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Written Question
Afghanistan: Girls
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much has been spent on helping Afghan girls to study maths and science since 2021; and how much money has been allocated for that purpose for the next five years.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Providing girls with 12 years of quality and equitable education is a global FCDO priority. FCDO does not disaggregate our education spend by subject. The UK Government strongly condemns the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls, and we are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls' education. We continue to support the delivery of education in Afghanistan, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.


Written Question
Afghanistan: Girls
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls in that country.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Girl's education globally is a priority for the FCDO. The UK has not specifically engaged with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls. Our support focuses on foundational learning, which includes numeracy, literacy and socio-emotional skills. We are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls' education, while we continue to support the delivery of education, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.


Written Question
International Assistance: Education
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on the content of education funded through multilateral organisations; and whether that funding includes provisions for teaching maths and science to girls.

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

The UK is committed to supporting foundational learning (literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional skills) for all. Foundational learning is critical for achieving higher order skills and effective understanding of STEM subjects from an early age. The UK is a leading donor to the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait and uses its influence on their governing boards to ensure foundational learning and education for marginalised girls are priorities. It is not possible to directly track the use of UK core funding to multilateral organisations, such as UNICEF and the World Bank.


Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disability
Wednesday 21st June 2023

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of his Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office had three policies included in the National Disability Strategy. These included:

  • Commitment 1: Launch the enhanced FCDO Disability Inclusion Strategy and embedding disability rights in the new International Development Strategy in 2021
  • Commitment 2: Make the UK's Official Development Assistance spend - £10 billion in 2021 to 2022 - disability inclusive
  • Commitment 3: Establish a new FCDO External Disability Board, first meeting to take place by December 2021

We have completed the first and third commitments with the publication of the FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy in February 2022, and the establishment of an External Disability Board. The second commitment is ongoing. As detailed in the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy, the FCDO takes a twin-track approach, with targeted support through disability-specific interventions in key sectors alongside mainstreaming disability inclusion across FCDO's work. We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people globally through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people's lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer. Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Females
Wednesday 22nd December 2021

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

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 effect of reductions in UK aid on the climate vulnerability of women and girls in developing countries.

Answered by Vicky Ford

Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental degradation. Evidence shows that they are more likely to be dependant for their food and income on threatened natural resources, more likely to be responsible for securing increasingly scarce water and fuel, and significantly more likely to die or be displaced during climate-related disasters.

We remain committed to our five-year pledge to spend £11.6 billion on International Climate Finance (ICF) with an extra £1bn in 2025 if the economy grows as forecast. This will support developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change and adopt clean growth pathways, reducing or avoiding carbon emissions. The UK will spend more than £10 billion this year to tackle climate change, improve global health and fight poverty - making us one of the biggest aid donors in the G7.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Females
Wednesday 22nd December 2021

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how her Department measures the effect of climate vulnerability on women and girls in developing countries.

Answered by Vicky Ford

Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental degradation. Evidence shows that they are more likely to be dependant for their food and income on threatened natural resources, more likely to be responsible for securing increasingly scarce water and fuel, and significantly more likely to die or be displaced during climate-related disasters. There are a number of measures of climate vulnerability that we use to inform our decision making and programming.

At COP26 President Alok Sharma and UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience Anne-Marie Trevelyan hosted Gender Day which helped build momentum internationally to drive implementation of the Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25. This will support a greater focus on gender equality within action to tackle climate change and build resilience to climate-related disasters. The UK announced £165 million of funding to help address the dual challenges of gender inequality and climate change.


Written Question
Travel: Coronavirus
Wednesday 28th April 2021

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Government advice against travelling on cruises will be removed for destinations that are given green status under the new traffic light system.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The FCDO remains fully committed to working closely with the Department for Transport and key industry leaders following the publication of the second Global Travel Taskforce report. International cruises will restart alongside the wider restart of international travel, in line with the "traffic light" system. This will be subject to continued satisfactory evidence from the domestic restart and cruising in other countries. Travel advice will continue to be informed by the latest public health risk assessments.

For now, national restrictions on international travel remain in place, including only permitting travel abroad for a limited number of reasons set out in law. Holiday travel is not included.


Written Question
Jonathan Taylor
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether whistleblower Jonathan Taylor is no longer subject to an Interpol Notice or diffusion; and whether he has had discussions with the Croatian authorities on that matter.

Answered by Wendy Morton

This is a matter for the Croatian courts, who are considering the legal basis for Mr Taylor's extradition to Monaco. Any concerns Mr Taylor has about the circumstances in which an Interpol red notice was applied are a matter for Interpol's independent monitoring body, the Commission for Control of Files, and for Mr Taylor's lawyer. As set out in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, we cannot interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, or bypass their laws, just as we would not accept similar interference here. As part of our consular assistance to British nationals overseas we can raise concerns about individuals on diplomatic channels. I spoke to the Monegasque Foreign Secretary and the Croatian State Secretary for European Affairs on 13 November 2020 and sought assurances that both authorities would treat Mr Taylor fairly. Monaco provided direct assurances to Croatia in January.


Written Question
Parliament: Coronavirus
Tuesday 19th May 2020

Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether (a) the guidance entitled, Working Safely During Coronavirus, issued for offices and contact centres on 11 May 2020 applies to the Parliamentary Estate and (b) the Commission plans to implement the measures outlined in that guidance.

Answered by Pete Wishart

The House Service is currently working in conjunction with Public Health England to ensure we meet the government guidelines to become a ‘COVID-19 secure’ workplace, and to build on our existing measures to ensure all those working on the estate can do so safely. Given the variety of activities that are undertaken on the estate, a number of the sector specific guidance documents are relevant, all of which are being reviewed and measures taken where required.