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 1,481–1,500 of 1,717 · this parliament
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the criteria were for appointing members of the Soft Power Council; and whether those members will provide declarations of interests for publication.
Members were identified based on their expertise and real-world experience in soft power and foreign policy domains. As is standard in appointment processes, due diligence and conflicts of interest declarations checks were carried out. These will not be published.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international partners on the enforcement of ceasefire agreements in Gaza.
We welcome the agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. It is the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability, but we have always been clear that an immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The UK is ready to play a leading role with international and regional partners, in securing a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, based on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. Palestinians must be given a credible route to a Palestinian state, which is the right of the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January and stressed the UK's eagerness to support the negotiation process. I raised this matter when I spoke with Varsen Aghabekian, the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Foreign Affairs. We will continue working with partners to support a path to long term peace and stability with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what documents he plans to publish on the work of the Soft Power Council.
The membership list and abridged terms of reference have already been published on gov.uk. Key points from the minutes will be published in the same way.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure a sustained ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
We welcome the agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. It is the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability, but we have always been clear that an immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The UK is ready to play a leading role with international and regional partners, in securing a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, based on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. Palestinians must be given a credible route to a Palestinian state, which is the right of the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January and stressed the UK's eagerness to support the negotiation process. I raised this matter when I spoke with Varsen Aghabekian, the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Foreign Affairs. We will continue working with partners to support a path to long term peace and stability with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what performance indicators his Department uses to assess the impact of the UK Soft Power Council.
The Soft Power Council is just beginning its work. It has so far had one introductory meeting. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Culture Media and Sport will explore metrics to assess the impact of soft power as part of work on a new Soft Power Strategy.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to review the classification of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organisation.
The Government does not routinely comment on whether a group is being considered for proscription or de-proscription.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to strengthen partnerships with African countries to help build resilience against terrorism.
Our partnerships with African countries are a core component of our approach to tackling terrorism across the continent, drawing on our domestic counter-terrorism experience while learning from our African partners' unique perspectives to enhance this work. The UK works to strengthen partnerships with key African partners through bilateral cooperation, such as our Security and Defence partnerships with Nigeria and Ghana, and our Security Compact with Kenya. The UK is also proactively engaged in supporting regional initiatives such as the African Union and multilateral institutions, including the Global Coalition Against Daesh and the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF).Through the UK's Integrated Security Fund, we are directly supporting capacity and resilience building, complementary to conflict prevention, stabilisation, and development approaches. For example, the Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia Borderlands Project integrates preventing violent extremism activity with development and peacebuilding approaches to improve stability and counter the regional threat posed by Al-Shabaab.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise international awareness of (a) noma and (b) the impact of noma on children in low-income countries.
I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on the review of funding for Gavi under the spending review; and whether he has made a decision on future contributions.
The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi contributing £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to provide funds to (a) Gavi and (b) the International Finance Facility for Immunisation for 2026-2037; and what the annual contribution was to those organisations between 2011 and 2015.
The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi and the largest contributor to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). The UK has committed £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025 via direct contributions and IFFIm proceeds. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR. The UK's total contribution to Gavi's third strategic period covering 2011-2015 was $2.27 billion of which $1.42bn was provided directly and $474 million through IFFIm.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions relating to (a) finance, (b) trade, (c) aircraft, (d) shipping and (e) immigration on Belarus.
Sanctions are carefully targeted to increase pressure over time, and we regularly review our sanctions to maintain effectiveness and apply increasing pressure. We therefore reserve the right to introduce further measures so that the Lukashenko regime continues to feel the consequences for its lack of respect for human rights and support for Putin's war.Although the UK nexus with the Belarusian economy is limited, the signalling impact of our sanctions on Belarus is and will remain important.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Belarusian counterpart on the release of political prisoners.
Despite the pardoning of over 250 political prisoners since July 2024, arrests and political repression continue and more than 1,200 political prisoners remain unjustly detained.We continue to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens. This includes actively raising the issue of political prisoners at the UN and the OSCE.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK foreign policy of potential irregularities in the recent elections in Belarus.
