British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

We saw a previous Labour Government sell off this country’s gold. We now have a Labour Government who are surrendering our sovereignty and giving away our territory. Has the Foreign Secretary had any specific discussions with the Chagossian people as part of the negotiations?

[Mr Lammy]

I will not take lectures from a party that left a £22 billion black hole and our public services in a state. The chutzpah of the Opposition is unbelievable.

Police Station Closure: Sutton Coldfield

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Wednesday 4th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)]

It is not often I see so many Members in the House when I talk about the royal town of Sutton Coldfield, but it is a great honour to see so many here tonight. It is not often, either, that I have needed to raise a constituency matter on the Adjournment of the House, but the subject I address today is of such grave importance to my constituents and to the future security of the royal town of Sutton Coldfield that it demands urgent ministerial attention at the Dispatch Box.

The last time I held an Adjournment debate was in respect of the reassertion of the royal status of Sutton Coldfield. On that occasion, the Government made clear our right to use the word “royal” in the title of our town, and my constituents were grateful and deeply honoured by the reassertion of the royal status that we have now enjoyed for 496 years. Today, 10 years later, I am once again extremely grateful to Mr Speaker for granting me this debate on the subject of the proposed closure of the Royal Sutton Coldfield police station. This proposal is being peddled by the Labour police and crime commissioner and has appalled virtually all my constituents and appears to be supported only by two Labour councillors in the royal town.

The royal town of Sutton Coldfield has more than 100,000 inhabitants. We also host the second biggest new housing development in the country—around 5,500 new homes in the Langley area. A town of this size requires a fully equipped, proactive and professional police station, housing all manner of relevant police assets. Our current police station has protected our town since 1960 and sits on the main road into the town centre, giving police officers immediate access.

Core policing means local policing, serving our community by dealing with all policing issues, reassuring the community and offering a safe refuge to victims of crime and harassment. Core policing is about a 24/7 response, where officers work locally to cover response calls and know their areas and the local hoods and villains. It is about a locally based criminal investigation department that can provide qualified investigators who focus on locally reported crimes, from minor offences to major crimes, such as robbery, serious assault and burglary.

Investigators become aware of local crimes and emerging problems through locally based intelligence. Neighbourhood officers know local issues and problems. They deal with minor offences and antisocial behaviour, providing proper reassurance to the local community. Our excellent business improvement district, led by Michelle Baker, which helps drive progress in the town centre, continually warns about the dangers of shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.

The police deal with local offenders, including sex offenders. They work with all agencies—probation services, social services, children’s services, the NHS and fire services—to address local issues. There are specially trained officers working with partner agencies, and they need privacy to work with victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, who need an appropriately sized safe space. A town of 100,000 souls and rising deserves all of that, and, in our case, we pay for it. The residents of Sutton Coldfield pay £8 million into the police precept every year. The estimated running cost of £303,000 a year for the current station represents less than 4% of the annual local police precept. I mention in passing that £20 million was found to renovate and embellish the police headquarters at Lloyd House.

Over recent years, I have made it crystal clear to my constituents, who so generously re-elected me at the last general election, that I would do my best to prevent any closure or any diminution in police activity in the royal town. I was very pleased to see that pledge mirrored in the election material produced by the newly elected Labour West Midlands Mayor, who pledged to halt the closure of all 27 police stations throughout the west midlands. He clearly has little influence with his Labour colleague.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Mitchell]

I give way with great pleasure to my neighbour.

[Wendy Morton]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend. I think he would acknowledge that Sutton Coldfield police station covers more than Sutton Coldfield. It also covers communities in my constituency, particularly in the Streetly area. The Labour police and crime commissioner’s closure programme has been going on for far too long, and we need our police stations now more than ever.

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I will come to the strategic point that she has made in just a moment.

I was pointing out the apparent lack of influence that the newly elected Labour Mayor of the West Midlands has with his colleagues, as, in his literature, he promised to keep open the 27 police stations. But not even a fortnight after the general election, I was astonished to see a “For Sale” sign in front of our police station. Neither I as the Member of Parliament, members of the Royal Sutton Coldfield town council nor any of our councillors were informed. Back in March 2023, there were promises by the PCC of consultation with our town council. Mr Speaker has made it clear that he wants to see greater respect for politics and politicians, but how can that noble aim be achieved when we see this sort of cynical, manipulative disregard of the wishes of the local people by those elected to serve our interests?

I have no doubt that some will argue that such a decision is an operational matter for the police. The whole point of police and crime commissioners is that they should represent the wishes of local people, and speak up for us in respect of policing decisions. I was a member of the Cabinet that introduced police and crime commissioners, and I have to say that in my view the jury is out on whether they have been a successful reform to our law and order architecture. If police and crime commissioners are captured by the local police establishment, that reform is by definition a failure. They are meant to represent us to the police, not the police to us. They are our servants, not our masters.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman must, as he is, champion the interests of his constituents as he sees fit, but I am very glad to hear that he had a Conservative police and crime commissioner. I do not know whether he still does, but if he does, I am sure that they will serve the community extremely well.

