed objectives and for their delivery on time and on budget. The programme undergoes regular monitoring and is rigorously reviewed annually to assess performance against its targets and objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey programme in preventing onward migration to (a) Europe and (b) the UK.

The Government is working with Turkey to help it manage the challenges of hosting approximately 2.3 million refugees, the majority of whom have fled conflict and persecution in Syria. The February 2023 earthquakes near the Turkish-Syrian border had a devastating impact on refugee communities, killing thousands and destroying much of the temporary accommodation in which they had been staying.The Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey programme helps to ensure refugees receive humanitarian assistance, decent livelihoods and education, and aims to prevent onward movement into Western Europe. The programme also helps Syrian refugees make informed decisions about voluntarily returning to their own country when conditions allow.Proposed programme activities are assessed in advance for the impact they will have in meeting the UK's development partnership objectives and for their cost-effectiveness in achieving that impact. Official Development Assistance programmes are evaluated on an ongoing basis for their performance against their agreed objectives and for their delivery on time and on budget. The programme undergoes regular monitoring and is rigorously reviewed annually to assess performance against its targets and objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey programme at supporting the survival of refugees in that country.

The Government is working with Turkey to help it manage the challenges of hosting approximately 2.3 million refugees, the majority of whom have fled conflict and persecution in Syria. The February 2023 earthquakes near the Turkish-Syrian border had a devastating impact on refugee communities, killing thousands and destroying much of the temporary accommodation in which they had been staying.The Building Refugee Resilience and Inclusion in Turkey programme helps to ensure refugees receive humanitarian assistance, decent livelihoods and education, and aims to prevent onward movement into Western Europe. The programme also helps Syrian refugees make informed decisions about voluntarily returning to their own country when conditions allow.Proposed programme activities are assessed in advance for the impact they will have in meeting the UK's development partnership objectives and for their cost-effectiveness in achieving that impact. Official Development Assistance programmes are evaluated on an ongoing basis for their performance against their agreed objectives and for their delivery on time and on budget. The programme undergoes regular monitoring and is rigorously reviewed annually to assess performance against its targets and objectives.