Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held recent discussions with his G20 counterparts on the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Sudan is a personal priority for the Foreign Secretary, who chaired the London Sudan Conference on 15 April. The conference was co-hosted by the AU, EU, France and Germany, and all G20 counterparts. It was also attended by G20 members including Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. Discussions at the conference included recognising the urgency of the humanitarian situation, including the impact of refugees on neighbouring states, and how best countries can align and strengthen efforts to get assistance to those who need it most. Delegates also agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urge them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to United Nations World Food Programme press release entitled Tens of millions at risk of extreme hunger and starvation as unprecedented funding crisis spirals, published on 28 March 2025, whether he has had discussions with the World Food Programme on Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is the largest and most severe globally. Tens of millions of people require life-saving aid with almost 640,000 people projected to be experiencing catastrophic famine conditions. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Ministers and officials are in regular communications with representatives from the World Food Programme (WFP). On 10 March, the Minister for Development met the WFP Country Director for Sudan alongside other senior United Nations staff. More recently, WFP staff participated in a UK organised roundtable meeting about the crisis in Sudan as part of preparations for the UK's Sudan London Conference, taking place on 15 April.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates his Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the then Secretary of State's tour of the Caribbean and Latin America in May 2023, whether an assessment was made of the feasibility of travelling by commercial airline.
Answered by David Rutley
Travelling commercially would not have achieved this trip within the time allocated. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests. Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the then Secretary of State's tour of the Caribbean and Latin America in May 2023, what travel options other than Embraer Lineage 1000E were available; what the comparative cost of those options was to Embraer Lineage 1000E; and for what reason Embraer Lineage 1000E was selected as the chosen means of travel.
Answered by David Rutley
Government aircraft assets were explored but unavailable. The charter aircraft was selected as the most efficient and value for money asset for the Foreign Secretary and travelling delegation to undertake the visit. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests. Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish the list of passengers on-board the then Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's plane during his tour of the (a) Caribbean and (b) Latin America in May 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, only passengers who are senior officials are published. This information can be found on the FCDO quarterly transparency data return on GOV.UK
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with HM Ambassador to Belarus on political prisoners in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. There are nearly 1500 political prisoners in Belarus. The regime's repression and its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine have limited our bilateral contact. However, the UK is clear about our solidarity with all political prisoners, when possible attending trials and engaging with their families. We have also raised this issue at the UN and The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). We will continue to take every opportunity to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the number of female political prisoners in Belarus.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. There are nearly 1500 political prisoners in Belarus. The regime's repression and its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine have limited our bilateral contact. However, the UK is clear about our solidarity with all political prisoners, when possible attending trials and engaging with their families. We have also raised this issue at the UN and The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). We will continue to take every opportunity to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Belarus counterparts on political prisoners.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. There are nearly 1500 political prisoners in Belarus. The regime's repression and its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine have limited our bilateral contact. However, the UK is clear about our solidarity with all political prisoners, when possible attending trials and engaging with their families. We have also raised this issue at the UN and The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). We will continue to take every opportunity to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 16 May to Question 184715 on Sudan: British Nationals Abroad, how many British children in Sudan were his Department’s Assessed Person ID list ; and how many of those children were evacuated.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Since 25 April, the UK has supported the departure of 2,450 people, including British nationals, dependants, and other eligible nationals out of Sudan. At that time we were aware of around 800 children or minors on our records, not all of whom were eligible to travel or were able to reach the evacuation points in time. We were able to assist an estimated 476 British children to leave Sudan and are aware of a further 300 children since confirmed as having safely left Sudan.