On the subject of consultation, the perfectly fair and legitimate request by myself and the leader of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, Mr Simon Ward, for the police and crime commissioner to come before the town council and answer questions from the councillors and public has been turned down. Instead, he wants a behind-closed-doors meeting with me, the leader of the council and a couple of other councillors. No! We want genuine public consultation—transparency, not behind-closed-doors private meetings.

I fully understand the need for value for money, and that the Royal Sutton Coldfield police station is at present inadequately used. Indeed, for many years at Christmas I visited our local police station to dispense House of Commons fudge and humbugs to the hard-working officers and staff who work there. Over recent years, the consumption of fudge and humbugs has diminished as resources have been taken away from the station, but instead of denuding police services from a significant location in a key strategic part of the west midlands to the north-east of Birmingham, the police service should be looking at basing far more of the services that I described earlier in a strategic hub, building on the advantage of a significant space in Sutton Coldfield, rather than trying to flog it off.

Our police station was once an operational command unit for the West Midlands police, which now looks set to be reduced to a refit of three small dilapidated semi-detached houses. What a contrast to the brilliant West Midlands Fire Service, which has invested in its strategic location in the royal town, adjacent to the police station. Before anyone suggests that this is all down to the wicked Tories mercilessly culling budgets, consider these four facts: funding for the West Midlands police has been increased by nearly £40 million, taking the annual police budget to £629.2 million; we have recruited an extra 2,176 police officers; we have invested £24 million in violence reduction units in the west midlands, to tackle the most devastating crime and put the worst criminals behind bars; and we have invested £9 million in the west midlands through the safer streets fund.

During the course of the campaign to save the police station, I have had the benefit of advice from several former West Midlands police officers responsible for policing in the royal town. I thank them for their years of diligent service and for their insights and advice. They told me that they were totally opposed to the closure of the police station, and that this was their professional opinion and advice. They made it clear that they opposed the loss of a significant visible deterrent and the easy access to a fast redeveloping town centre, with the recent reopening of the Royal Cinema—probably the finest boutique cinema anywhere in the UK—and the purchase of the Gracechurch shopping centre, as well as the millions of pounds of investment secured under the previous Conservative Government.

All that adds to the case for more policing in Sutton Coldfield. The loss of our police station will mean a significant reduction in services and a diminution of policing. The loss of the custody cells, currently mothballed, comes at a time when we have seen, from the recent disgraceful rioting and demonstrations, that circumstances could arise where there would be a strategic need for such things. Those regionally strategic facilities should not easily be disregarded. It is not that long ago that the expensive facilities were provided; indeed, I think I performed the opening ceremony. That strategic point is at the heart of the intervention from my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), who rightly talks about the importance of a strategic location north-east of Birmingham, serving both my and her constituents.

[Wendy Morton]

My right hon. Friend is so right to make that point. He demonstrates that police stations are integral to our communities, but with the potential loss of the Sutton Coldfield station and Aldridge under threat, what does that leave us with strategically on the eastern flank of the west midlands, at a time when we know resources have been increased? In the case of Aldridge police station, if we lose the base, we lose the base for our police officers as well. This should not be about “bricks or bobbies”; it should be about both and making sure we have a strong police presence in our communities.

[Mr Mitchell]

Once again my right hon. Friend puts her finger on the critical point and underlines the case that she and I are making for the good policing of our constituents. The sale of our police station will realise millions of pounds, much of which will clearly not be spent in Sutton Coldfield. In its place we are offered a low-grade option for policing with very limited facilities, selling short the people of Sutton Coldfield: at best, a small public contact centre, comprising three small police houses to the rear of the existing station. That is clearly a wholly inadequate marginal replacement for a proper police station. It is a measure designed to save money and not to enhance policing. It is well known that policing is local or it is nothing, and the proposed closure takes the local out of policing in the town.

The motto of the West Midlands police is “Forward in unity”. This decision takes us backwards in great disunity. The PCC’s proposal has been strongly condemned by residents, former police officers, all elected Conservative councillors, senior figures throughout the local community, and by me as their MP. I pay particular tribute to the vigorous campaigning and eloquent arguments put forward by Simon Ward, the leader of Royal Sutton Coldfield town council, and his hard-working councillors, by our energetic local Birmingham City Conservative councillors, including the highly effective David Pears, and by Jay Singh-Sohal, a former police and crime commissioner candidate with immense experience of policing issues.

However, those are but the tip of a huge local campaign, vigorously supported and engaged in across my constituency. On the day of the disastrous announcement of the sale of the police station, I received a letter in the post from the PCC—not addressing the pressing matter, but instead discussing his hopes on matters such as community policing. For community policing to be effective, it must take advice from the community it hopes to police and protect, and not press ahead without consulting that community.

With decisions such as this paying such little regard to local opinion and safety requirements, it cannot be a surprise that West Midlands police were placed under special measures under the Labour police and crime commissioner. Until he starts working alongside local communities, instead of dictating to them the fate of key services such as the police station, things may only get worse.

