Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 268 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, whether they will provide a breakdown of the proposed £46,557,000 to Nepal in 2025–26 by individual project.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and the UK's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is one part of our broad and diverse cooperation. Our Embassy in Kathmandu currently forecasts a full utilisation of its £46,557,000 bilateral ODA allocation for 2025-26. The actual spend may be influenced by factors beyond our control.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to transparency and our forecast bilateral spend for 2025-26 is published through the UK Government's Development Tracker: Devtracker. A breakdown of current programme allocations, rounded to the nearest £100,000 is provided below:
Programme | £m |
Development Influencing and Learning in Nepal | 1.1 |
Evidence, Digital Innovation and Technology | 0.4 |
Evidence for Development | 0.1 |
Climate Smart Development for Nepal | 1.8 |
Green Growth Nepal | 3.6 |
Nepal in Business Programme | 9.9 |
Resilience, Adaptation and Inclusion in Nepal Programme | 5.8 |
Nepal Local Infrastructure Support Programme | 12.5 |
Public Financial Management Multi Donor Trust Fund - Phase II | 0.6 |
Rights, Inclusion, Voice and Agency Nepal | 1.6 |
Resilient Water Sanitation and Hygiene and Emergency Preparedness Programme | 0.8 |
Enhancing Gender Outcomes through Social Services Systems Strengthening | 3.3 |
Security and Justice Programme 2 | 5.0 |
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 268 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, what assessment they have made of the impact that the proposed £13,628,000 reduction in support to Nepal between 2024–25 and 2025–26 will have on the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the UK.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Development is an essential part of the UK's global objectives and to the delivery of the Government's missions: working with partners to strengthen and stabilise countries, to tackle poverty and support growth, and to make the world safer. The UK continues to work closely with the Government of Nepal and other partners to ensure UK Official Development Assistance aligns with Nepal's national development priorities. Therefore, we have prioritised the following for our 2025-26 allocation: Nepal's inclusive economic transformation and the creation of jobs; building resilience to disasters and climate change, infrastructure development, and the strengthening of social services. We are aware that budget reductions will have an impact on Nepal and British Embassy Kathmandu is in continuing discussions with the Government of Nepal about these issues.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which specific projects in Nepal funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 2025–26 will directly contribute to maintaining consent to recruit members of the Brigade of Gurkhas.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK's development partnership with Nepal is built on long-standing cooperation across various sectors. We are working closely with the Government of Nepal and other stakeholders to ensure our 2025-26 budget is targeted towards Nepal's national development priorities. We acknowledge the outstanding contribution of the Gurkhas in the British Army and remain committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific and supporting economic growth and development across the region.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the extent to which the unique relationship between Nepal and UK through the brigade of Gurkhas is taken into consideration when allocating bilateral support to Nepal.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much bilateral aid has been allocated to Nepal since 2023, broken down by year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much bilateral aid will be allocated to Nepal for the next three financial years.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and we have a broad and diverse cooperation. This includes Gurkhas in the British Army who make an outstanding contribution to the UK as well as UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). UK ODA is allocated by financial year. In financial year 2023-24, £28.3 million of ODA was allocated for bilateral programming in Nepal, and for year 2024-25, £60.2 million was allocated. We will publish final 2025/26 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report & Accounts this summer. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 6 January (HL3268), whether anyone provided external legal advice; if so, who; by what process such providers of legal advice were commissioned; and, what relevant interests, if any, they declared with regard to the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government has sought external legal advice at various times throughout the negotiations with Mauritius. The specific counsel instructed has depended on the nature of the legal issues involved. Counsel have a professional obligation not to accept instructions where there is a conflict of interest.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which external consultants or advisors, if any, have been involved in the negotiations with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Jonathan Powell was appointed as the PM's Envoy for the BIOT sovereignty negotiations on 6 September 2024. He started his role as the UK's National Security Adviser on 2 December. However, he will continue to engage on matters related to BIOT. The Government has also received external legal advice in relation to the negotiations with Mauritius over BIOT/the Chagos Archipelago over the course of several years.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the recent election in Georgia was free and fair.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
In Minister of State Stephen Doughty's 27 October statement he made clear his support for the findings of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' election monitoring mission preliminary report on Georgia's election. That report notes that the election day itself was well-organised and administered in an orderly environment. However, it also highlighted a range of concerns, including frequent breaches of voter secrecy, procedural inconsistencies, as well as reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process. Allegations of irregularities must be investigated thoroughly and independently.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 14 October (HL1256), what plans they have for a ministerial visit to Diego Garcia before legislation relating to the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is introduced to Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
There are currently no plans for Ministers to visit Diego Garcia. The UK's Chief Negotiator, Harriet Mathews, and members of the UK's negotiating team visited the British Indian Ocean Territory in June 2024. Ministerial travel plans are not routinely published in advance of official Government visits.