Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British UNRWA workers were expelled as a result of the Israeli legislation enforced on 30 January 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has not released data on the nationality of international staff members who left the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a result of Israeli legislation which came into force on 30 January. The UK remains opposed to the legislation; the vital work of UNRWA in ensuring that Palestinians have access to education and healthcare must be protected in Gaza as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UK continues to lead international action to press for a resolution to this urgent issue. On 31 January we joined with Germany and France to call on Israel to abide by its international obligations and live up to its responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the World Bank on steps to ensure construction businesses in Gaza benefit from recently announced funding towards the restoration of critical water and energy infrastructure.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has committed an additional £2 million of funding through the World Bank to support the construction and restoration of critical energy and water infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza. This will compliment our diplomatic advocacy alongside the Office of the Quartet and funding efforts to support the resumption of basic services in Gaza as well as other enabling conditions for early recovery efforts in Gaza.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK aid expenditure has been destroyed during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has announced £129 million for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) so far this financial year, providing vital services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, and to Palestinian refugees across the region. The majority of our aid budget for the OPTs is disbursed as funding to trusted partners. We conduct thorough due diligence assessments of partners to ensure procedures are in place to manage the risks of aid diversion and to report losses. Programmes are monitored regularly, including through annual and project completion reviews. Third Party Monitoring strengthens our assurance, learning and evidence-gathering.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 adequacy of progress made towards tackling desertification at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
COP16 was the biggest and most inclusive Desertification COP to date. It marked a significant milestone, raising global ambition and mobilising finance to strengthen drought resilience, restore degraded land and combat desertification: issues critically interlinked with the UK's international development, climate and nature goals. We welcome the leadership the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia COP16 Presidency has shown in elevating these critical issues. Many important outcomes were achieved at UNCCD COP16, including over $12 billion announced to support UNCCD issues over the next decade, and the launch of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership to scale support for vulnerable countries. There is further to go, including reaching an agreed global approach on drought resilience, that drives ambition, progress and delivery.
The UK is committed to supporting vulnerable countries to build resilience and scale action on drought, desertification, water security, and land degradation. Our £11.6 billion International Climate Finance commitment includes £1.5 billion for adaptation in 2025 - a tripling from 2019 levels. This includes an initial investment in the Resilience and Adaptation Fund, which will help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable families across the world secure better access to food, water and productive land.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the aid provided by his Department in response to the conflict in Sudan will be allocated to the UN in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK is continuing to respond to the catastrophic situation in Sudan and assist those most in need, largely through funding key UN partners. The UK recently announced a further £113 million of aid to support over a million people affected by the violence in Sudan, and displaced across the region including to South Sudan, Chad and Uganda. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid to £226.5 million. A large majority of UK funding is allocated to key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide assorted food commodities to those most in need, and UNICEF to provide life-saving food assistance particularly in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition and water.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with which Cabinet colleagues he has had discussions as part of the China audit.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK Government is carrying out an audit to examine the UK's interests with respect to China to improve our ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. The audit is being conducted as a cross-government exercise, led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Foreign Secretary has discussed the China audit with Ministerial colleagues representing the full range of the Government's interests, and the FCDO will continue engaging with all relevant government departments.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6251 on Sudan: Development Aid, if he will break down the £97 million allocated to Sudan by funding to (a) multilaterals, (b) NGOs and (c) national and local organisations.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
In addition to the £97 million of UK ODA to Sudan so far this year, and £16.5 million to support neighbouring countries hosting people displaced by the conflict, on 17 November, the UK announced a further £113 million of aid to support over a million people affected by the violence in Sudan, and displaced across the region including to South Sudan, Chad and Uganda. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid in response to the conflict in Sudan this year to £226.5 million. Our funding supports UN and NGO partners, providing food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and sanitation. Education Cannot Wait will also receive £10 million of this funding to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda. UK ODA continues to support the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which is supporting local and national responders, including Emergency Response Rooms and a consortium of INGOs.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report entitled State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published by the UN on 24 July 2024, what steps his Department plans to take to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goal 2.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
We are committed to addressing the causes of global food insecurity and malnutrition. The UK is leveraging expertise and investment to build greater resilience to shocks. The UK is also helping to transform agrifood systems for greener, inclusive growth and nutritious and sustainable foods and support smallholder farmer livelihoods. Our support to the Child Nutrition Fund and CGIAR, the world's leading agricultural science and innovation organisation, is helping to tackle malnutrition.
At the G20 Development Ministers Meeting in July, I announced the UK would join the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty to work in partnership to lift ambition and finance for long-term solutions.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, during the Urgent Question on Sudan of 3 September 2024, Official Report, column 161, how much and what proportion of the £97 million funding announced for Sudan this financial year has been disbursed; and what his planned timetable is for the disbursement of remaining funds.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
As of the end of September 2024, £70 million had been disbursed. The rest of the UK's funding to Sudan this year - which now stands at £97 million following further UK support since March - will be distributed by the end of the financial year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his planned timetable is for the audit of the UK-China bilateral relationship; and what topics that audit will consider.
Answered by Catherine West
This Government will bring a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, driven by the national interest. We will co-operate where we can, including on global net zero, health and trade; compete where we have different interests; and challenge where we must, to protect our national security and values. An audit of the UK's relationship with China will improve the UK's capability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities. A timeline for the audit is to be determined.