Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK continues to step up for Ukraine as new funding announced to bring war criminals to justice, published on 29 December 2024, if he will publish a summary of his Department's legal advice on war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the start of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has recorded over 150,000 incidents of alleged war crimes committed during the conflict. The UK government is committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to document and investigate these atrocity crimes. As set out in our funding announcement of 29 December 2024, we are focussing efforts through practical support co-ordinated via the Atrocity Crimes Advisory group, established with our US and EU partners. We have also provided support to the International Criminal Court, which established its own investigation into the situation in Ukraine in March 2022, and been an active member of the Core Group of countries, working to explore options to establish a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to spend at least £1 billion on humanitarian aid in each year of this Parliament.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact, and value for money.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
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 proposed reductions in official development assistance on the UK contribution to international climate finance.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact on international climate finance is being worked through following the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI today to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money and will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation process.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in ODA spending, what steps his Department plans to take to provide humanitarian support to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, the Foreign Secretary announced an uplift of £14.6 million of humanitarian support for at least 480,000 more people in eastern DRC. This brings our humanitarian assistance in Eastern DRC to over £79 million this year. These funds support essential emergency assistance, and provide access to clean drinking water, treatment for malnourished children and life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. The UK remains committed to supporting those most in need in this critical humanitarian situation. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be allocated in future years will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors, including impact assessments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide for programmes to help tackle global hunger in each of the next five financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact of the reduction in UK Official Development Assistance from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent in 2027 is being worked through. Announcements on allocations will be made following the completion of the ongoing Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes. We will continue to advocate for action on global hunger, including through multilateral forums such as the G7, the G20, and as vice-chair of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reduction in ODA spending on food insecurity in (a) Haiti, (b) Mali and (c) South Sudan.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). He has been clear that the government will continue to play a key humanitarian role. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide for international climate finance in (a) 2025-26 and (b) each of the next five financial years.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Tackling climate change is a top priority for this government and we remain committed to International Climate Finance. We will set out our spending plans for future years following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in ODA, which (a) sectors and (b) regions will be prioritised for allocation that assistance.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average time period in weeks is for his Department to undertake an assessment of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO keeps Israel's commitment, capability to comply and record of compliance with International Humanitarian Law in relation to the Gaza conflict under regular review. The assessments, which are supported by a detailed evidence-base and informed by legal advice, take an average of 8 weeks to complete.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's reporting timelines on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law in the Middle East.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). On the first day back after the summer recess the Foreign Secretary informed parliament that the Government had taken the decision to suspend arms export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza, after the review concluded that there is a clear risk that relevant exports to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL. We continue to keep Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law in Gaza under review through a regular assessments process.