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 steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to address the conflict in Sudan through the Integrated Security Fund.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through the Integrated Security Fund, we are providing over £500,000 of funding to projects focused on conflict and security dynamics which support our diplomatic and humanitarian response. In addition, we have also committed £120 million of new funding this financial year to reach over 650,000 people with food, cash, water, sanitation and nutrition support. This is in addition to £235 million allocated in 2024-2025. In May, the Minister of State for International Development announced a further £36 million for Sudanese refugees in Chad to mitigate the regional burden of the displacement crisis. We continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues to press the parties into a permanent ceasefire, allow unrestricted humanitarian access, protect civilians, and commit to a sustained and meaningful peace process. This includes our role as penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council and leader of the core group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding he has allocated to the Women Peace and Security Agenda through the Integrated Security Fund for (a) 2025-26, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) supports UK National Security and as part of that delivers on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in support of UK’s WPS National Action Plan. All projects funded through the ISF consider how their work can benefit gender and social inclusion. ISF projects use marker tools such as the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) indicators to ensure that gender issues are considered from the design stage.
In 2025-26 the Fund has a dedicated allocation for gender and national security work. Funding allocations for 2025/26 are due to be published in the autumn alongside the ISF Annual Report 2024/25 and allocations for future financial years will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Women, Peace and Security Agenda remains a fund-level outcome for the UK Integrated Security Fund.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Supporting women and girls is a priority for this Government. The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) supports UK National Security and as a part of that delivers on Women, Peace and Security through the UK National Action Plan. The ISF addresses gender and national security threats, both domestically and internationally across the breadth of its work. All ISF programmes consider the impact of gender on their work alongside dedicated projects.
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 steps his Department is taking to support the cholera response in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The conflict in Sudan and the widespread destruction of sanitation and health services has caused a devastating cholera outbreak with more than 100,000 cases and 2,500 deaths since July 2024. More than 33.5 million people are at risk across all 18 states. The UK Government is working with a range of international partners delivering lifesaving emergency health interventions, including cholera vaccines, treatment, and prevention. In addition, through a 'match funding' arrangement we have recently partnered with the State of Kuwait to deliver an additional £3.75 million to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), supplementing UK resources already allocated to combat the outbreak. We continue to urge the warring parties in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian access so that aid reaches those most in need.
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 adequacy of the funding available in September for Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is third largest humanitarian donor to the crisis in Sudan. We recognise the vital role played by Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and Mutual Aid Groups (MAGs) in delivering life-saving assistance across hard-to-reach areas of the country. As one of the most generous donors to the UN's 'Sudan Humanitarian Fund' (SHF), which supports ERRs and other local responders, UK support is reaching front-line Sudanese responders. We are also providing assistance to MAGs via an allocation to the NGOs Mercy Corps. As a member of the SHF Advisory Board we have worked with the UN to increase their proportion of funding to local responders from $13.6 million in 2023 to $57.5 million in 2025. We are now in the final stages of concluding funding agreements with two Sudanese organisations.
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 recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on compliance with international humanitarian law in relation to access of Gazan civilians to water.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 6 August to Question 67532.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a capital investment programme to support the renovation of local arts centres.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are working closely with the sector to understand the needs of arts centres, which are integral to communities up and down the country. Through sector engagement, as well as the recent Arup and Future Arts Centres report, Evaluating Capital Investment Needs for Arts Centres in the UK, we are aware that arts centres are facing significant challenges with their estates.
The £85 million Creative Foundations Fund (CFF), launched by this government earlier this year, is supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates, including essential renovations and repairs. An important part of this government’s growth mission, this fund aims to strengthen the long-term economic viability of the creative and cultural industries. Arts centres that met the criteria were eligible to apply for the fund, and Arts Council England have notified all those that submitted Expressions of Interest of who is being taken forward to the full application stage. The Arts Council will notify all applicants of the outcome of their full application and commit all funding by 31 March 2026.
Whilst we do not have any plans to launch a capital investment programme specifically for arts centres, we were able to secure significant investment at the Spending Review for Arts, Culture and Heritage infrastructure. The Spending Review sets out DCMS’s high-level funding settlement and we will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to support (a) renovations and (b) repairs to local arts centres.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are working closely with the sector to understand the needs of arts centres, which are integral to communities up and down the country. Through sector engagement, as well as the recent Arup and Future Arts Centres report, Evaluating Capital Investment Needs for Arts Centres in the UK, we are aware that arts centres are facing significant challenges with their estates.
The £85 million Creative Foundations Fund (CFF), launched by this government earlier this year, is supporting arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates, including essential renovations and repairs. An important part of this government’s growth mission, this fund aims to strengthen the long-term economic viability of the creative and cultural industries. Arts centres that met the criteria were eligible to apply for the fund, and Arts Council England have notified all those that submitted Expressions of Interest of who is being taken forward to the full application stage. The Arts Council will notify all applicants of the outcome of their full application and commit all funding by 31 March 2026.
Whilst we do not have any plans to launch a capital investment programme specifically for arts centres, we were able to secure significant investment at the Spending Review for Arts, Culture and Heritage infrastructure. The Spending Review sets out DCMS’s high-level funding settlement and we will share further details in due course.
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 priorities of her Department with respect to international development have altered since the Government reshuffle.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's current priorities for international development remain the same as set out by the Minister for Development in her letters to the International Development Committee, the latest of which can be found here: [committees.parliament.uk/publications/48991/documents/257473/default/]
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 he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to regulate the use of conflict minerals in UK supply chains.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting responsible business practice to reduce and prevent human rights abuses. We work through a number of international mechanisms, including supporting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. This enables business to continue to operate responsibly from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The UK's new Critical Minerals Strategy will be published this summer and will help secure the supply of critical minerals that are vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition, including tin, tantalum and tungsten, whilst promoting responsible and transparent supply chains.