Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) ASEAN, (b) Five Eyes and (c) Japanese partners on (i) improving humanitarian aid access into Myanmar and (ii) best practice for ensuring aid reaches civilians most in need.

The UK is deeply concerned about Myanmar's worsening situation and growing humanitarian needs. On 1st February, the UK-led Joint Statement (which included all Five-Eyes as co-signatories), marking four years since the coup, called for the Myanmar military regime to de-escalate violence and ensure safe humanitarian access. At the ASEAN summit in July, the Foreign Secretary emphasised the need for full implementation of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus to ensure safe humanitarian access across Myanmar. The G7 Foreign Ministers statement in November called on the Myanmar military regime to allow full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access in Myanmar. Over 54 per cent of the UK's support to Myanmar is directed through local civil society partners to ensure it reaches those most in need.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the annual budget of the Soft Power Council is.

The first meeting of the Soft Power Council on 15 January was financed from within existing budgets. As the Council is a new area of activity, we continue, jointly with the Department for Culture Media and Sport, to work up a comprehensive spending review bid that will determine the Soft Power Council budget in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Syrian refugees (a) in the UK and (b) globally who are returning to Syria.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum seekers and refugees who come to the UK in the 'Immigration System Statistics' quarterly release. The Home Office does not track the addresses of individuals once they have been granted refugee status, and refugees are free to move around or leave the UK.As of 30 January, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimate that some 237,000 Syrians have returned to Syria since the fall of Assad. These figures include Syrians returning from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, as well those transiting from beyond the region.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to deliver humanitarian aid to support the Syrian people.

In response to recent events, humanitarian aid agencies have rapidly scaled up the ongoing international aid effort to support Syrians inside Syria and across the region. The UK announced an additional £61 million to support this. We have strict measures in place to ensure UK aid reaches those most in need. We conduct rigorous and robust checks to ensure aid goes to the people that need it, delivers value for money and protects against aid diversion.The UK is working with the UN and other partners to ensure the aid response meets needs most effectively. To this end, we continue to advocate for flexible humanitarian funding, strengthened co-ordination, an updated needs assessment, and unimpeded access.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle gender-based violence through the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023 to 2030.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. We are scaling up evidence-based approaches to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) through homes, schools and workplaces through the What Works to Prevent Violence programme, investing £67.5 million.In November, we announced £27 million to tackle technology-facilitated GBV, and £5 million additional funding to help grassroots organisations to tackle child marriage. We are continuing to mobilise action on GBV at national and international levels. For example, at COP29, we launched a report on GBV and climate, co-produced by the UK and Australia, and learnt from women on the front line of the climate crisis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of the treatment of Christian refugees from Myanmar in India.

The UK Government is committed defending religious freedom for all in Myanmar. We are aware of Myanmar Christian refugees in India's Christian-majority states, Nagaland, and Mizoram. We continue to raise concerns about discrimination of religious minorities in international forums, including through our co-sponsorship of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar in April 2024, which underscored the importance of addressing the root cause of violations against religious minorities, including Christians. Additionally, we provide funding to the UN's Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and have established the Myanmar Witness programme to collect and preserve evidence of violations and abuses, including atrocities against religious minority groups within Myanmar.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support UK research into neglected tropical diseases.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is supporting the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a Product Development Partnership that develops novel medicines for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). DNDi partners with over 40 academic partners in the UK for its vital research. In addition, the FCDO is in the process of finalising an agreement to support a UK academic institution with the development of novel health technologies for NTDs.The FCDO also supports UK research capability via our partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC). This includes research on NTDs led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine on the design of a community-based intervention for snakebite prevention funded through the FCDO/MRC Concordat.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the planned frequency of meetings of the Soft Power Council is.

The Council aims to meet in plenary on a roughly quarterly basis. Smaller working groups and roundtables with the Council's members will form to examine specific geographies, themes and issues, with frequency of meetings calibrated according to need.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of disruptions to energy supply in (a) Transnistria and (b) Moldova.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 January 2025 to Question 25252 [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-01-21/25252].

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on building UK research capacity in neglected tropical diseases.

