Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 the potential impact of reductions to overseas aid on the levels of resilience to (a) conflict and (b) climate shocks among civilian populations in recipient countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed reductions in official development assistance on future trends in the level of preventable sight loss in recipient countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance. 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.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he makes of the potential impact of proposed reductions in official development assistance on future trends in the levels of (a) violence against women and girls and (b) preventable deaths among infants in recipient countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
The UK has placed empowering women and girls at the centre of our international work. We remain committed to tackling violence against women and girls around the world, and to supporting global efforts to end preventable maternal, child and newborn deaths in line with Sustainable Development Goal targets.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on Israeli settler attacks on (a) schools, (b) higher education facilities and (c) cultural institutions in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain very concerned at the disproportionate impact of violence on children, including in the West Bank: education is a priority sector. Any destruction of cultural facilities is also highly concerning. We engage regularly with non-governmental organizations and civil society, who are best placed to communicate needs and rebuild their communities. The Foreign Secretary and I have emphasised the importance of stability throughout all the Occupied Territories to our Israeli counterparts. The Foreign Secretary raised Israel's ongoing operation in Jenin and highlighted the risk that this undermines the Palestinian Authority when he spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January. The Foreign Secretary also noted the need for violent settlers to be held accountable.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to mitigate the impact of the destruction of educational and cultural facilities in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply alarmed by the disproportionate impact of the conflict on children in Gaza. Most students have not had access to education since the 7th of October 2023 and at least 88 per cent of school buildings need full or major reconstruction. Education is a priority sector, and we are engaging with partners to ensure children's needs are integrated into Gaza's recovery. Through UK support, over 14,000 children in Gaza now have access to education materials. The destruction of cultural facilities is also highly concerning. We engage regularly with NGOs and civil society, who are best placed to communicate needs and rebuild their communities.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what further steps he plans to take to encourage the Egyptian authorities to release Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Prime Minister wrote to President Sisi on the case on 26 December. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr El-Fattah's case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty most recently on 20 December 2024. The National Security Advisor, Jonathan Powell raised this with the Foreign Minister on 2 January 2025. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October 2024.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will conduct a further review with Cabinet colleagues into the compatibility of the Government's export licences to Israel with its obligations under international humanitarian law in the context of recent civilian deaths in (a) Lebanon, (b) the West Bank and (c) Gaza; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Cell undertakes regular assessments of Israel's commitment and capability to comply with International Humanitarian Law in order to meet our legal obligations under the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). On 2 September, following a conclusion that there is a clear risk that items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL, we suspended relevant export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza. This is subject to the specific measures set out to Parliament excluding exports to the global F-35 programme from the scope of the suspension. We continue to keep all export licences under careful review and licences may be suspended, amended or revoked.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the Israeli authorities to help protect rescue workers in the Middle East.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to press Israel to do more to protect civilians, aid and health workers in Gaza. Israel must comply with international law. We call on Israel to co-operate fully with humanitarian agencies, to make provisions for humanitarians to carry out their work safely and effectively. Restricting their work is unacceptable. The Minister for the Middle East raised concerns about hospitals and healthcare workers coming under fire with the Israeli Ambassador on 5 November.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HMG Ministers and officials at the British Embassy in Cairo continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian government at the highest levels. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr El-Fattah's case with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 7 August and the Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking with its international partners to help ensure that people living with tuberculosis have access to healthcare.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a leading donor to the fight against tuberculosis. Our £1 billion replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide TB treatment and care to more than one million people between 2023 and 2025. We are a leading funder of TB research, including through the TB Alliance and also invest in improving access and affordability for key TB products and testing innovative approaches to providing TB services. These investments contribute to achieving the commitments made in the TB High Level 2023 political declaration, including supporting people to have access to appropriate healthcare.