Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the potential impact of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan on women and girls.

Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of this humanitarian crisis due to systematic Taliban oppression. As I set out in my statement of 17 June, our independent monitoring shows that our assistance continues to reach vulnerable people, including women and girls. The UK government remains committed that at least 50% of people reached by UK aid are women and girls. We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's abhorrent policies towards women and girls and remain united with the international community in our firm opposition to continued restrictions. Upholding human rights and gender equality is not only a moral imperative but also essential for building a stable, inclusive, and prosperous country for all Afghans.

What steps is she taking to support West Midlands Police to tackle unauthorised encampments.

The Government keeps police powers under regular review to ensure they remain effective.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the proportion of official development assistance that is being delivered through grassroots women-led delivery partners.

Following the Spending Review, detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of ongoing resource allocation processes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We remain focused on supporting and partnering with women's rights organisations and movements, recognising that there is strong evidence that grassroots women-led delivery partners play a significant role in securing and advancing women's rights as well as driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups. For example, the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme (2024-29) announced by the Prime Minister in December 2024 will strengthen local and national civil society organisations and movements to expand access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and counter rollback, within their own communities and countries. We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he taking is to encourage (a) large humanitarian aid donors, (b) multilateral organisations and (c) other partner nations to provide funding for women-led grassroots organisations in official development assistance-recipient countries.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is putting women and girls at the centre of our international work. We remain focused on supporting and partnering with women's rights organisations and movements, recognising that there is strong evidence that grassroots women-led delivery partners play a significant role in securing and advancing women's rights as well as driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups.We will use our convening power and diplomacy to maximise our impact in these areas. This includes by increasing the use of expertise to provide technical assistance to partner governments, and by using our voice to hold multilateral organisations to account on delivery for women and girls.

Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the funding announced for the 10‑year Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review 2025 will be spent in the West Midlands.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

What assessment has she made of the adequacy of police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments.

The Government keeps police powers under regular review to ensure they remain effective.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59018 on Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: Finance, what funding his Department has allocated for the financial year 2025/26.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) initial 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations aim to maximise the FCDO's flexibility ahead of setting final ODA allocations, while meeting legally binding commitments and existing live contracts and agreements. We will publish our final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) pregnant women and (b) young children have access to (i) malnutrition treatment and (ii) health services in Afghanistan.

We are gravely concerned about the health and nutrition situation in Afghanistan. Access to essential and nutrition services for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children is limited especially for those in rural areas and is exacerbated by Taliban restrictions on women's movement requiring male chaperones. We continue to urge the Taliban to reverse restrictions on women and girls and improve access to essential services. We have adapted our support to provide more flexible funding to help sustain essential and lifesaving health and malnutrition treatment and prevention services, including for reproductive, maternal and newborn services. We are working with other donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to protect health system capacity including routine immunisations for children and reproductive and maternal services for pregnant women. We are convening key partners and donors to strengthen our collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Afghanistan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of humanitarian funding to Afghanistan in response to warnings by the World Food Programme that it can only reach 10% of food-insecure Afghans.

The UK is taking a leading role to support the people of Afghanistan. The UK remains one of the most generous donors to the humanitarian response and we continue to engage with the UN and other donors to sustain support for aid organisations in country.Last financial year we provided £171 million to support Afghans affected by the ongoing crisis. This included £65 million to the World Food Programme who remain one of our primary partners in country. We continue to monitor the situation closely and expect to continue to be a key donor to the humanitarian response in Afghanistan going forward.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of (a) 298 nutrition centres and (b) 420 health facilities on humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan in 2025.

We remain gravely concerned about the declining health and nutrition status of the most vulnerable Afghans. We are monitoring the impact of the closures of health and nutrition facilities on the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, and estimate that services for more than 3 million people are impacted. We continue to urge the Taliban to reverse their deadly ban on girls and women receiving medical education. We have adapted our support to provide more flexible funding to help sustain essential and lifesaving health and malnutrition treatment and prevention services. We are working with other donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to safeguard health system capacity including routine immunisations for children and disease surveillance systems. We are convening key partners and donors to strengthen our collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Afghanistan.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many vehicles were seized in relation to waste crime offences in each of the last three years.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions, including vehicles seized, to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. We are conducting a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.

Food and Rural Affairs, when statutory fly‑tipping enforcement guidance for local authorities will be published; and what his planned timeline is for its implementation.

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. Following Royal Assent, we will carry out a consultation with relevant stakeholders including local authorities. Once the consultation has concluded and responses taken into account, we will look to publish the guidance as soon as is practical.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to allocate funding to enable (a) local police forces and (b) community groups to use (i) ANPR cameras, (ii) roadside CCTV and (iii) drones to (A) investigate and (B) deter fly‑tipping.

