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Found: Pet welfare and abuse Rt Hon the Lord Benyon , Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs,

Found: Rt Hon Lord Benyon, Minister for Rural Affairs, Access to Nature, & Biosecurit y, and Jonathan Baker

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Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help support a (a) sustainable and (b) peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is concerned by intensification of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its humanitarian consequences. We continue to urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through regional peace processes. We welcome the recent mediation efforts facilitated by the Angola-led Luanda peace process and continue to urge all parties to commit to further political dialogue. In March, Lord Benyon travelled to Kinshasa where he met with a range of representatives of the Government of DRC, including President Tshisekedi, to underline our support for the regional mediation efforts. Lord Benyon was also in Angola last month and discussed the conflict in eastern DRC with President Lourenco.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the US and (b) France on the war in Sudan since the start of that conflict.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is working with a range of partners to end hostilities, allow safe, unhindered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians. Foreign Office Ministers are in regular contact with international partners on Sudan. The Deputy Foreign Secretary discussed Sudan with USAID Administrator Samantha Power on 29 January 2024. Lord Benyon spoke to US and French colleagues at the Paris Humanitarian Conference on 15 April 2024. The UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Red Sea also regularly engages with her American and French counterparts.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 18 December 2023 (HL838), whether they have had any discussions with the government of Kenya regarding the eviction and destruction of property of the Ogiek people in the Mau forest of that country.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. I have not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 14 March (HL2885), what percentage of aid provided to Nigeria between 2015 and 2024 has been allocated to central states.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains committed to supporting a more stable, resilient and prosperous Nigeria. The FCDO does not capture HMG Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures on a regional level in Nigeria. Further information relating to UK ODA can be found on the Government's website in the April 2024 publication of Statistics on International Development: provisional UK aid spend 2023.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 12 February (HL1985), what percentage of the UK’s 2023-24 humanitarian aid package to Sudan will support internally displaced persons facing extreme hunger in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions of Sudan.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Sudan currently represents the largest displacement crisis in the world, including over 9 million people internally displaced. This financial year, the UK bilateral official development assistance to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million, up from nearly £50 million in 2023/24. We do not hold information specifically on what percentage of the UK's 2023/2024 humanitarian aid package supported Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. However, the lack of humanitarian access across Sudan, including to IDP camps, continues to make it extremely difficult for humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary levels of assistance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much and what proportion of funding announced at the pledging conferences for (a) Sudan and (b) Ethiopia is new; and how will that funding be released.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

On 15 April Lord Benyon attended the Sudan Humanitarian Pledging Conference in Paris where the UK re-affirmed our funding for Sudan this financial year of £89 million. We are still in the process of allocating funding in Sudan for 2024/25, but part of it includes funding to UNICEF which will provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. At the high-level pledging conference for Ethiopia which took place in April, I announced £100 million in UK funding. This support had not been previously announced. This included £30 million to treat acute malnutrition for those in greatest need.