The UK condemns the sham presidential election in Belarus on 26 January. In a joint statement alongside Australia, Canada, the EU and New Zealand, the UK denounced the election and called for fresh elections which meet international standards.The UK will continue to work with likeminded partners to call out the regime's violations of fundamental human rights and hold those responsible to account.We, alongside our partners, will continue to support civil society and human rights in the face of ongoing political pressure and support the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a free, democratic, and independent Belarus.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) prevalence and (b) mortality rates of noma (i) worldwide and (ii) in the UK.
I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support global health initiatives for the (a) prevention, (b) early detection and (c) treatment of noma.
I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of UK-funded counter-terrorism initiatives in Africa on trends in the level of terrorism in those countries.
UK funded counter-terrorism initiatives in Africa reduce terrorism risks to the UK and to British Nationals and UK interests overseas, as set out in the CONTEST Strategy published in 2023. Across Africa, the primary risks to the UK stem from Al Qaeda affiliates such as Al Shabaab based in Somalia, and from groups affiliated with Daesh located across the continent.We have had positive impact by supporting activities in priority countries to disrupt and degrade terrorist organisations (the 'Pursue' strand of CONTEST). Our focus is building host nations' counter terrorism criminal justice capability to tackle threats effectively, and to reduce terrorist capability and access to resources. We work hard to ensure compliance with UK human rights and legal standards.We have also worked with a range of governments and international and multilateral partners to develop capabilities to prevent people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism (the 'Prevent' strand of CONTEST). For example, in Tunisia following the 2015 Sousse attacks in which 30 British nationals died, we worked in partnership with the Tunisian government to develop an early intervention system for people susceptible to radicalisation.This focused counter terrorism work is designed in close coordination with wider UK-funded activity seeking to reduce conflict in places where the primary conflict actors are affiliates of global terrorist organisations, ensuring that the UK Government's efforts both target the direct terrorism risk to UK interests as well as some of the underlying drivers which may contribute to that risk.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the United States, (b) France and (c) the European Commission on financial commitments to Gavi’s next strategic period; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making a comparable commitment.
The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi contributing £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR. The UK is a strong supporter of Gavi and wants to see a successful replenishment. The UK is in regular contact with Gavi and Gavi donors to support the upcoming replenishment. The Foreign Secretary and I met with the Gavi CEO in February.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent attempts by Russia to destabilise democracies in the Eastern Caucasian region; and what steps he is taking to support that region to counter those attempts.
Countering Russia's efforts to destabilise democracies in the South Caucasus, such as Armenia and Georgia, is a priority for the UK. We have previously supported Georgia in combatting Russian hybrid aggression by helping increase Georgia's cyber resilience. We took all opportunities to condemn Russia's illegal presence in Georgian territories including through the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions. We have supported Armenia's efforts to remove itself from Russia's orbit, including through support for Armenia's reform agenda and efforts to building institutional resilience and to strengthen cyber and border management.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take with his (a) US and (b) EU counterparts to provide additional support to Ukraine.
We are in constant contact with our US and European partners to ensure that Ukraine has the support it needs. The Foreign Secretary led a senior UK delegation at the Munich Security Conference focussed on bolstering joint efforts to address the challenges of Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. On 17 February the Prime Minister travelled to Paris to meet with President Macron and other European leaders to review the situation in Ukraine and security issues in Europe. We are also working with G7 partners, including the US and EU, to implement the $50 billion Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loan by advancing the extraordinary profits generated by immobilized Russian Assets. We are working with Europe, stepping up our collective defence spending and support to Ukraine. Europe now provides 60 percent of all aid to Ukraine, and over half of all military aid. The UK will spend £4.5 billion on lethal aid for Ukraine this year - more than ever before, and we will set out a pathway to increase Defence spending to 2.5 percent in the spring.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development of 23 January 2025 on International Day of Education, Official Report, column 433WH, what steps he is taking to ensure at least 50% of Government funding is reaching women and girls in Afghanistan; and what steps he is taking to measure this.
UK officials work closely with partners on the ground to ensure programmes delivered with UK funding are designed to focus on the most marginalised people, including women and girls. Implementing Partners provide the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) with data on the number of beneficiaries they have reached through UK funding, disaggregated by sex. The FCDO uses this to measure whether 50% of all beneficiaries reached are women and girls. We will continue to hold ourselves to account on this commitment.