Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making a financial announcement following the Nutrition for Growth summit.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) remains committed to supporting nutrition in our development work.The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and the Caribbean led the UK's delegation to the recent Nutrition for Growth Summit, and reiterated our commitment to nutrition objectives, particularly integrating nutrition into our wider programming.The FCDO continues to report progress against our financial commitments through its annual Nutrition Accountability Report, as well as through updates to the Global Nutrition Report's Nutrition Accountability Framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 28555 on Nutrition for Growth Summit, whether it remains his policy to spend £1.5 billion on nutrition objectives by 2030.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) remains committed to supporting nutrition in our development work. The FCDO will be able to share further details once the Spending Review is concluded.The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and the Caribbean, led the UK's delegation to the recent Nutrition for Growth Summit, and reiterated our commitments to nutrition objectives particularly integrating nutrition into our wider programming.The FCDO continues to report progress against our financial commitments through its annual Nutrition Accountability Report, as well as through updates to the Global Nutrition Report's Nutrition Accountability Framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of humanitarian aid distribution in (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan; and what steps he is taking to help improve distribution.

Sudan is in the grip of the most severe humanitarian crisis globally with 30 million people requiring life-saving aid. The ongoing obfuscation of relief operations by Sudan's warring parties alongside continued fighting are imperilling tens of millions of people. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urged them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.  At the conference the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding.South Sudan faces a parallel humanitarian crisis compounded by climate and conflict shocks and exacerbated by the over 1.1 million people fleeing Sudan since the onset of conflict in April 2023, including returnees and refugees. In August 2024, the former Minister for Development visited South Sudan and emphasised to senior South Sudanese ministers the need for effective humanitarian aid delivery. We continue to support the UN Mission in South Sudan, and non governmental organisation partners in their delivery of aid, and urge the government to improve the enabling of humanitarian assistance by reducing bureaucratic impediments, preventing aid diversion, ending unwarranted interference in recruitment, and ensuring safe and free movement of aid workers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of landmines on the humanitarian situation in north west Syria.

Explosive ordnance continues to pose a significant threat to civilians and humanitarian workers across Syria.We provide funding to the mine action sector via the UK-led Aid Fund for Syria, the UK Global Mine Action Programme and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with the science and technology sector to support his international development objectives.

Science and technology are a crucial part of the UK's international development offer, tackling development challenges and innovating and scaling solutions to save and improve lives globally.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) drives inclusive, responsible, and sustainable development through equitable research partnerships, combining UK science and technology expertise with research ecosystems in the Global South, delivering mutual benefits.The FCDO leverages the UK science and technology sector to deliver the Government's missions and the Foreign Secretary's international development priorities. This includes green and digital technologies, lifesaving vaccines, research on regional peace and security in the Middle East and Ukraine, and innovations to support humanitarian interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 39453 on World Summit for Social Development, what budget was allocated for his Department’s participation in the conference.

The UK continues to engage in preparatory discussions in relation to the second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD). The UK is committed to attending the WSSD in November 2024 and we are working through the UK's delegation, at official and ministerial levels. The budget will be allocated to facilitate the attendance accordingly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 39452 on International Conference on Financing for Development, what budget was allocated for his Department’s participation in the conference.

The UK continues to engage in preparatory discussions in relation to the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). The UK is committed to attending the FfD4 in June 2025 and we are working through the UK's delegation, at official and ministerial levels. The budget will be allocated to facilitate attendance accordingly.

Communities and Local Government, when recycling services will be restored in Birmingham; and what estimate she has made of the quantity of recycling material in Birmingham directed to landfill since the suspension of those services.

Birmingham City Council plans to restore household recycling collections when the waste dispute is resolved. The City Council has increased the opening hours of its 5 household waste recycling facilities which remain open to households. We understand that no recycling material has been sent to landfill since the suspension of household waste collections.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the he is taking to help ensure aid reaches Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian access into and within Sudan. During last month's London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million towards the crisis which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Independent Development Review in the context of changes changes to Official Development Assistance.

