Every parliamentary written question tabled by Wendy Morton this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,121–1,140 of 1,873 · this parliament
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) groups and (b) militias operating in Syria.
The situation in Syria is extremely fluid and, as such, we are not in a position to provide numbers of militias or other groups operating in Syria. We will continue to work with the Government of Syria and international partners to support security and stability in Syria.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49361 on Sudan: Development Aid, whether the £120 million of food aid is the only funding allocated to Sudan for the 2025-26 financial year.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are determining whether more funding for financial year 2025/26, in addition to the £120 million announced at the London Sudan Conference in April, will be allocated and further information will be provided in due course. Unfortunately, the spending review is still under review, and we will endeavour to update once we have the information.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 47676 on Anzhalika Melnikava, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Europe and (b) elsewhere on reports of the disappearance of Anzhelika Melnikava and her daughters.
As I have previously noted, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials continue to follow the case of the disappearance of Angelika Melnikova. Our understanding is that her daughters are currently in Belarus with their father. I have not raised this with European counterparts, nor elsewhere. As circumstances of Ms Melnikava's disappearance remain unclear, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 49372 on Development Aid, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on achieving planned reductions for the next multi-year Spending Review.
The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog and reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review period to ensure more of our Official Development Assistance budget is spent on our development priorities overseas.The Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his Cabinet colleagues.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 48940 on European Political Community, whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers from his Department attended.
The Prime Minister attended the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania on 16 May. No Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers attended. A small number of FCDO officials attended to support the Prime Minister's attendance.
What steps National Highways is taking to coordinate with local authorities on managing (a) fly-tipping and (b) litter in places which overlap between special roads and trunk roads.
National Highways works closely with local authorities to tackle litter on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). National Highways has introduced litter partnership agreements to facilitate better coordination of litter clearing operations and has provided health and safety training to key local authority personnel to support their litter-clearing teams.National Highways regularly engage with local authorities to help identify opportunities for local authority teams to access the network and address priority areas of concern for litter-picking and sweeping. Local authorities are able to utilise National Highways’ traffic management to schedule their own litter picks, helping to reduce costs for taxpayers and minimise disruption to road users. Although National Highways does not possess enforcement powers, in the event its CCTV operators notice illegal activity such as littering or fly tipping taking place on the SRN, evidence of that is also passed onto the local authorities responsible for prosecution.
If he will make an assessment of the number of older people with unmet health and care needs in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Direct estimates of unmet health and care need at a local level are not available. Assessing unmet health and care need is complex, particularly as it is multi-faceted, and validated data is not always available at a constituency level. For national level insights, please see Age UK’s State of Health and Care of Older People in England 2024 report, which is available at the following link:https://www.ageuk.org.uk/discover/2024/september/state-of-health-and-care-of-older-people-in-england-2024/We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to which will set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it.
What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners living in households in fuel poverty in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) does not collect local-level data specifically on pensioners in fuel poverty. The latest estimate of the fuel poverty rate in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, based on the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric, was 13.2% of households in 2023 (Table 3 of the sub-regional fuel poverty statistics). Statistics on fuel poverty in England in 2024 by age of the oldest person in the household can be found in Table 23 of the fuel poverty detailed tables.
Pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 46726 on Treasury: Information Officers, what the total annual cost is for the 40.9 full-time equivalent Government Communication Service professionals.
HM Treasury’s communications pay budget for the last financial year was £2,775,204.
What steps National Highways is taking to reduce (a) fly-tipping and (b) litter on roads it is responsible for.
National Highways are committed to the effective management of fly tipping and litter on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). National Highways pick litter on the SRN every day and its inspectors regularly survey the network, grading it in accordance with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. National Highways consistently work to deliver improved clean-up using innovative methods such as industrial vacuums, as well as undertaking several anti-littering interventions to influence behaviours and attitudes of road users towards litter. These include anti-littering messaging through social media, trialling AI enforcement cameras to capture those throwing litter on the SRN, using geofencing to send targeted anti-littering messages to mobile devices around identified litter hotspots, as well as putting anti-littering posters and signs and installing car and lorry height bins at motorway service areas.
If she will make an assessment of the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved one in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
The DWP does not hold data on the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved ones in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 47686 on Humanitarian Aid, how much of the allocation has been (a) spent and (b) allocated.
