Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
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 his Department's budget he has allocated for (a) civilian peacebuilding and (b) conflict (i) prevention and (ii) resolution in the (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26 financial years.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending on "civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution", as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) (sector code 15220), for 2024-25 and 2025-26 is not currently available. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) budget allocations for 24/25 will be published shortly. Each year the FCDO publishes its Provisional and Final Statistics on International Development, providing a comprehensive overview of calendar year ODA spend. Final figures for 2024 will be published in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take diplomatic steps to support (a) civil society and (b) independent media in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I have raised our concerns over the instability and violence in Georgia directly with the Georgian Dream Representatives. I have been clear that Georgia's negative democratic trajectory, violence targeting demonstrators, and journalists is unacceptable. We are working with international partners to support a free and open civil society and media in Georgia. On 30 January our Embassy in Tbilisi issued a statement, on behalf of 14 Media Freedom Coalition members, supporting journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been on hunger strike since 11 January.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much and what proportion of its budget the UK Integrated Security Fund has allocated for (a) conflict (i) prevention and (ii) resolution and (b) peacebuilding in the (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26 financial years.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024-25. The Fund prioritises spending on those geographies and thematic issues that pose the greatest direct threat to the UK. Activity focussed on conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding are embedded into programmes across the ISF. However, these are not tracked as individual or separate components. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual budget is for the UK Integrated Security Fund in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25. Exact spend for the Fund will be published in the 2024/25 ISF Annual Report later in the year. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will provide an update on the (a) strategy and (b) expected publication date of the work of the Ministerial Child Poverty Task Force including on (i) child poverty and (ii) review of the two-child benefit cap.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.
The Strategy will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, including considering social security reforms, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
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 children in countries impacted by climate change.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are focused on tackling the climate and nature emergencies and global development challenges together with partners, working for peace and preventing conflict, and supporting the most vulnerable. We know that children are disproportionately at risk from the effects of climate change, and children and young people will be at the forefront of shaping a resilient, sustainable future. The UK-led Glasgow Climate Pact urges Parties and stakeholders to ensure meaningful youth participation and representation in multilateral, national and local decision-making processes.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on helping to ensure the warring parties in Sudan comply with (a) the Jeddah Declaration and (b) their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has engaged with international partners on the importance of holding the warring parties accountable to international humanitarian law and the commitments they made in Jeddah to allow humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians. As penholder at the UN Security Council and leader of the Core Group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK has consistently condemned reported international humanitarian and human rights law violations. The UK Special Representative to Sudan, Richard Crowder, pressed for a resolution to the conflict and for all parties to comply with the Jeddah Declaration when he visited Port Sudan in December - the UK's first official visit to the country since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023. In November 2024, the UK co-led a protection of civilians resolution at the UN Security Council with Sierra Leone, which called on parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law and for compliance with the Jeddah Declaration. This received unanimous Council support, apart from Russia who chose to veto it.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
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 use diplomatic ties with (a) Turkey, (b) Qatar and (c) other countries in the region to advance humanitarian efforts in Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to use diplomatic ties with Qatar and other regional partners to advance humanitarian efforts in Sudan. The Foreign Secretary met with the Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed on 7 November and discussed the dire humanitarian situation. The Foreign Secretary has also had bilateral meetings with countries in the region to advance humanitarian access including: the Saudi Foreign Minister; the Sierra Leonean Foreign Minister and the UAE Foreign Minister. The Foreign Secretary has also engaged with the region in multilateral fora, such as a roundtable he hosted during the UK's UN Security Council presidency in November, with African Union, Algeria and Egypt in attendance. Here he urged states to use their influence with the warring parties to push for improved humanitarian access in Sudan. In November 2024, the UK co-led a protection of civilians resolution at the UN Security Council with Sierra Leone, which also called for parties to the conflict to agree humanitarian pauses, and ensure the delivery of adequate humanitarian aid. This received unanimous Council support, apart from Russia who chose to veto it.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on whether violations of international humanitarian law have been committed by warring parties in Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has raised the humanitarian situation in Sudan with many of his counterparts, including the Foreign Ministers of Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar. The Foreign Secretary also hosted a roundtable on the humanitarian situation in Sudan during the UK's UN Security Council presidency in November, including with the African Union, Algeria and Egypt in attendance. As penholder at the UN Security Council and leader of the Core Group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK has consistently drawn attention to appalling reports of international humanitarian and human rights law violations. In December 2024, the UK Special Representative to Sudan, Richard Crowder, led a UK delegation to Port Sudan, where he met with several members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and pressed directly for improved humanitarian access. On 18 October 2024, the UK led a joint statement, along with ten other donors, which condemned the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian efforts and called upon warring parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the security situation in northern Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan about the security situation in northern Syria on a number of occasions; most recently at the International Contact Group for Syria in Riyadh on 12 January. I spoke most recently to Deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Yilmaz on 24 December 2024. This is part of regular Ministerial and senior official engagement with Turkish counterparts on this issue. We continue to urge all sides to refrain from activity that will lead to loss of civilian life, damage to civilian infrastructure, and to avoid further destabilisation and civilian suffering in the region.