The decision to close the royal town’s police station is a mistake. I urge the Labour police and crime commissioner to reconsider his stance and to engage with humility, rigour and energy in a proper public consultation with the local people whom he serves, so that he can listen to their concerns directly and honour the West Midlands police mantra of “Forward in unity”.

[Wendy Morton]

My right hon. Friend is being very generous. On the subject of engagement, it is high time that the Labour police and crime commissioner engaged fully with us on Aldridge police station and came clean about his intentions. I want to make sure that he is left in no doubt that my right hon. Friend and I will continue to fight tooth and nail for these vital services that our communities deserve. It is wrong, as I am sure my right hon. Friend agrees, that resources are all too easily directed to other parts of the west midlands, particularly to Lloyd House, when we have needs in our communities as well.

[Mr Mitchell]

I must draw my remarks to a close so that we can hear from the Minister, on whose appointment I wish belatedly to congratulate her, but my right hon. Friend once again makes a critical point about consultation on these decisions. As I have said, the whole point of having police and crime commissioners is that they should listen to their local community and represent their heartfelt views. I hope that by listening to what my right hon. Friend and I and so many others are saying in our respective areas, the police and crime commissioner will have another look at this matter and see what he can do to satisfy us on a vexed subject that has caused enormous local anxiety, fear and pain about such a sharp diminution in the policing resources that we all wish to see.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 30th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right in her analysis of what is happening in Sudan—throughout Sudan, and in particular in Darfur—where there is clear evidence of crimes against humanity being committed. Britain holds the pen at the United Nations, as I said earlier to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford). We work through regional and international alliances. We are clear that Sudan needs a comprehensive ceasefire and then movement back on to a political track, where former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will play an increasingly important role.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Today is World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day and as I am sure the Minister is well aware, malaria affects more than 250 million people every year and causes the death of a child every minute. Given the news that the British-backed R21 vaccination has gained pre-qualification at the World Health Organisation, what commitment will my right hon. Friend give towards further support, including through the next replenishment of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance?

[Mr Mitchell]

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Jenner Institute at Oxford to see the remarkable people who made that progress. Every day, malaria kills entirely unnecessarily more than 1,000 children under five and pregnant women. Thanks to that brilliant British invention and technology, I hope very much that we will be able to make malaria history within the foreseeable future.

Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 9th January 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. It gave me time to get a good gulp of water. He is right again in underlining the issue and our role as this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and what we can do together. The use of non-governmental organisation partnerships that are charitable and faith-based will always be my motivation for being here. That is where I come from.

I think of the clinics in Malawi, which the hon. Member for Glasgow North referred to, as well as in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. I think of those three and of those in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria that I know the churches back home are involved with. The Elim church and missions are active in my constituency. In particular, the clinics in the first three countries are supported through the Elim Relief Association, which has taken steps to deliver anti-malaria tools at a low cost with a big dividend at the end, purchasing nets in bulk and handing them out through the charitable hospital and clinics. That is replicated worldwide.

We have questions to ask about how much funding is wasted on unnecessary red tape. When we see images of a child wasting away with no proper care, suffering from a disease that could have been managed, it underlines how we must do better. I believe we can.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

To allow the hon. Gentleman to have a quick drink, I will make the following point. He is making a passionate speech on the importance of supporting the tremendous work to tackle malaria and neglected tropical disease. We often talk about this from an Africa or an international perspective. Does he agree with me that it is important we recognise that our work through the UK aid budget and international development also has an impact on UK citizens and the UK’s reputation in many ways? It is important we do not lose sight of that.

[Jim Shannon]

The right hon. Lady is absolutely right. That is a good reminder that what we do here is appreciated across the world. There is feedback and a positivity that comes through that.

I support many organisations, as do others, whether they be church groups or charitable groups. One such organisation that I want to mention is the Christian Blind Mission, which I have supported for about 20 years. I had never met any representatives in person until I got to Nigeria and visited them and saw what and how much they do. One of our former Members, Jo Cox, was involved with that organisation. I did not know that until that day and it was interesting to catch up. We may donate to charity but may not always know all the good an organisation does.

Time has prevented me from going into other tropical diseases, but the trends are the same and so is the solution: joined-up thinking, working in partnership with the bodies that exist on the ground and a budget that can and does deliver compassionate aid. This debate is important. I believe we have an obligation to speak up for those who need help and be the ears and voice of those across the world. I thank the Government for what they do but urge them to do more.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who contributes to so many debates and always brings a huge amount of commitment, passion and knowledge. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady) for securing time for this important debate on malaria and neglected tropical diseases, particularly ahead of the world awareness day. I have long been interested in the issue and my support continues. Malaria and neglected tropical diseases are embedded in UN sustainable development goal 3—good health and wellbeing—and under target 3.3, as I am sure hon. Members will know all too well, to end the epidemic of malaria and NTDs by 2030. The UK actively contributes to that target.

