Written questions by Lewis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the findings and recommendations of research conducted by the University of Essex on the prevalence of non-sexual violence against women and girls in armed conflicts in fragile states; and if she will make it her policy to broaden the scope of her Department's Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan, published on 23 February 2023, for such states to also include non-sexual against women and girls.

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her department has made of the effectiveness of BBC World Service long-wave broadcasts into (a) Eastern Europe and (b) Russia in reaching audiences wit

The BBC is editorially and operationally independent, and must decide for itself the most effective and efficient way of delivering the BBC World Service, despite blocking and other forms of harmful interference in several parts of the world.The World Ser...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her policy is on the (a) amelioration and (b) cancellation of high-interest debts incurred by low-income countries; and what steps she plans to take to implement that po

Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a key priority of this government. Debt servicing costs are at their highest for 25 years and are crowding out vital investments in growth and development. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Devel...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has received from the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development on the effects of global debt on low-income countries; and what action she plan

Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a key priority of this government. Debt servicing costs are at their highest for 25 years and are crowding out vital investments in growth and development. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Devel...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of high-interest debt repayments by low-income countries on the ability of those countries to provide adequate (a)

Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a key priority of this government. Debt servicing costs are at their highest for 25 years and are crowding out vital investments in growth and development. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Devel...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the purpose is of the visit to Mauritius by UK officials on 22 April 2026; and what the principal subjects to be discussed are.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 February in response to Question 110763.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her policy to prevent the provision of (a) mosquito nets, (b) sunglasses and (c) water purifying systems from entering the British Indian Ocean Territory on vessels visiting the Chagos Archipelago to resupply the British Chagossians encamped there.

These are operational matters for the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT) Authority, discharged under the powers provided in the BIOT (Immigration) Order 2004.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost was of deploying a patrol vessel and personnel for the interception at sea of humanitarian aid for British Chagossian resettlers on 11 April 2026; and whether any personnel involved in that operation were deployed to the Chagos Archipelago from (a) the United Kingdom and (b) any other British jurisdiction for that mission.

These are operational matters for the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT) Authority, discharged under the powers provided in the BIOT (Immigration) Order 2004.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Mauritian counterpart on the arrest of the former Prime Minister of that country in relation to money laundering issues.

These legal proceedings are a matter for the Mauritian authorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands being ceded to Mauritius on (a) observance of and (b) the operation of AFCONE’s inspection regime for enforcing the Pelindaba Treaty; and whether her Department has raised these matters with counterparts in the United States.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 February to Question 109503 on the same issue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of (a) the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Paul Bérenger in Mauritius and (b) his allegations of corruption.

None of the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member are matters for the UK Government, and none of them have any bearing on the future status of the Diego Garcia base, or the treaty negotiated with Mauritius.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the timing of the public commentary by the government of Mauritius on the Iranian missile attack on Diego Garcia.

None of the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member are matters for the UK Government, and none of them have any bearing on the future status of the Diego Garcia base, or the treaty negotiated with Mauritius.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her US counterpart on the statement issued by the United Nations’ Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 8 December 2025 on the ratification of the UK-Mauritius agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago.

Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are in constant discussion with their US counterparts across a wide range of issues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications were made by (a) Chagossians and (b) other nationalities to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last 5 years; and how many of those applications were accepted.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the last trip was organised by the Government to the British Indian Ocean Territory for Chagossians to visit their homeland; and how many Chagossians participated in that visit.

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason Questions 113021 and 113433 on UNCLOS and the Chagos Islands, tabled on 12 February for answer on 24 and 25 February 2026 respectively, have not been answered; and when she plans to answer them.

The responses to questions 113021 and 113433 were provided to the Rt Hon Member on 10 and 5 March, respectively.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2026 to Question 113435 on BBC Monitoring: Finance, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of restoring dedicated funding for BBC Monitoring by her Department.

As stated in previous answers, the Government does not provide core funding for BBC Monitoring which is a matter for the BBC. However, when specific pieces of work are commissioned by Government, they are fully funded.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the representations made by the Government to the Chinese authorities (a) before and (b) since the imposition of the 20-year prison sentence on Jimmy Lai; and what undertakings were sought and received about Jimmy Lai during the Prime Minister's visit to China.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the responses given in the Urgent Question debate on 9 February. We will continue to update the House on Jimmy Lai's case.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to persuade (i) India and (ii) China to cease providing armaments to the Burmese military regime; and for what reason that regime's military attache has been permitted to remain in the United Kingdom.

The UK regularly raises the Myanmar crisis with China and other neighbouring countries, including at the UN Security Council (UNSC). Most recently, in December 2025, the UK convened a UNSC meeting, where we condemned military airstrikes against civilians. A summary is available on gov.uk at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/elections-under-the-current-circumstances-in-myanmar-risk-provoking-further-violence-uk-statement-on-myanmarUK sanctions include a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, and our 19th round of sanctions in 2024 targeted companies involved in the procurement of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar Armed Forces. As a long-standing policy, we do not speculate on further enforcement action, or comment on individual personnel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of differences between the (a) former State Administrative Council and (b) current State Security and Peace Commission in Myanmar as instruments of the Burmese military regime; and for what policy reason the sanctioning of the former body has not been carried forward to apply to its successor.

The UK Government uses sanctions to achieve a range of foreign and security policy objectives. We consider designations under our sanctions regimes, including the Myanmar Sanctions Regulations, as guided by the evidence and the objectives of the sanctions regime. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.