Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 engage with his Iranian counterparts on the status of the Jewish community in Iran; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure the protection of (a) religious freedoms and (b) civil rights for Jews and other religious minorities in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK. Religious minorities, including the Jewish community, suffer discrimination in law and practice, including in access to education, employment, child adoption, political office and places of worship. The UK's Permanent Representative to the UN raised the continued systematic targeting and repression of religious minorities on the 18 March. We were integral to the delivery of a new Human Rights Council resolution on Iran on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. This will investigate a broader range of abuses including against religious minorities, in an important step towards accountability. Our Ambassador to Iran and the Foreign Secretary continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 in aid spending on the global influence of (a) China and (b) other countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision in the current fiscal and economic circumstances to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.
This was not an ideological decision, but a hardheaded one, recognising that resources devoted to diplomacy, development and defence have had to evolve over time to reflect the global context.
The UK Government is fully committed to the UK playing a significant role on development; it is both in our national interest and in the interest of our partners.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 international development aid on (a) women and (b) children.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We recognise that supporting women and girls is essential for development and we will continue to do so by using our voice to be a champion for women and girls across the world; working with women's organisations, particularly local organisations; and mainstreaming gender equality to put women and girls at the heart of everything we do.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is focused on ensuring that every pound is spent in the most impactful way. Equality Impact Assessments - which consider impacts on women and girls - are an essential part of how we make decisions on Offical Development Assistance (ODA) allocations. We intend to publish final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts this summer.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 in Overseas Development Assistance on the number of children able to access education.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through following the recent Spending Review and through resource allocation processes. We intend to publish final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Annual Report and Accounts this summer. The FCDO is focused on ensuring that every pound is spent in the most impactful way.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to achieve multilateral disarmament of nuclear weapons.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and to our Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty obligation to pursue nuclear disarmament negotiations in good faith. Nuclear disarmament is a process as well as an end-state, which is best achieved through a negotiated approach within existing international frameworks and reflecting the security environment. Whilst the current security environment poses significant challenges to this goal, the UK continues to work with partners to make progress on mechanisms that will ensure disarmament can be verified, transparent and irreversible if and when the security environment allows. We also continue to take steps to address future challenges on the verification of disarmament. An effective verification regime is essential for states to be confident others have eliminated their nuclear weapons and, are meeting treaty obligations. The UK has been at the forefront of national and international verification research, both domestically and within a range of global initiatives - for example, through the Quad Nuclear Verification Partnership.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that the UK Government complies with its Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons obligations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is compliant with and remains committed to its obligations across all three pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In line with its commitment under Article VI, the UK continues to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to nuclear disarmament, and to the long-term goal of achieving a world without nuclear weapons. Whilst the current security environment poses significant challenges to this goal, the UK continues to work with partners to make progress on mechanisms that will ensure disarmament can be verified, transparent and irreversible when the security environment allows. The UK is also proud to play its part in strengthening non-proliferation through active participation in export controls, and championing the highest standards of nuclear safety, security and safeguards as key enablers of nuclear trade. The UK has also provided financial support to both the Sustained Dialogue on Peaceful Uses and the International Atomic Energy Agency's Technical Cooperation Programme to improve developing states' access to the benefits of peaceful nuclear technologies. The UK will publish a National Report on its NPT progress at the NPT 2026 Review Conference which will provide further details on this work.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spends on diplomacy (a) in numerical terms and (b) as a proportion of gross value added each year.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Diplomacy is at the heart of all Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) activity, both in the UK and overseas. It is not possible for the FCDO to accurately present a numerical cost of diplomacy, nor the proportion of gross value added each year, because diplomacy will be a varying portion of almost all FCDO expenditure.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Iranian authorities following reports of 10 Bahá'í women being sentenced to a combined 90 years in prison for facilitating community-based educational and recreational activities for children.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran's abhorrent repression of Baha'is is unacceptable. We continue to take action in multilateral fora to spotlight abuses against Baha'is and hold Iran to account. On 18 March, at the Human Rights Council, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, said: "The past year has seen an escalation in the arrest and detention of Baha'i women as authorities seek to suppress their religious identity and autonomy as women." We were integral to the delivery of a new Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which will investigate a broader range of abuses including against religious minorities, in an important step towards accountability. His Majesty's Ambassador to Iran and I continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian government.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department’s negotiating priorities are for the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our priorities for the 2025 Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) include to promote and strengthen the NPT for the future, demonstrate the UK's enduring commitment to taking its responsibilities as a nuclear weapons state seriously and to engage productively and work collaboratively to forge the broadest possible consensus.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to attend the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in April and May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Director for Defence and International Security and the UK Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament are representing the UK at the 2025 Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
The UK national statement to the Preparatory Committee, delivered on 29 April, set out the UK's commitment to the NPT and the important contribution it makes to global security.