The Government has no plans to allocate funding to enable local police forces and community groups to use ANPR cameras, roadside CCTV and drones to investigate and deter fly-tipping. Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities and countryside with local authorities usually responsible for investigating and taking enforcement action. Their enforcement powers include prosecution, fixed penalty notices of up to £1,000 and seizing vehicles of fly-tippers. We want to see local authorities take the fight to waste criminals and we are taking steps to help them do so. For example, we have announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool, such as by utilising existing technology like drones and mobile CCTV cameras. We are also currently taking steps to develop new guidance on fly-tipping enforcement to help local authorities across the country exercise their powers more consistently. The procurement and positioning of ANPR cameras are operational decisions for Chief Officers. We want to see local authorities work in partnership with others, including the police, to share intelligence and bolster operational activity. We will continue to work with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group to highlight and share best practice with regards to tackling fly-tipping. Various practical tools, including case studies involving CCTV and a guide on establishing partnerships, are available from their website https://nftpg.com/.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated by his Department to the Joint Unit for Waste Crime in the 2025-26 financial year; and whether he plans to allocate additional funding to support regional enforcement partnerships.

In 2025/26 the Government is providing £12 million to the Environment Agency (EA) to tackle waste crime. It is for the EA to decide how much of this is directed to the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC), but in the current year it is funding 18 posts, an increase of 8 compared to 2024/25. The EA is not the only contributor to JUWC capability; with permanent or time-limited resources being provided by other bodies.

What steps she has taken to help tackle rates of group-based child sexual exploitation in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) West Yorkshire, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Telford since the publication of Baroness Casey's audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse; and what additional resources her Department has allocated for (a) investigation and (b) prevention.

On 16 June the Government accepted all 12 recommendations made to Government in Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales. We will announce further details on implementation of these measures in due course.In January, the Government announced an additional £2.5 million funding for the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to bolster its efforts to provide practical, expert, on the ground support for all 43 police forces in England and Wales. We also asked all 43 police forces to work with the Taskforce to re-open grooming gangs cases where no further action was taken. Since January, more than 800 cases have been re-opened thanks to this work.

Whether her Department has set targets for improving (a) victim protection, (b) justice outcomes and (c) support services since the publication of Baroness Casey's audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

On 16 June the Government accepted all 12 recommendations made to Government in Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales. We will announce further details on implementation of these measures in due course.In January, the Government announced an additional £2.5 million funding for the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to bolster its efforts to provide practical, expert, on the ground support for all 43 police forces in England and Wales. We also asked all 43 police forces to work with the Taskforce to re-open grooming gangs cases where no further action was taken. Since January, more than 800 cases have been re-opened thanks to this work.

How much funding has been allocated to the national inquiry into grooming gangs; and what steps she has taken to ensure (a) that there is survivor-led engagement and (b) that statutory powers are used to compel witness evidence.

On 16 June the Government accepted all 12 recommendations made to Government in Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales. We will announce further details on implementation of these measures in due course.In January, the Government announced an additional £2.5 million funding for the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to bolster its efforts to provide practical, expert, on the ground support for all 43 police forces in England and Wales. We also asked all 43 police forces to work with the Taskforce to re-open grooming gangs cases where no further action was taken. Since January, more than 800 cases have been re-opened thanks to this work.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an estimate of the annual profits generated by organised criminals who engage in waste crime.

It is estimated that waste crime costs the UK economy around £1 billion per year. However, it is impossible to assess how much of this is “profit” for organised criminals.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that landowners are not held financially responsible for clearing fly‑tipped waste from their private land.

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. Local authorities are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their areas. We want to see an effective enforcement strategy at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem, and we are taking steps to help councils make good use of their powers. Doing so can help deter criminals from dumping waste in our countryside in the first place. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers, including prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. While sentencing is a matter for the court, the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group has produced a guide on presenting robust court cases. The group also helps share best practice on preventing fly-tipping on private land. These, and other practical tools, are available from their webpage at: https://nftpg.com/.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase coordination between (a) the Environment Agency, (b) local authorities and (c) police forces to tackle organised waste crime.

The Joint Unit for Waste Crime, hosted by the Environment Agency, is a multi-agency taskforce established specifically to share intelligence and operational capability and capacity to tackle serious and organised criminality in the waste sector. When appropriate, this includes liaison and intelligence sharing with local authorities’ Since its formation in 2020 it has significantly enhanced interoperability and cooperation among criminal justice partners including the police, enabling more effective targeting of Organised Criminal Groups.