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, pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2026 to PQ 106498, when she last raised the detention of Saeid Mansour Abdulraziq with her Egyptian counterpart; and what steps she is taking to advocate for his freedom of religion and belief.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions freedom of religion or belief for all and, where appropriate, will raise these issues with the Egyptian authorities.
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 her Department has undertaken any impact assessment ahead of the proposed reduction in financial support in the upcoming financial year to organisations providing disability support globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded disability inclusion activities in the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum (CDPF) since 2019, and provided around £2 million to support disabled people's organisations in the Commonwealth through the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) between 2021 and 2024. The FCDO, alongside the Disability Unit in the Office for Equal Opportunities, has been an active member of the Expert Working Group developing the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years shortly, but in the interim, we will not speculate on the potential impact of hypothetical funding scenarios on different programmes and countries. The specific funding percentage requested by the Hon Member is not readily available, and could only be calculated and verified at disproportionate cost.
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 her Department is taking to help reduce disability discrimination across the Commonwealth.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded disability inclusion activities in the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum (CDPF) since 2019, and provided around £2 million to support disabled people's organisations in the Commonwealth through the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) between 2021 and 2024. The FCDO, alongside the Disability Unit in the Office for Equal Opportunities, has been an active member of the Expert Working Group developing the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years shortly, but in the interim, we will not speculate on the potential impact of hypothetical funding scenarios on different programmes and countries. The specific funding percentage requested by the Hon Member is not readily available, and could only be calculated and verified at disproportionate cost.
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 criteria her Department uses to determine the distribution of UK aid funding.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded disability inclusion activities in the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum (CDPF) since 2019, and provided around £2 million to support disabled people's organisations in the Commonwealth through the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) between 2021 and 2024. The FCDO, alongside the Disability Unit in the Office for Equal Opportunities, has been an active member of the Expert Working Group developing the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years shortly, but in the interim, we will not speculate on the potential impact of hypothetical funding scenarios on different programmes and countries. The specific funding percentage requested by the Hon Member is not readily available, and could only be calculated and verified at disproportionate cost.
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 proportion of UK aid is allocated to support disabled people globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded disability inclusion activities in the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum (CDPF) since 2019, and provided around £2 million to support disabled people's organisations in the Commonwealth through the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) between 2021 and 2024. The FCDO, alongside the Disability Unit in the Office for Equal Opportunities, has been an active member of the Expert Working Group developing the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years shortly, but in the interim, we will not speculate on the potential impact of hypothetical funding scenarios on different programmes and countries. The specific funding percentage requested by the Hon Member is not readily available, and could only be calculated and verified at disproportionate cost.
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 her Department is taking to support disabled people across the Commonwealth.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has funded disability inclusion activities in the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum (CDPF) since 2019, and provided around £2 million to support disabled people's organisations in the Commonwealth through the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) between 2021 and 2024. The FCDO, alongside the Disability Unit in the Office for Equal Opportunities, has been an active member of the Expert Working Group developing the Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
We plan to publish indicative allocations for the next three years shortly, but in the interim, we will not speculate on the potential impact of hypothetical funding scenarios on different programmes and countries. The specific funding percentage requested by the Hon Member is not readily available, and could only be calculated and verified at disproportionate cost.
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 she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of abuse of young Christian women, raids on churches and allegations of bribery of pastors in Kazakhstan.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to standing up for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will work to uphold the right to Freedom of Religious Belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our bilateral work.
Our Embassy in Astana works actively with local non-governmental organisations in Kazakhstan to support interfaith dialogue and engage authorities in constructive negotiations with religious groups. The Embassy has hosted four events in the last 12 months, bringing together representatives of a variety of majority and minority religious groups, alongside international organisations, and state bodies. The resulting recommendations are under review by government. The UK will continue to be a leading voice in support of Freedom of Religion and Belief in Kazakhstan.
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 she has made of the adequacy of the UK's level of participation in global disability rights and inclusion activities.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has been a long-standing supporter of disability rights around the world, and our global programmes are supporting disability inclusion in health, education and employment, as well as access to innovative assistive technology.
As well as building disability inclusion into the work we are doing across all Foreign Office priorities, the UK is co-chairing the Global Action on Disability Network, which will strengthen international coordination on disability rights and accelerate progress.
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 assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of Israeli strikes on Lebanon since 27 November 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 20 November to Question 91653.
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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, entitled Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, published on 26 September 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our clear position is that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. We are aware of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) database but do not comment on individual businesses.