Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department will provide £50 million per year, for the next two years, to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. This has enabled GPEI to reduce wild poliovirus cases by over 99 per cent. The UK is also the largest sovereign donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, investing £1.25 billion for 2026 - 2030 that will support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of an essential package of childhood immunisation.
2026 Official Development Assistance budget allocations will be set out in the coming months, and we will confirm details of that planned announcement in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to question 57617 on Zimbabwe: Commonwealth, what recent steps she has taken to support a further Commonwealth assessment mission.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The timing of any Commonwealth assessment mission is for the Secretary General and the Government of Zimbabwe to agree. Given the time passed since their last reports, we would welcome a Commonwealth assessment mission returning to Zimbabwe to follow up on its recommendations from its last visit and the subsequent election observation report.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her counterparts in the Commonwealth to help support Zimbabwe rejoin the Commonwealth.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer he received on 23 June 2025 in response to Question 57617. We will update the House if there are any new developments.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to press the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 12 November in response to Question HL11464, which has been reproduced below for ease of reference:
The UK acknowledges the report and shares its concerns regarding human rights violations in Myanmar. We condemn the Myanmar military's airstrikes on civilian infrastructure. The UK is clear that no country should provide arms, funds, or fuel to the Myanmar military. We have implemented 19 sanctions packages since 2021, including 10 targeting aviation fuel imports.
We are clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. The UK has provided £900,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar since 2021 and established the Myanmar Witness program to collect evidence of human rights violations. As penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council, we have convened four meetings this year to maintain international focus and press for accountability. We co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution in April and coordinated a joint statement in May calling for an end to violence.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the prevalence of airstrikes against civilian populations by the military regime in Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 12 November in response to Question HL11464, which has been reproduced below for ease of reference:
The UK acknowledges the report and shares its concerns regarding human rights violations in Myanmar. We condemn the Myanmar military's airstrikes on civilian infrastructure. The UK is clear that no country should provide arms, funds, or fuel to the Myanmar military. We have implemented 19 sanctions packages since 2021, including 10 targeting aviation fuel imports.
We are clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. The UK has provided £900,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar since 2021 and established the Myanmar Witness program to collect evidence of human rights violations. As penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council, we have convened four meetings this year to maintain international focus and press for accountability. We co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution in April and coordinated a joint statement in May calling for an end to violence.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure international justice for (a) past and (b) continuing atrocity crimes in Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 12 November in response to Question HL11464, which has been reproduced below for ease of reference:
The UK acknowledges the report and shares its concerns regarding human rights violations in Myanmar. We condemn the Myanmar military's airstrikes on civilian infrastructure. The UK is clear that no country should provide arms, funds, or fuel to the Myanmar military. We have implemented 19 sanctions packages since 2021, including 10 targeting aviation fuel imports.
We are clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. The UK has provided £900,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar since 2021 and established the Myanmar Witness program to collect evidence of human rights violations. As penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council, we have convened four meetings this year to maintain international focus and press for accountability. We co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution in April and coordinated a joint statement in May calling for an end to violence.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a date has been set for her planned international summit on future of aid; and when she plans to announce her objectives for that summit.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to work with our partners overseas and international organisations to support sustainable development across the world. We have set out intentions to host a Conference on the Future of Development in collaboration with partners and will set out details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 20 October 2025 to Questions (a) 81257 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty and (b) 81258 on St Helena: British Nationals Abroad, what steps she is taking to implement (i) the commitment that entitled pensioners residing in St Helena receive unfrozen benefits from April and (ii) other provisions in the British Indian Ocean Territory Partnership Agreement, signed in October 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is working together with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to address the complex considerations concerning the unfreezing of pensions for St Helena. I have recently met ministerial colleagues to discuss this issue again, and look forward to meeting the new Chief Minister soon to update them. We will update on progress in the usual way in due course.