As a former FCDO global health Minister, I was pleased to launch the “Ending preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children by 2030” paper in December 2021. That paper highlights the UK’s key achievements to date in the fight against malaria and NTDs. It is worth just reminding ourselves of a few of those achievements. In 2019, UK aid helped to distribute 160 million mosquito nets, sprayed 8 million buildings with anti-malarial indoor spray, gave preventive malaria treatment to 11 million women and supported the development of seven new drugs for malaria.

But, all too sadly, as we know, malaria transmissions are concentrated throughout countries in sub-Saharan Africa, especially those close to the equator. In 2022, there were 249 million cases of malaria and 608,000 deaths, of which 95% were in Africa. I am very fortunate to have visited, and actually volunteered in, some of those sub-Saharan countries—for example through Project Umubano, with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and as a member of the International Development Committee—including Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Mozambique. Like most travellers, when I visited, I would take anti-malarial pills as a short-term preventive precaution. However, for people living in those countries, anti-malarial pills are either not an option or not a long-term solution.

Another preventive measure, which of course is more accessible and affordable—and often free—is the use of mosquito nets. When used properly, mosquito nets are very effective. However, an unintended consequence that we need to be aware of is that, when they are free or subsidised—which is a good thing—that can lead to some of those nets being used for alternative uses, such as for fishing.

I therefore urge that, when the Government are looking at these projects and at funding, we also insist that we accompany that with education of how to use mosquito nets properly. I think we all know that there is no point in having a mosquito net if it is not being used effectively. Otherwise, not only are we risking somebody’s life, but we are risking our investment at the expense of the British taxpayer.

I was also very fortunate to visit the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine during my time as Minister for global health. That is, again, another organisation here in the UK that does absolutely incredible work, and I am glad to see that the UK continues to set malaria and NTDs as a priority on its agenda.

The UK’s international development White Paper, published in November 2023, highlights the following achievements: the UK’s contribution to the World Health Organisation’s malaria vaccine implementation programme, the UK’s Fleming fund for strengthening anti-microbial resistance surveillance systems in more than 20 low and middle-income countries, support for civil society advocacy groups such as Malaria No More, and both of the first two malaria vaccines in the world to be recommended by the WHO coming from British science and British expertise. Those are Mosquirix, developed by GSK, and R21, developed by the University of Oxford. I would like to give recognition to GSK and the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute for that incredible contribution to global health.

[Mr Dhesi]

Indeed, our battle against malaria and NTDs is not just a struggle for survival but a reflection of our collective humanity. Does the right hon. Lady agree with me that it is a global fight that transcends national boundaries and demands worldwide unity, that our actions today will define the legacy we leave for future generations, and that this battle is about saving lives and upholding our moral duty to the global community?

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We often talk about budgets in terms of countries and regions; insects and diseases such as malaria do not see the boundaries that we do, so it is always important that we do as much as we can, working with our partners, to address the long-term issues and finding the solutions, but taking a holistic approach. I do not believe it is always that simple, but we must absolutely continue to work on it. That is why I think the UK has a very good reputation when it comes to international development, particularly now that that work is integrated within the Foreign Office. However, it is important that we continue to work on this, whether on malaria or many of the other diseases that we see around the world.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

As a vice-chair of the all-party group on malaria and neglected tropical diseases, I have a great interest in this issue, and having spent a lot of time in Africa over the years, mainly with the military, I understand this particular field intimately. Does my right hon. Friend agree that even though the percentage of overseas aid fell from 0.7% to 0.5%, the Foreign Office should now be focused on maintaining at a consistent level the funding relating to life and death issues? With the overall funding headroom being reduced, the funding element for life and death issues—particularly malaria and NTDs—should be consistent in order for the UK to fulfil its global responsibilities.

[Wendy Morton]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point, and having been a Minister, I know how difficult some of these challenges can be. I am sure that the Minister may well pick up on that issue during her speech. It is important that we look at our priorities and seek to achieve the most effective outcomes for our spend. It does not matter whether this is about international development or any other Department. All too often we talk about the amount of money we are putting into a project, whereas I would like to see us look more at the outcomes alongside that. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland) acknowledges, we are discussing really important topics this morning that are often about the difference between life and death.

I was pleased that in May 2022, the UK launched its 10-year international development strategy, with one of its four priorities being global health. The strategy states that we will

“work towards ending preventable deaths”

by

“investing both bilaterally and through initiatives such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.”

I appreciate the great work of the Global Fund. I also gently remind Ministers—I am sure they are very aware—that there have been some issues with funding in certain parts of the world. That is why it is so important that there must always be the appropriate management and oversight capacity, as well as accurate inventory records checked by external auditors, so that we have overall accountability to British taxpayers.

That said, I absolutely acknowledge the positive results that have been achieved. The Global Fund’s 2023 report states that in 2022, it treated 165 million cases of malaria, and gave preventive treatment for malaria to 14.6 million pregnant women. That is another example of the scale of the challenge we face, and how important this is.

