James Cleverly

The Department supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and support staff with their workload.

Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care, and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. The National Health Service will hit all cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.

As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. To support early detection and diagnosis, the NHS in England carries out approximately two million breast cancer screens each year in hospitals and mobile screening vans, usually in convenient community locations.

All women between 50 and 71 years old have the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost. Additionally, United Kingdom guidelines recommend that women with a moderate or high risk of breast cancer, because of their family history, should start having screening mammograms every year in their forties.

On World Cancer Day, the Government announced a major world-leading trial to demonstrate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors catch breast cancer earlier to enable faster treatment and save more lives, while freeing up valuable resources and capacity. Thirty testing sites across the country will be enhanced with the latest digital AI technologies, ready to invite women already booked in for routine screenings on the NHS to take part.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Middle East remains vital to achieving our priorities which include preventing further conflict, supporting stability, and lifting vulnerable people out of crisis, and the UK continues to be a trusted and reliable partner across the region.

The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. Final UK ODA figures for 2024 will be published in Autumn 2025, via Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2024.

The UK Government remains committed to supporting the Overseas Territories, and is funding programmes to increase long term capacity and capability in the Overseas Territories in receipt of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and ODA. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.

The Government remains committed to returning to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) when fiscal circumstances allow, in line with the International Development Act 2015. Reducing ODA now is a difficult but necessary decision to respond to the pressing security challenges.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR's) latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.

The Government is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog, reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review (SR) period and increase detention capacity to facilitate more asylum removals.

Whilst there will always be volatility in asylum forecasts, we expect these decisions to drive down overall in-donor refugee costs over the next SR.

All UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending is consistent with the international rules agreed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD's) Development Assistance Committee. This includes ODA spent on in-donor refugee costs.

The UK's shareholding at the World Bank is based on our paid in capital. We do not anticipate any reduction in our shareholding or any changes to our board representation as a result of the decision to reduce UK aid spending.

Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments. We will set out spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. We continue to work towards our target of at least 80 percent of the FCDO's bilateral aid programmes having a focus on gender equality by 2030. This commitment is measured by the proportion of programmes, rather than by spend, since this reflects our ambition for gender to be mainstreamed across all FCDO programmes.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in Central and Eastern Europe. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

The UK plays a leading role in countering terrorism and violent extremism overseas. Lebanon is one of our key CT partners in the Middle East and over the last five years, HMG has spent over £12 million on countering violent extremism in Lebanon. This breaks down to £2,245,000 in FY 24/25; £1,782,421 in FY 23/24; £1,685,998 in FY 22/23; £2,864,343 in FY 21/22 and £4,074,261 in FY 20/21, across the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) and Counter Terrorism Programme Fund (CTPF).

We share with Iraq an ambition to combat terrorism and violent extremism, including Daesh and the threats it presents to our citizens. As members of the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh, we will continue to work with Iraq to ensure that Daesh cannot re-emerge. Since the 2020-2021 Financial Year, approximately £6million of Official Development Assistance has been utilised to support Countering Violent Extremism activities in Iraq. This includes approximately £70,000 in 2020-21, £1,288,808 in 2021-2022, £2,340,550 in 2022-2023 and just over £2,331,889 in 2023-2024.

Jordan has allocated no funding to Countering extremism in the last five years from neither an Intergrated Security Fund, nor a Counter Terrorism Programme Fund perspective.

The UK is committed to combatting all forms of terrorism emanating from Syria, including from Daesh and the threat they present to our citizens. As members of the Global Coalition against Daesh, we will continue to work with partners in order to ensure that Daesh's territorial defeat endures, and they can never resurge. Since Financial Year 2020-2021, approximately £18.7 million of Official Development Assistance has been used to support Countering Violent Extremism activities in Syria. This includes approximately £1.4 million in 2020-21, £2.5 million in 2021-22, £3.8 million in 2022-23, £5.1 million in 2023-24 and £5.7 million in 2024-25.

The North Africa Cooperation on Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (NACSAT) project provided £3.1 million for a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) anti-people smuggling programme across Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the three years up to November 2021. Across fiscal years 2022 to 2025, the UK has provided a further £490,000 to UNODC programmes training North Africa law enforcement and border officials to identify and respond to cases of suspected people smuggling. The Foreign Secretary is clear that migration, including the disruption of people smuggling and organised immigration crime, is a top Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office priority.

The UK Government takes a comprehensive approach towards tackling irregular migration through, and from, the Western Balkans, including through partnerships and cooperation in the region to strengthen border security, disrupt organised immigration crime and build partnerships on returns. Bilateral agreements are currently in place with Albania, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia. UK Overseas Development Assistance in the Western Balkans, focussed on Albania, complements these efforts through funding programme activities that help to address underlying causes of irregular migration. In financial year (FY) 2023/24 the spend on this was £2.89 million, and in FY 2024/25 £2.3m (to date). The UK Government will use the forthcoming European Political Community (EPC) in Albania, and our hosting of the Berlin Process to continue to develop the range of our co-operation with countries in the Western Balkans.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in the Western Balkans. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in Central and Eastern Europe. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

Any decisions on the future use of Wethersfield will be made in due course and announced in the normal way.

Occupancy at the Wethersfield site is currently capped at 580 as part of the Special Development Order. This means that during current operation of the site, the population will not exceed 580.

Once the relevant Special Development Order conditions have been discharged, regular occupancy will be capped at 800. The number of residents on the site at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors, including individuals having moved to onward dispersed accommodation while their claims are being considered.

In addition to verbal updates given at various engagement forums with key stakeholders and partners the Wethersfield: Factsheet is revised regularly and updated to provide relevant information to the community.

Occupancy at the Wethersfield site is currently capped at 580 as part of the Special Development Order. This means that during current operation of the site, the population will not exceed 580.

Once the relevant Special Development Order conditions have been discharged, regular occupancy will be capped at 800. The number of residents on the site at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors, including individuals having moved to onward dispersed accommodation while their claims are being considered.

In addition to verbal updates given at various engagement forums with key stakeholders and partners the Wethersfield: Factsheet is revised regularly and updated to provide relevant information to the community.

The Special Development Order (SDO) was laid in Parliament by the previous Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 21 March 2024 and it came into force on 11 April 2024. No changes have been made to the SDO but work to discharge the conditions in the current SDO is ongoing.

We are determined to reduce asylum accommodation costs, which reached record levels under the previous government, and decisions on individual sites are made on a case by case basis with that objective in mind will save an estimated £7 billion for the taxpayer over the next ten years and are delivering a major uplift in returns to remove people with no right to be in the UK.

The safety and security of the local communities, the staff and those accommodated on the sites are of the utmost importance, with a specialist and experienced provider of security services permanently on site.

We also work closely and routinely with Essex Police to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place. The Home Office also continues to engage regularly with representatives from the Council, the NHS, the Police, and local partners to address the concerns of those most impacted by the site and to keep them informed.

During the period 1 July to 1 October 2024, there has been one incident of disorder on site at Wethersfield.

The Home Secretary and I have been kept fully up to date by West Yorkshire Police following the disorder in Leeds last week. We have been briefed on the action they are taking and the progress of their investigations in response to the unacceptable scenes of disorder and criminality that we saw.

The Home Secretary visited the Leeds District Police Headquarters and also met with local community leaders on Friday 19^th July 2024. In these meetings she has been clear that those responsible should feel the full force of the law.

I am grateful to the police for their work in reassuring local residents and managing the situation on the ground.