Written questions by Naish.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the Arab Plan for Early Recovery, Reconstruction and Development.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, alongside Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy on 8 March. To prepare for implementation, the UK has been working with partners to build international support for the Arab plan. In addition, we are exploring innovative finance mechanisms to scale up financing. With our Egyptian partners, we will be co-chairing the Humanitarian and Reconstruction working group at the postponed Two State Solution conference. We will use this opportunity to further mobilise international support for the plan and cohere international donor support and planning.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made a human rights risk assessment on the (a) diplomatic privileges and (b) surveillance capabilities at the proposed Chinese Embassy site in Royal Mint Court.

National security is the first duty of Government. It has been our core priority throughout this process. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. As part of this, the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted a letter to the Planning Inspector to make clear that for China to be permitted to build the new embassy, the UK government will need to see the implementation of suitable national security mitigations. A final decision on this case will be made in due course by Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. It would not be appropriate to comment on any specific issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Education on implementation of the recommendations of the report by British Future entitled Working it Out: Hong Kongers, Employment and the Cost of Living, published on 29 October 2024.

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, strengthening the thick web of connections between our societies and remaining steadfast in commitment to the BN(O) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow. Government Departments continue to work together in support of that objective. The BN(O) Welcome Programme continues to provide support to Hong Kongers in the UK, including through a network of 12 Welcome Hubs helping BN(O)s understand and connect to services in their local area.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will issue an apology for the lack of (a) referendum and (b) recognition of the right to self-determination for Hong Kong residents prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China.

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration committed China to preserve Hong Kong's way of life for a period of at least 50 years. Since 2021, the UK has considered China to be in a state of ongoing non-compliance with the Joint Declaration.As a co-signatory of the Joint Declaration, the UK will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.The UK has demonstrated its historic and moral commitment to Hong Kongers who have chosen to retain their ties to the UK through the bespoke visa route for British National (Overseas) status holders and their families.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on guaranteeing the long-term continuation of the British National (Overseas) visa scheme for eligible individuals from Hong Kong.

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on the impact of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper on British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders.

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department had discussions with the Home Office on the development of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper; and what representations his Department has made since its publication on the potential impact of the white paper on British National (Overseas) visa holders.

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper on the UK's foreign policy in relation to Hong Kong.

As the Foreign Secretary said in the latest 6-monthly Report, this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa route. The UK provides a welcoming home to Hong Kongers today and it will continue to do so for Hong Kongers tomorrow.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation. As with all matters, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in close communication with the Home Office on how best to deliver the Government's objectives.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered bringing forward legislative proposals that are similar to the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act.

The UK has called for the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it.It is not appropriate to speculate on future legislative proposals or potential future sanctions, as to do so could reduce their impact, but we keep our sanctions powers, regimes, designations and measures under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with EU member states on securing new bilateral voting rights agreements.

Prior to the UK's departure from the EU, in December 2018, the UK wrote to all 27 EU Member States signalling willingness to enter into bilateral agreements to ensure continuity of local election voting and candidacy rights (VCR) for each other's citizens.Some EU countries already grant local voting rights to UK nationals, and we have bilateral agreements with other EU Member States.A number of EU Member States have constitutional barriers which prevent them from entering into bilateral agreements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to support state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the context of alleged attempts to undermine the Dayton Peace Accords.

In response to unconstitutional activities by Republika Srpska entity President Dodik, the UK, with European counterparts, is working to ensure a strong and unified international response that encourages Bosnian state institutions to act to protect Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) sovereignty and stability. At the UN and other multilateral fora we have coordinated backing for BiH state institutions to resolve the current political crisis. We welcome the High Representative's clear statements setting out support for the state institutions. The Foreign Secretary, the Special Envoy and I continue to engage leaders in BiH and the region in support of BiH's territorial integrity. I reiterated these messages to BiH Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković and the High Representative of BiH when we met on 12 April, and recently convened Quint partners with my French counterpart to discuss our response to these destabilising and undermining actions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Nicaragua on the suppression of (a) human rights and (b) religious freedoms in that country.

We share widespread international concern about the relentless suppression of democratic, religious, and other freedoms in Nicaragua. We continue to urge the Nicaraguan authorities to re-establish democratic freedoms in our engagements with the Nicaraguan Embassy and in Managua, as well as through our public statements in international fora. Most recently, on 28 February at the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, we raised our grave human rights concerns, including relating to freedom of religion and belief, and arbitrary detentions. Nicaragua's declaration on 27 February that it is leaving the UN Human Rights Council does not change the need to hold the authorities accountable for the suppression of human rights in Nicaragua.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that sanctions placed on Russia by (a) the UK and (b) other countries are not being circumvented by Serbia.

Russia is making extensive efforts to circumvent sanctions in order to maintain its military machine. Our focus is on stopping these critical goods from reaching Russia and deprive Russia from generating revenue to fund the war. That includes ensuring our sanctions are as effective as possible. We are coordinating closely with G7 partners on our efforts to tackle circumvention risks across a number of priority countries including Serbia, and our support has ranged from technical assistance to diplomatic engagement at all levels.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to place sanctions on Naftna Industrija Srbije.

On 10 January the UK designated Gazprom Neft, one of Russia's energy giants. We do not comment on future designations as this could affect their impact. We keep all evidence and potential designations under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered re-joining the EUFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of a new security pact with the EU.

Europe's security is critical to our own and we recognise the contribution of many of the EU's military operations and missions to regional security. We see the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) as vital for peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). We are open to discussions about opportunities for the UK to cooperate more closely with EU missions, considering UK engagement on a case-by-case basis. We will continue to support security and stability in BiH through our bilateral contributions in support of their Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to support steps to help tackle malnutrition at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris in March 2025; and whether he plans to maintain funding for such programmes in the official development assistance budget from 2027.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.The UK worked in close partnership with France to make the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris a success. The Minister for International Development led the UK delegation. Alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, the Minister launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration.Partners have welcomed the Compact as a new initiative to drive change, and a positive signal of the UK's continued leadership on development. We will continue to support new approaches like this as we modernise our approach to international development.