FCDO ministers speak regularly with ministers across government on all matters related to their portfolios, including global health and building the UK's scientific capacity. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is supporting the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a Product Development Partnership that develops novel medicines for Neglected Tropical Diseases. DNDi partners with over 40 academic partners in the UK for its vital research. In addition, the FCDO is in the process of finalising an agreement to support a UK academic institution with the development of novel health technologies for Neglected Tropical Diseases.The FCDO also supports UK research capability via our partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC). This includes research on NTDs led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine on the design of a community-based intervention for snakebite prevention funded through the FCDO/MRC Concordat.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on initiatives outlined in the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023–2030.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of all we do across our diplomatic and development activity. The Foreign Secretary and I have regular discussions with the Chancellor, including on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The FCDO's ODA programme allocations for 2024/25 will be published shortly. Ministers will consider ODA allocations for 2025/26 over the coming months and will publish them in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. The second phase of the Spending Review, concluding in late spring 2025, will set departmental ODA budgets for future years, including to support women and girls.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funds have been allocated by his Department to support initiatives outlined in the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023–2030.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of all we do across our diplomatic and development activity. The Foreign Secretary and I have regular discussions with the Chancellor, including on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The FCDO's ODA programme allocations for 2024/25 will be published shortly. Ministers will consider ODA allocations for 2025/26 over the coming months and will publish them in the Annual Report & Accounts in summer 2025. The second phase of the Spending Review, concluding in late spring 2025, will set departmental ODA budgets for future years, including to support women and girls.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the British Council (a) funding model and (b) loan repayment terms on the effectiveness of the British Council at promoting and supporting UK soft power.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has provided the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. The British Council's Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the British Council's financial sustainability. The Government is committed to working with the British Council to ensure its financial sustainability. The FCDO is exploring all options with the British Council and HM Treasury to ensure this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 21997 on Syria: Armed Conflict, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that aid will reach women and girls.

Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria. In the financial year of 2023/24, 53 percent of UK humanitarian programming in Syria has helped provide health, sexual and reproductive health services, education and vocational training to over 690,000 women and girls. UK support delivered through trusted aid organisations on the ground, including United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) and non-governmental organisations - targets those most vulnerable in a crisis, including women and girls, the elderly, and people with disabilities. We continue to call for unhindered access for and facilitation of humanitarian operations across the whole of Syria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on restructuring the repayment terms for British Council loans owed to the Government.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working closely with the British Council and HM Treasury on this issue.The loan was made on commercial terms to ensure compliance with the UK subsidy control regime. The Government remains committed to recovering the loan when the British Council's finances allow.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help the British Council become financially self-sufficient.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has provided the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. The British Council's Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the British Council's financial sustainability. The Government is committed to working with the British Council to ensure its financial sustainability. The FCDO is exploring all options with the British Council and HM Treasury to ensure this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22284 on Development Aid: Nutrition, if he will provide a timeline for (a) reviewing and (b) finalising his Department’s approach to N4G 2025.

The UK continues to look forward to the 2025 Nutrition for Growth summit. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials continue to work closely with French counterparts to build momentum in the lead up to the summit and will announce plans for events in Paris in due course in collaboration with French organisers. The UK continues to champion the integration of improved nutrition outcomes alongside successes in other sectors including health, agriculture, humanitarian, and climate, and intends to make commitments in March.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22001 on Belarus: Sanctions, who has been appointed to lead the cross-Government review of sanctions enforcement.

I launched the cross-Government review of sanctions at the first Small Ministerial Group on enforcement in October. The review is examining whether we have the right powers, approach, capacity and resourcing on policy, implementation and enforcement, with an urgent focus on strengthening the latter. The objectives are to make our sanctions easier to comply with, increase the deterrent effect of enforcement and maximise the flexibility of our cross-government toolkit. It is being led by the FCDO in collaboration with key sanctions Departments and is expected to conclude in Spring 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to publish the outcomes of his Department's consultation on it's Africa policy.

The Foreign Secretary launched a five-month consultation to inform the UK's new approach to the African continent during his visit to Nigeria and South Africa in November. This follows the manifesto commitment to develop a fundamentally transformed partnership that engages with African countries as equals, promotes our economic growth ambitions and supports migration priorities. The new approach will be informed by the consultation and published later this year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of funding provided by his Department to (a) LAFIYA-UK and (b) other health programmes in Nigeria.

The UK has worked to strengthen the health sector in Nigeria for over two decades, with the current flagship Lafiya programme reaching 40 million people across Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Borno and Yobe states. It does this by firstly strengthening existing health systems; secondly by providing extra resilience in healthcare for particularly vulnerable areas in Northern Nigeria; and finally, by improving access to family planning across Nigeria. All programmes in the health sector in Nigeria are reviewed annually for their effectiveness in line with all FCDO-funded programmes. In its most recent annual review, Lafiya scored an A+ rating.