Found: Baroness Chapman of Darlington Minister for International Development, Latin America

Found: Letter to the Chair from Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign

Found: Correspondence from Rt Hon Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State for Development, DCDO, re

Found: Baroness Chapman of Darlington Minister of State for International Development, Latin

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 March (HL5369), what assessment they have made of the potential impact on the UK’s soft power of cutting the aid budget to 0.3 per cent by 2027.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on the future allocation of resources will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 10 February (HL4433), what assessment they have made of the impact of their funding under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme; what initiatives under that programme are aimed specifically at promoting and protecting freedom of religion or belief; and when they expect credible independent data on incidents of religious violence in Bangladesh to emerge from the work of the United Nations resident coordinator’s office.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK-funded Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme works to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief. A local peace building organisation The Hunger Project has organised a range of initiatives to foster inter-ethnic and religious peace. This has included peace events, consultation meetings with local authorities and quarterly meetings with local conflict mediation. As a result, local peace forum groups have been created to take steps to protect Hindus and other minority communities during their religious festivals. The UN Human Rights Office have now published their report; this provides credible independent data on events last year.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 30 January (HL3712), what progress has been made in releasing funds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine, and what consideration they have given to using such funds for the needs of children who have been abducted by Russia.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is working hard to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral declaration; UK officials continue to hold discussions with Mr Abramovich's representatives, experts and international partners, and we are doubling down on our efforts to reach a resolution. Separately, supporting Ukrainian children who have been forcibly deported remains a priority for this government. We have raised this issue at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and the Human Rights Council. The UK participated in the most recent meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children and continues to work closely with the Ukrainian government. In November, we announced a third round of sanctions targeting those attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 7 March (HL5231), what are the "long-standing processes on establishing geographical feature names for UK use"; and whether the Gulf of Mexico will be renamed.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN) advises HMG on policies and procedures for the representation of geographical names for places and features outside the UK, excluding those of the Antarctic. For names of international maritime features beyond any sovereignty, PCGN usually advises reflecting the common English conventional name, which for this body of water is the 'Gulf of Mexico'.

Found: Answering member: Baroness Chapman of Darlington | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The

Found: parliamentary under secretary of state at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Baroness Chapman of Darlington

Found: parliamentary under secretary of state at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Baroness Chapman of Darlington