The UK has contributed to those results as the third largest Government donor to the Global Fund, pledging £1 billion for the Global Fund’s seventh replenishment for 2023 to 2025. It is also important to recognise that the funds are spent on some other very important areas, such as HIV and TB, which I know this House and some Members here take very seriously.

It is right that we continue to invest in malaria prevention and treatment if we are to meet our target of ending preventable deaths by 2030. I recognise that the total number of malaria deaths worldwide is falling. The statistics show a fall from 896,000 deaths in 2000 to 608,000 in 2022. By my calculation, that equates to a reduction of about 13,000 deaths a year. Even if we apply that rate between today and 2030, there will still be approximately 517,000 malaria deaths in 2030, which is obviously far from us being malaria-free, so we urgently need innovations to continue to tackle malaria. Perhaps we need to scale up the newly recommended R21 malaria vaccine as part of the solution.

Good international development is not all about spending money overseas to benefit developing countries, although we need the funds to do this. It is also about protecting and developing our interests as the UK: for example, through trade and the building of new trade relationships, and making a strong contribution to the UK’s soft power and international place in the world. It is about honouring the UK’s international commitments, but it must also firmly remain about making this more effective by improving openness, transparency, value for money and delivering. Today’s debate is a very helpful reminder of that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I have not had those discussions with my Israeli opposite number, but the hon. Gentleman may rest absolutely assured that the contact with the Israeli Government—not least during the visit of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary over the past few days—focuses on every aspect of this issue.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

The war in Ukraine is undoubtedly the largest land war in Europe for decades. Notwithstanding other pressures around the world, will my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reaffirm the UK’s commitment to its support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people?

[James Cleverly]

I can confirm to the House that Ukraine’s ability to defend itself remains a focus of the Government. The Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and I discuss this matter regularly, and I continue to have regular communications with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. This matter may have fallen temporarily from the headlines of the British newspapers, but it has not fallen from the mind of the British Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

Our bilateral relationship with Türkiye is important. It is a NATO ally and is heavily involved in the facilitation of the Black sea grain initiative, which is helping to feed starving people around the world. I note the hon. Gentleman’s points about the election, which we will look into, but ultimately it is in our bilateral and indeed regional interests to maintain a strong working relationship with Türkiye, and that will continue to be the case.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Education can make a real difference to the empowerment of women and girls, and a positive difference to communities—something highlighted in a recent impact report from Five Talents, which focuses on setting up savings groups to help communities. Does my right hon. Friend agree that those types of groups can play a vital role in strengthening the resilience of communities in a sustainable way?

[Mr Mitchell]

Yes.

Landmine Awareness

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Thursday 20th April 2023 Westminster Hall

[David Mundell (in the Chair)]

Before I call Wendy Morton to move the motion, I should draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered land mine awareness.

Thank you for chairing this debate, Mr Mundell. I recognise that the HALO Trust is based in your constituency. The HALO Trust is one of the leading global non-governmental organisations carrying out de-mining, and I know that you have a particular interest in this issue. In fact, we worked together on Project Umubano, an international social action project, for a number of years, so I am delighted that you are in the Chair, although had you not been you might have contributed to our debate and shared with us some of your knowledge and experience of international development.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

I congratulate the right hon. Lady on securing the debate. Organisations such as the HALO Trust, whose headquarters are in your constituency in Scotland, Mr Mundell, do incredibly important work that truly saves lives, and I place my gratitude to them on the record. Does the right hon. Lady agree that if the Government are happy to rely on charitable organisations to carry out so much of the work, they must ensure that they are adequately funded?

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes a really important point. Funding is crucial for de-mining work, and it is NGOs and charities that go and do this work. It is not the sort of work that Governments do, because it needs the neutrality of an NGO. As well as the HALO Trust, many other groups around the world, including the Mines Advisory Group, do amazing work in this field.

I place on the record my thanks to the Members who are present this afternoon. It is a Thursday afternoon, so many of our colleagues are already heading back to their constituencies for surgeries and visits, but I am pleased by the number of people who have been able to attend the debate, and by the tremendous support that I had from Back-Bench colleagues of all parties when I made my bid to the Backbench Business Committee. That shows not just how much interest there is in this topic, but how seriously our colleagues across the House take it. We know that, long after the end of war, civilians remain at risk from landmines, as do livestock and other animals, and often our environment.

Landmines are a lasting legacy of conflict. They remain capable of killing or injuring civilians, and so deny access to land and livelihoods, hindering agriculture, enterprise and often education as well. In the last few years, the Government have put a big emphasis on making sure that girls have access to 12 years of education. I can see the Minister nodding, and I know that she was a champion of this issue in her days as Secretary of State for International Development, when I was a Minister in that Department. We know that giving a girl an education provides her with an excellent start to life, and it is important that we recognise that link.

Landmines also disrupt essential services and the supply of valuable humanitarian aid. It is estimated that 60 million people are still at risk from landmines and unexploded ordnance in countries where conflict has long since ceased —for example, Angola. Many of us remember the pictures of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, wearing protective clothing and a visor in a minefield. She did so much to raise awareness, but that was a number of years ago. Other affected countries are Cambodia, Laos and Zimbabwe.