The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), including how the FCDO approaches the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the recent changes to the ODA's budget on nutrition-related spend.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review to determine how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used. The FCDO remains committed to integrating nutrition, delivering nutrition objectives alongside successes in other sectors.The FCDO's nutrition-related spend is reported as part of the Nutrition Accountability Report. The 2022 Report was published in August 2024 with nutrition-related spend for 2022 totalling £366.4 million. The FCDO is currently reviewing nutrition-related spend for calendar year 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support objective 5 of the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is seeking to improve finance for nutrition, which is the focus of objective 5 of the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration, which we have developed and led by working with partners in different sectors to integrate nutrition objectives in their policies and programmes. The Coalition which will take forward the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration, provides a platform for engagement dialogue and lesson learning, between partner governments, civil society organisations and existing as well as new funding partners. This includes among others' representatives from multilateral development banks, investors, philanthropy, global health and climate funds. To date, over 80 governments and organisations have expressed their support for the Compact, representing a diverse range of stakeholder groups and sectors.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he plans to publish (a) the conclusions of the Independent Development Review and (b) his response.

The review's reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid reaches (a) those who need it most and (b) women and girls in Sudan.

The crisis in Sudan is the largest and most severe globally. Civilians, notably women and girls, are bearing the brunt of the violence. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urge them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.  At the conference the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding which will target over 650,000 people with life-saving aid including support for women and girls which will be delivered through networks of Sudanese responders. Through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation programme, UK funding will also support work on protection, prevention and care services in response to the increasing rates of gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence across Sudan and provide emergency support to survivors of these atrocities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of humanitarian need in Ethiopia.

Official needs figures for Ethiopia have not yet been finalised for this year, but the level of humanitarian need remains high. Last year an estimated 21 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. We continue to work closely with the Government of Ethiopia and other partners to support those most in need of humanitarian assistance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Eritrea on releasing prisoners of conscience detained without trial.

We consistently raise the human rights situation with the Eritrean Government, most recently by way of a statement at the 58th Human Rights Council in February and also during a senior Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) official visit to Asmara in April. We continue to advocate for the end of arbitrary detentions, including detentions based on religion or belief. Eritrea is a priority country in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report and we support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2024. As we have stated at the Human Rights Council, all those who have been unjustly incarcerated must be released.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) Unite, (b) Birmingham City Council and (c) ACAS to encourage parties to reach a negotiated settlement on the ongoing waste dispute in Birmingham.

The Secretary of State has engaged with Unite and Birmingham City Council to encourage them to get back around the negotiating table. She has not met with ACAS and the Department has not met with Unite. Any talks to settle the equal pay dispute are solely between the employer (Birmingham City Council) and trade union (Unite). The decision to allow a small number of military personnel to provide office based operational planning expertise for a short, time limited period to support the council with making sure its response to the ongoing public health risk is as swift as possible was taken in the first week of the major incident, and they were able to add value in that time which was appreciated by the council and the Department.

Communities and Local Government, which Departmental budget will cover the cost of the use of armed forces personnel to support waste collection in Birmingham.

This is a local issue and it is right that the response is led by the key public sector partners in Birmingham. We have been clear that if the local leaders on the ground in Birmingham feel tackling these issues goes beyond the resources available to them and they request national support, then we stand ready to consider any such ask. The Department is working with the Council on options to address further costs arising from industrial action. To date, additional support has included the three office-based military personnel with logistical expertise that were made available to the council to assist with planning. They have now returned to normal duties. We are grateful to our colleagues in the MOD for their support. More widely, the government is under no illusions about the scale of the wider financial challenge facing councils following more than a decade of cuts by successive Conservative governments. The government is therefore supporting the Leader and his team in Birmingham, directly and through the Commissioners, to move the council on from its historic issues. This includes providing an increase in Core Spending Power in Birmingham of up to 9.8%, or £131m for 2025-26, and £39.3 million of the new one-off Recovery Grant that illustrates this Government’s commitment to correcting unfairness in the funding system.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the policy paper entitled International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change, a white paper on international development, published in 20 November 2023.

The White Paper entitled International Development in a Contested World published by the previous government provided a diagnosis of global challenges, and examples of how the UK can respond to these. The Foreign Secretary's Development Review went further, considering areas of focus for the UK's development effort in a constrained resource environment, based on the UK's specific strengths and the strengths of our partners, and building on the wide-ranging development consultations conducted in 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help open new humanitarian aid routes into Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian access. The UK continues to push for additional cross-border aid routes into Sudan, including through Aweil, Renk and Panakuach, as well as Adré. In addition, the UK continues to press for improved cross-line routes within Sudan. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urged them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.