Written questions by Shannon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help protect Ahmadi places of worship worldwide.

The UK Government is committed to championing the right to freedom of religion or belief, for all, everywhere. We are aware of reports of the desecration of Ahmadi Mosques in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation. The Minister for the Middle East underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when he met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November, and also discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November. In response to the desecration of an Ahmadi Mosque in Daska on 16 January, the British High Commissioner raised the issue of Ahmadi Muslim rights in a message to the Punjab Minorities Minister, on 23 January. We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people, including religious minorities, in accordance with international standards.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Iraqi counterpart on the recent memorandum of understanding between BP and the Iraqi government on Iraqi oil fields.

The Foreign Secretary met with Prime Minister Sudani and Foreign Minister Hussein during their Guest of Government visit to the UK. The BP deal was not raised during these engagements. This was a commercial agreement between the Government of Iraq and BP. The Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in Syria, development of the UK-Iraq security partnership, expanding trade (including £12.3 billion of export wins for UK companies announced during the visit) and cooperation on irregular migration. During their engagement, the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Hussein signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Climate Change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with Lord Hoffmann on the renewal of his tenure as a Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal judge; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this appointment on the Government's support for political freedom in Hong Kong.

Retired UK judges that choose to serve on Hong Kong courts do so under their own personal judgement, which is their right as private citizens. The UK judiciary and legal profession remain independent from the UK Government. It is for remaining retired UK judges to decide for themselves whether to continue their service in Hong Kong.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to provide humanitarian aid in Sudan.

The UK continues to provide humanitarian assistance to support people in Sudan and those who have fled the country. The UK has recently doubled its Official Development Assistance (ODA) this year in response to the conflict in Sudan to £226.5 million - the vast majority of which is spent on vital humanitarian aid including support for the regional refugee crisis. This funding includes support to key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF who are providing life-saving food assistance in Sudan. We are also one of the largest donors to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which delivers life-saving multi-sectoral support to communities across Sudan and is now piloting support to the Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs). The UK also continues to support the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including their work on emergency preparedness and response, protection of civilians, and providing life-saving healthcare across Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has plans to provide financial support to (a) local women-led initiatives and (b) community groups in Afghanistan.

In 2024/2025, we are providing £161 million for humanitarian and essential services support to the most vulnerable and marginalised Afghans, through trusted non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies. We are committed that at least 50 percent of people reached with UK aid in Afghanistan will be women and girls. Through our contribution to the World Bank led Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF), we have supported a $20 million project of support to Afghanistan civil society. The project has supported NGOs and civil society organisations (CSOs) that improve basic service delivery and promote socio-economic empowerment of women and girls, including 100 women-led organisations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of humanitarian aid provided to help promote freedom of religion or belief in Pakistan is spent in-country.

The UK works to promote freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Pakistan through our diplomatic engagement and programme funding. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November. The British High Commission also regularly raises FoRB issues at the highest levels. The UK-funded Aawaz programme supports both policy development and community empowerment to promote the rights of marginalised groups, including religious minorities. However, the UK Government does not ringfence UK Aid for FoRB programming in Pakistan, nor do we report UK Aid spending along religious lines.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help de-escalate violence against Christians in Nigeria.

The UK Government is committed to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). We do this through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising FoRB bilaterally with the Government of Nigeria and other influential parties. This includes advocating for the protections of all vulnerable communities including religious minorities. The UK also supports programmes working to address the complex root causes of intercommunal violence in Nigeria through locally led peace-building efforts. This support aims to reduce intercommunal tensions by improving access to security and justice, and natural resource management in specific areas across northern Nigeria. In addition, the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) works with Nigeria's security forces to tackle violence against all civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and beliefs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of persecution of Christians in North Korea.

The UK is deeply concerned by reports from North Korean escapees, which tell of serious human rights offences and persecution of those who are caught practising religion. It is unacceptable that citizens face surveillance, imprisonment or even death because of their religion or belief. We will continue to raise human rights issues in all relevant meetings with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) officials through multilateral and bilateral channels. Following the DPRK's Universal Period review in November 2024 in which the UK raised the issue of freedom of religion, we remain committed to engaging with the DPRK on their approach to human rights.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in the new Syrian government on protecting the rights of minority religious communities in Syria.

The Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of an inclusive political process with interim Foreign Minister Al Shaybani during a meeting in Riyadh on 12 January. In December 2024, senior FCDO officials met with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the interim Foreign Minister. They highlighted the need to protect the rights of all civilians, including religious minorities. We are closely monitoring the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will continue to advocate for the right of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Syria and for an inclusive political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of aid sent to Ukraine to help track down Russian war criminals.

The UK has provided £10.7 million in aid supporting Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. This includes launching the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group in May 2022 in partnership with the EU and US, to ensure our donor support to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is coordinated and targeted at areas where Ukraine most needs to develop its accountability efforts. Support from the UK has equipped Ukrainian prosecutors and law enforcement officials with vital open-source information gathering skills, allowing them to effectively collect evidence and build comprehensive legal cases against alleged war criminals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria during December 2024.

The UK is committed to supporting Nigeria to address ongoing security challenges, including intercommunal violence and violent extremism, which continue to impinge on the rights of Nigerians to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). The root causes of this violence are complex, and whilst religious identity can play a role, so can loss of economic opportunity, competition over land and natural resources. Our support includes funding to programmes which strengthen mechanisms to resolve conflict and build resilience in affected communities. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, we also engage with Nigerian security actors to address these complex issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK aid to Pakistan is not used to support human rights abuses in Balochistan.

The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan, including in Balochistan. Whilst UK Aid does not directly deliver in Balochistan, the UK Government continues to engage with the Government of Pakistan on human rights matters. I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Pakistani Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister, during my visit to Pakistan in November 2024. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan in accordance with its constitution and international standards.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of China's treatment of Falun Gong practitioners.

The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.This Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement. For example, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi and Foreign Minister Wang).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Syrian counterpart on the protection of Christians in that country.

The Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of an inclusive political process with interim Foreign Minister Al Shaybani during a meeting in Riyadh on 12 January. In December, senior Foreign Office officials met with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the interim Foreign Minister. They highlighted the need to protect the rights of all civilians, including religious minorities. We are closely monitoring the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will continue to advocate for the right of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Syria and for an inclusive political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK-US relationship.

The United States is an indispensable ally and the Foreign Secretary is deeply committed to strengthening the UK-US relationship. In September, he hosted the first UK-US Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Our depar...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on protecting religious minorities from hate crimes, (b) promoting accountability for perpetrators of violence and

We work to protect and promote human rights in Pakistan through our diplomatic engagement and programme funding. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November. On 2...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Syrian counterpart on the (a) humanitarian situation in that country, (b) treatment of religious minorities in that country and (c) st

The Foreign Secretary does not have an official counterpart in Syria. He has not had discussions with the interim authorities.The UK has been at the forefront of the response to fast moving events in Syria. The UK Special Envoy for Syria and I are speakin...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of aid provided by his Department's Freedom of Religion or Belief programme in financial year 2024-25.

The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Holy See on the future of the Tridentine Mass at the Chartres pilgrimage in France.

This is an internal matter for the Catholic Church. We continue to engage the Holy See regularly bilaterally and in multilateral fora on areas of mutual interest. Most recently, on 27 November Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner met Cardinal Parolin, with...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of changes in the level of anti-Christian (a) discrimination and (b) hate crimes in Europe.

There is no space for religious intolerance in pluralistic, modern societies. This Government is committed to using the strength of our global network to protect and promote Freedom of Religion or Belief for all. This work is mutually reinforcing of our w...