[Margaret Ferrier]

Landmines may seem like an problem from conflicts long past, but their use in Ukraine has brought this issue, rightly, back into the spotlight. Does the right hon. Member agree that there needs to be stronger deterrence of landmine use in conflict, and consequences for the resulting loss of civilian life?

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady must be looking ahead in my speech or else she is psychic, because I intended to touch on the subject of Ukraine. That conflict—the illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine by the Russians—is a reminder that the use of landmines is prevalent today; it still happens. I will come on to that as I do a brief tour around some of the countries where we still have challenges to handle.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more people face danger today than two years ago, as a result of more recent conflicts. MAG estimates that on average 15 people every day are killed or injured by landmines or unexploded ordnance, and—shockingly—half of the civilian casualties are children. I did a bit of calculating when preparing my speech, and I reckon that that is about 5,500 people being killed or injured every single year. That is a huge number.

I called this debate as close as was possible—because Parliament has just had its Easter recess—to 4 April, recognising that that is the UN’s International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. I wanted to use the opportunity of this debate to draw attention once again to this deadly legacy of conflict, to recognise the global role that the UK takes on this issue and to —gently—press my right hon. Friend the Minister and the UK Government to do more to support this incredibly important work.

Of course, the UK was one of the first signatories to the anti-personnel mine ban convention, or mine ban treaty, and the convention on cluster munitions. The UK is one of the world’s leading forces in ridding the world of landmines. With 164 parties to it, the mine ban treaty is one of the most widely ratified disarmament treaties, but there are notable exceptions, including Russia, the US, China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Syria. When the Minister sums up, will she say what more our Government can do to press these other parties to ratify the convention?

The UK provides aid for landmine clearance through GMAP—the global mine action programme—and UK funding has supported organisations such as MAG and the HALO Trust to remove more than 70,000 landmines and explosive remnants of war. I appreciate that the Minister faces budgetary pressures—as we did during my days in the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—but I am a little surprised that funding for such a crucial programme has decreased by about £53 million in the last year, at a time when civilians are facing a greater risk, with the war in Ukraine being a really good example for us to consider.

GMAP3 was launched in March 2022 and runs until March 2025, with, I believe, a budget of £89 million— I see the Minister nodding. Will she update us on that budget and where it stands, how much has been spent and how much has been allocated? Does she think that that will be enough until 2025, given the number of challenges that we face around the world? I will touch on some of those, and in particular Ukraine. In too many places, the situation remains extremely challenging. I want to take this opportunity, as we recognise landmine awareness day, to share a few of the many examples, because they act as a salient reminder of why this work matters.

I will start with Afghanistan, where the HALO Trust began clearing mines back in 1988, following decades of conflict. The country was left absolutely littered with ordnance, and today Afghanistan remains one of the deadliest places for civilians. The work done there to educate children and adults about the risks they face is a vital part of HALO’s work programme. I am sure that is something you know, Mr Mundell, from visiting HALO and perhaps the programmes or projects it has done. If we do not do that educative part of the work and build capacity in countries to deal with the existing landmines, we are almost failing those countries, because of the amount of time it takes to clear them.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

I thank the right hon. Lady for making an excellent speech and bringing this vital issue to the Chamber.

I had the opportunity a few years ago to visit the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre understands there are around 180,000 unexploded mines left following the war, which I remember seeing on screens when I was a child. One of the most poignant things was the aftermath of the conflict and its effect on the lives of children; that was very evident from the museum. Does the right hon. Lady agree that that is one of the things we must take into consideration? This work is for future generations as well. When landmines remain, communities continue to feel scared, young people continue to feel frightened and they still see the carnage of war in their daily experiences. That is why it is so important that we fund these services adequately.

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes a really important point. We both served on the International Development Committee a number of years ago, so I know that she has a great interest in international development, and in mental health and wellbeing too. That point about education and support for the next generation is really important. In doing my research for my speech today, I was reminded that there are instances where people have kept a landmine as a remnant of war. It could be sitting in their home, yet it contains live explosives. Education really matters, and there is a need for that ongoing work.

The other important issue worth noting is land contamination. We often think that landmine clearance is about going in, removing the mine and that is it. The importance of that has increased due to greater awareness of the environmental agenda, but there is a need to ensure that that land is decontaminated; without doing that, agricultural land cannot be used. The hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) makes a really important point, and I thank her for that.

