Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
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 effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s sanctions regime relating to Sudan in preventing gold originating from that country from entering UK markets, including where such gold has been processed or refined in third countries; and whether she plans to introduce additional sanctions and import controls.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds conflict, undermines the rule of law, and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As an OECD member, we have committed to businesses in the UK applying the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows. We will continue to urge all countries to refrain from actions that prolong the crisis, including those that may financially benefit the warring parties. On 20 July 2023, the UK announced sanctions targeting 13 individuals and businesses linked to the actions of Russia's Wagner Group including alleged involvement in the exploitation of gold resources in Sudan. Sanctions policy remains under review. We do not comment on possible plans for future designations.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her United Arab Emirates counterpart on reports of gold originating from Sudan being exported to, processed in and re-exported from the UAE.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds conflict, undermines the rule of law, and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As an OECD member, we have committed to businesses in the UK applying the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows. We will continue to urge all countries to refrain from actions that prolong the crisis, including those that may financially benefit the warring parties. On 20 July 2023, the UK announced sanctions targeting 13 individuals and businesses linked to the actions of Russia's Wagner Group including alleged involvement in the exploitation of gold resources in Sudan. Sanctions policy remains under review. We do not comment on possible plans for future designations.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on the potential risk of gold imported into the United Kingdom via Switzerland originating from conflict-affected areas of Sudan, including gold transiting through and refined in the United Arab Emirates; whether her Department has assessed the adequacy of due-diligence requirements for transit and refining hubs such as the UAE; and what steps she is taking to improve enforcement and traceability to prevent conflict gold entering UK supply chains.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 4 December 2025 in response to Question 95190.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many letters relating to the British Council were received by her Department in each year from 2019 to 2024, and what proportion received a substantive response in each year.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of ministerial meetings with external individuals and organisations are routinely published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a quarterly basis. The requested data on correspondence could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings her predecessors held with the Chief Executive or Chair of the British Council in each calendar year from 2019 to 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of ministerial meetings with external individuals and organisations are routinely published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a quarterly basis. The requested data on correspondence could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the long-term (a) funding, (b) staffing and (c) remit of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI); and whether she plans to bring forward proposals to (i) reduce resources, (ii) alter the independence and (iii) limit the operations of ICAI.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Minister for Development's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed issues around the future of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) at length. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used up to 2028/29 will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Department has assessed trends in global audience reach for state-controlled international broadcasters based in (a) Russia and (b) China over the last 10 years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of funding and audience reach for the BBC World Service are published in the BBC's Annual Report and Accounts, available on the organisation's website. We do not centrally collate the equivalent data for Russian and Chinese state broadcasters.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what was the budget allocation for the BBC World Service in each year from 2015 to 2025 inclusive.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of funding and audience reach for the BBC World Service are published in the BBC's Annual Report and Accounts, available on the organisation's website. We do not centrally collate the equivalent data for Russian and Chinese state broadcasters.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the BBC World Service's global weekly audience figures were from 2015 to 2025 inclusive.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of funding and audience reach for the BBC World Service are published in the BBC's Annual Report and Accounts, available on the organisation's website. We do not centrally collate the equivalent data for Russian and Chinese state broadcasters.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the breakdown of financial (a) commitments and (b) disbursements in relation to the UK’s 2021 Nutrition for Growth pledge to spend at least £1.5 billion on nutrition objectives from 2022-2030 to date.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2010, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has reported on its nutrition-related spend across our Official Development Assistance (ODA). The latest available report captures data up to 2023 and shows that FCDO dispersed over 40 per cent of our 2021 Nutrition for Growth spend pledge during the first two years. FCDO Ministers have decided to move away from a spend focused target and instead focus on a more meaningful results target to better demonstrate the impact achieved through our programme and policy efforts to improve nutrition.
FCDO officials are currently working on proposals for a nutrition results target and will share more information on this in due course with the aim to report on nutrition results from 2026. Whilst we will no longer be reporting spend against the 2021 spend target, we do intend to continue to share our nutrition spend data as part of our established accountability mechanisms.