Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
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 increase assistance to states affected by (a) fragility, (b) conflict and (c) violence.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK helps states affected by fragility, conflict, and violence using a range of development and diplomacy levers to support those best placed to build peace. UK funded programmes through Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF) help address the underlying causes.
In addition to bilateral and regional programming, the UK continues to invest in the Peacebuilding Fund, the UN's primary mechanism supporting prevention and peacebuilding activity in over 40 countries including Sudan, South Sudan, West Africa, and the Sahel. The UK has contributed over £175 million since the inception of the Peacebuilding Fund in 2006, including £5 million for 2024-2025.
The UK also remains one of the largest global humanitarian aid donors, funding bilateral life-saving support during humanitarian crisis, including in many regions that are affected by conflict and violence, such as the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make international conflict resolution in Sudan a foreign policy priority.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have both made addressing the situation in Sudan a priority, and are actively working together with a range of regional and international partners towards ending the suffering of the Sudanese people. On 24 January, the Foreign Secretary travelled to the Chad/Sudan border and met with Sudanese refugees. During this visit, he announced his intention to convene Foreign Ministers in London this spring to galvanise international political efforts to end the conflict.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
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 strengthen partnerships with (a) humanitarian organisations, (b) women-led organisations and (c) local civil society in development work.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A vibrant civil society is one of the most important ingredients of a healthy democracy. The FCDO recognises that stronger, more inclusive engagement with partners and local organisations can better empower those that development and humanitarian efforts are designed to serve, so we are changing how we work with local civil society, prioritising their sustainability and helping them to advocate for the needs of their communities.
FCDO has also committed to putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. This includes working to ensure that international responses better reflect the voices, needs, experience, and aspirations of affected populations, in particular women and girls. We are driving change by advocating for the systematic and meaningful participation of women in humanitarian action, which includes partnerships and direct funding of women-led organisations.
Through the UK's flagship partnership with the Equality Fund, funding has helped them reach over 1000 women's rights organisations across the globe, including in regions affected by conflict. The UK has supported the Start Network since its inception to deliver rapid NGO-led humanitarian crisis responses, with locally-led action central to this work. In December, the Prime Minister announced £37 million for the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme (2024-29). This will strengthen local and national civil society organisations and movements to expand access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and counter rollback, within their own communities and countries.