HALO reports that in Kosovo in the western Balkans, 4,722 landmines and 5,727 cluster munitions were destroyed during its 1999-2022 programme alone, and 21 million square metres of land were released. That starts to give us a sense of the scale of the land that is contaminated with landmines. The Kosovo mine action strategy will be realised in 2024. Back in 1999, there were 18 mine clearance agencies working in Kosovo—18—and now there are only two. That shows that progress has been made, but the work continues, and the commitment remains to creating a safe future for the people in Kosovo.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a really interesting part of the world, and one where there has been recent conflict. The region remains one of the most contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance in the world. The UK was the first country to announce humanitarian support following the 2020 conflict—I remember that because I was the Minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at the time—and £1 million was donated to the ICRC for their work. The Government then announced a second contribution of £500,000 to support landmine clearance. In this region, more people have suffered from landmine explosions after the conflict than during the conflict. I appreciate the challenges and difficulties around the world, and earlier in my speech I touched on landmines having an impact on getting support, in particular humanitarian support, to communities. This part of the world is incredibly tricky, sensitive and complex. Will the Minister provide an update on the Lachin corridor, which is critical to that part of the region?

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

indicated assent.

[Wendy Morton]

I can see that the Minister is nodding. My point is in relation to humanitarian aid getting through to the civilians who need it.

A few years ago, we had many a debate on Syria in this House. It was good to notice on Twitter this morning that HALO has just announced that it has completed mechanical clearance training in north-west Syria—an important and exciting milestone that means that HALO is now able to start to clear minefields. That is another good example of a team going in with the skills and knowledge to clear unexploded weapons using an excavator. My understanding is that work will begin there in June.

In Syria, almost 15 million people are in need of humanitarian aid and a third of the population live in communities contaminated by unexploded ordnance. Add to that the recent earthquakes on the Syria-Turkey border and we start to understand some of the massive humanitarian challenges around the world. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as many as 300,000 shells and bombs have failed to detonate during the conflict in Syria. It is another example of how, years after the battle has moved on, civilians are left vulnerable to death and injury. Sadly, it is estimated that 15% of the population there are living with a disability. That reinforces the need for education work to make children in particular aware of the dangers of landmines—that they are not toys to be played with and that children should not go into areas where there is sign saying not to. Alas, around the world there are cases of people assuming that no sign means the land is safe, when there could well be the remnants of war there.

This morning, I happened to catch up with an old friend who as a child lived in Lebanon. He was telling me that he could remember seeing the minefield warning signs as a child. That is a reminder that this is a problem not just of the past but of the present, and for the next generation. Decades of civil and external conflict in Lebanon—through the ’80s and ’90s and then again in 2006—have left Lebanon with an extensive legacy of landmine and cluster bomb contamination. Spillover from the conflict in Syria is evident in Lebanese territory, which has led to a new level of contamination by landmines best described as of an improvised nature.

In Lebanon and in many of the other countries that I have highlighted, agriculture is the key economic driver of livelihoods and activities for communities, yet large areas of farming land—fertile arable land—remain inaccessible or contaminated. If we are serious about tackling poverty and some of the drivers of migration flows, de-mining work has to be a priority.

Let me come to—do not worry, Mr Mundell; I will not mention every country in the world, but I will make the most of this opportunity—Georgia, where there were just five days of conflict in 2008, but those five days have led to Georgia appearing in this debate, because 30 huge aircraft bombs were found in the village of Chonto. Teams had to overcome the mountainous and highly unstable terrain in that area to destroy the bombs. A place called Shida Kartli was cleared a year later, again thanks to the work of de-mining teams, which allowed people to return home. Imagine not only going through conflict and leaving home, but being reliant on a team to de-mine before being able to return. That might be an international team, but in the longer term, the more we can do to help countries’ non-governmental organisations to develop capacity, the better; that is a much more sustainable way of de-mining, because then the capacity remains long after the conflict has ended. Abkhazia is another part of the world where unexploded items remained after decades of war, not just in homes but in ammunition stores. As long as those items exist, there is a threat to life.

I will turn to Ukraine, because it is rightly on our minds a lot in this place. The Government have a great track record of providing support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. I acknowledge the families in my constituency who have offered a home to Ukrainians. They all deserve our support, and we owe them a huge amount of gratitude. It is estimated that 300,000 sq km of Ukrainian territory is contaminated. To put that into context, that is an area larger than the UK. It is a huge amount of land. Swathes of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were already contaminated following eight years of conflict.

Let me put the situation for Ukrainian people into context. When the Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko spoke to the International Development Committee about the impact of landmines in Ukraine, she said that landmine contamination is “stopping farmers”, so stopping livelihoods, and “stopping children”—stopping them having a future and an education. She said it is

“stopping you just enjoying your leisurely walk in your local forest.”

If we ever needed proof of the impact on lives and livelihoods, we have it in the words of that Member of Parliament.

I welcome the fact that the FCDO has a £2 million agreement with the HALO Trust under GMAP, and it is providing de-mining equipment and training to the state emergency services. That is so vital. To illustrate the scale of the challenge, open-source satellite imagery indicates that there are minefields stretching for hundreds of kilometres in the east and south of the country. Shockingly, one single fortified mine line runs 90 km from the Russian border to north of the town of Lysychansk in the east. That is a long tract of land.

