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.

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.

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.

Question

To ask the Leader of the House when she expects a Written Answer to be given to the three questions asked by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton on 5 June (HL8180, HL8181 and HL8182).

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The question was answered by the Department for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 26 June 2025. I apologise for the delay.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty would have any benefit in meeting recommendation 42 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025 "to increase lethality ten-fold".

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering.

The UK’s ambition in the Strategic Defence Review to double and then triple the UK Army’s fighting power reflects a fundamental transformation in how the Army prepares for and conducts warfare. This is not simply about increasing firepower or platform numbers — it’s about reimagining how we fight.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the announcement by Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia that they intend to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines; and whether they intend to consider withdrawal as well.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

His Majesty’s Government (HMG) has noted that Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have stated their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions States plan to take.

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention) continues to play an important role in protecting civilians from harm caused by anti-personnel landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, the UK’s commitment to it remains unwavering. We continue to encourage countries to join the Ottawa Convention, subscribe to its provisions; and discourage States from using anti-personnel landmines.

HMG continues to publicly express its commitment to the Ottawa Convention, most recently by Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Baroness Chapman, at a House of Lords debate on Landmines and Cluster Munitions on 3 April 2025 (Official Report vol 845, column 425).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to widen the participation of girls in sport in secondary schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for children and young people, including girls. Our manifesto set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

On 19 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced next steps for the future of PE and sport in schools. As part of our mission-led approach and Plan for Change, the government will co-design PE and School Sport Partnership networks. We are looking to develop and build strong partnerships between schools, national governing bodies, local organisations and clubs. The planned model will look to strengthen and broaden partnership-based support with the aim to increase equal access for children to high quality PE and extracurricular sport.

Schools are also supported to increase girls’ engagement in sport through programmes delivered by sector organisations, such as the Football Association’s ‘Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships’ programme and Sport England’s online Studio You programme.