The Humanitarian Crisis Reserve (HCR) value is £100 million for financial year 2025/26.At the time of asking, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has so far provided £15 million from the HCR this financial year to support the humanitarian response, following the severe earthquake in Myanmar.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role the UK plans to play in building on Treaty of Jeddah processes.
The UK has consistently condemned abuses and atrocities committed by the warring parties to the conflict in Sudan. We will continue to use all levers at our disposal to promote the protection of civilians in accordance with the Jeddah Declaration. The co-chairs' statement issued at the London Sudan Conference on 15 April noted the important commitments articulated by the Jeddah Declaration. In June, the UK will for the first time join key international partners in the Sudan Consultative Group in Brussels and continue to uphold our calls for the belligerents to comply with the Jeddah Declaration.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to ringfence education funding in Sudan following the planned reductions in UK ODA spending.
The UK is a major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million provided in financial year (FY) 2024/25 and a further £120 million in support this current FY which the Foreign Secretary announced at the London Sudan Conference on 15 April. Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, millions of Sudanese civilians have benefitted from UK funded humanitarian programmes including education funding; around 90 per cent of children are out of school across Sudan. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are now determining how funding for FY 2025/26 will be allocated and further information will be provided in due course.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 47226 on Sudan: Food Aid, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-funded humanitarian assistance in Sudan directly reaches (a) protection services, (b) maternal healthcare, (c) access to food aid and (d) other services for women and girls.
The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on civilians throughout the country, particularly women and girls. At the recent London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a package of support budgeted at £120 million which will deliver life-saving services to more than 650,000 people. The majority of this funding will be delivered through key UN agencies, including UNICEF and the World Food Programme which will provide life-saving food and nutrition supplies as well as vital water, sanitation, maternal and hygiene programmes. Through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation programme, this 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 assessment he has made of adequacy of levels of access granted to UN agencies to Sudan for the provision of humanitarian support.
Impediments to aid delivery imposed by the warring parties in Sudan are having a devastating impact on civilians. Our Ministers and diplomats are doing all they can to improve humanitarian access. 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 provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 48426 on Sudan: Humanitarian Aid, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK aid is reaching the people that need it in 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. We will continue to use all levers at our disposal to address Sudan's brutal conflict and to improve humanitarian access. At the April London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the importance of humanitarian access and the co-chairs' statement from the Conference called on the warring parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance with the commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration, and in adherence with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what further multilateral steps he plans to take following the London-Sudan Conference on 15 April 2025 to support a political solution in Sudan.
The Foreign Secretary will continue to use all levers at his disposal to address Sudan's brutal conflict. As part of these efforts, the Foreign Secretary will engage with a range of multilateral partners to improve humanitarian access, to promote the protection of civilians and to secure an end to the fighting. Next month, the UK will, for the first time, join a meeting of the Consultative Group, which comprises representatives from the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States and the United Nations, to discuss joint efforts for peace and efforts to bring both parties to the conflict to the negotiating table.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Humanitarian Action on the situation in Sudan.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Ministers and officials are in frequent contact with Humanitarian Action for Sudan (HAS) as part of UK efforts to address Sudan's brutal conflict. Officials recently attended the HAS launch event and updated attendees on the London Sudan Conference. Officials have also met with the HAS representatives as part of consultations about future UK-funded humanitarian programmes in Sudan. Prior to the London Conference, the Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable with members of HAS, led by Zeinab Badawi, as part of our pre-Sudan Conference engagement with members of the Sudanese diaspora. This private event provided an opportunity to share ambitions and potential outcomes for the April 15 Sudan Conference and obtain and discuss thinking from HAS. The FCDO greatly values the knowledge and experience that HAS and other diaspora groups bring and we look forward to further engagements with them.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to help tackle sexual violence in conflict in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of conflict in Sudan on women and girls.
The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence in Sudan. On 8 May 2025, the Minister for Development visited the Sudan-Chad border to raise awareness of the conflict and speak directly with Sudanese refugees, including survivors of sexual violence and torture. This followed a visit by the Foreign Secretary in January 2025, where he announced £20 million to support to lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services. At the London Sudan Conference on 15 April, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding for this financial year. 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 conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) across Sudan. On 13 March, the Minister for Africa chaired a UN Security Council Briefing on CRSV in Sudan, highlighting the worsening trends and emphasising the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.