The World Bank has estimated the cost for clearance of explosive ordnance across the entire Ukrainian nation at $37.6 billion. That amount will only increase with every day that the conflict continues. I hope that there are many things that we can take away from this debate, but if there is only one, consider the point that one day of fighting results in roughly a month of clearance being needed. That really is quite a salient point. Funding to clear landmines and to educate the communities at risk of harm matters. It makes a difference, but so does our ability to train and build capacity in the countries concerned. The sustainable and right way of using development is to ensure that the skills, knowledge and expertise remain when an NGO has left.

However, we see from examples that de-mining takes time, commitment and funding. I have a few more questions for the Minister, which focus on that. Will her Department remain committed to this important work? How will the Government support mine action and awareness in countries no longer supported by GMAP? How will she encourage more states to accede to the anti-personnel mine ban? It is really important to stop mines being laid in the first place. Will she reassure me that, at a time of budgetary pressure, she will continue to provide Ukraine with the humanitarian and development support that it needs following the Russians’ illegal invasion?

The UK has been one of the most generous countries in the world in funding de-mining. In closing, I will share one example that shows why that really matters. Let us look at the Falkland Islands. Back in 2020, almost 40 years after the end of the conflict during which thousands of exploding devices were laid, the Falkland Islands were declared mine-free under the anti-personnel mine ban convention, also known as the Ottowa convention. Tribute was paid to the members of the British armed forces who contributed to mapping, fencing and clearing the minefields between 1982 and 2009, as well as to the civilian de-miners who, between 2009 and 2020, destroyed more than 10,000 mines and other unexploded ordnance in the UK-funded programme.

People in the Falkland Islands no longer have to teach their children about the dangers of minefields. Beaches and places of natural beauty that were once out of bounds can now be enjoyed. I was reminded just the other week of what a tremendous achievement that was, and how much we owe to the commitment of those brave and skilled men and women who worked tirelessly to achieve the mine-free declaration. Many of them were of Zimbabwean origin but have now made a permanent home in the Falkland Islands, as they have become part of the community. I thought it important to end on a positive note and show that the work of organisations to clear mines and educate civilians really can make a difference.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

I certainly do. The right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills called for that, and I endorse what the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) says. That is one ask of mine and of the right hon. Lady, and it will certainly be one of the asks of the two shadow spokespersons. The Minister has a bit of time to prepare an answer on how we can address that issue.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines estimates that at least 60 countries remain contaminated by mines, and in 2021, at least 5,500 casualties were recorded. Most of those casualties were civilians, as the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West and the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills said. What vexes me most—I suspect it vexes us all—is that, in many cases, the casualties are just children. I have six grandchildren. They are incredibly energetic. I am glad that it is my wife who looks after them most of the time; I was going to say that I would not have much hair left if it was I who did, but I have very little hair left anyway. When children go out, they want to play, run, jump and climb trees. We can imagine what happens in areas where wee children want to play and the dangers are not apparent to them. the destruction is very real.

As the right hon. Lady said, landmines affect future generations. It is so important to keep in place the money and investment that has been taken away, so that we can protect future generations and give them the opportunity to enjoy life. The highest numbers of casualties were recorded in Syria, closely followed by Afghanistan. I attend Holy Communion at St Margaret’s church when I am here; I did so on Wednesday. The Rev. Tricia Hillas from St Margaret’s always has a different speaker, and just before Christmas we heard from a guy who was involved in a charity in Syria. He told us about the number of people in Syria—adults and children—who were disabled, having lost limbs. That stuck in my mind. It is not something I would have been particularly knowledgeable about. The charity helps those people directly; they do not have prosthetic limbs, so they use crutches and wheelchairs. It indicates the issues that need to be addressed. I know that Syria has not always been a great friend of the west, but I see past those things. I do not see where Syria is in the world; I just see the people who are injured and need help. Perhaps we need to focus on that.

[Wendy Morton]

The point about disability is really important in the development space. That is something I learned when I was in east Africa, in countries such as Rwanda. It is difficult enough for someone in this country who becomes or is born disabled, even though there is a lot of support. In many other countries, including those we have been discussing that have been affected by conflict, that support is not there. Disabled people are often not even able to get out of the house, because they do not have the prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs or crutches that we take for granted. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that reinforces the need for not just landmine clearance, but the building of capacity and adequate education, so that civilians are aware of the dangers on their doorstep?

[Jim Shannon]

The right hon. Lady speaks with great knowledge and understanding, and I do not think anybody present or watching on TV would disagree with her. With compassion in our hearts, we have to see how these people are affected and how we can help them. That is part of the reason why the £53 million reduction is so disappointing.

The right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills referred to Princess Diana. If I close my eyes, I can see Princess Diana there in her top and jeans with her helmet on and the cover over her face, walking through the landmines. She highlighted the issue, as she did many others; HIV is another one that I always remember. She was not afraid to take on the difficult subjects, or to take the lead and raise awareness, as the right hon. Lady said. As we probably all do, I well remember exactly what Princess Diana did on the issue of landmines.

As the Minister is aware, the UK provides aid for landmine clearance through its global mine action programme, but I have to raise recent reductions in aid spending; that is one of my questions, just as it is a question for the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West and the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, who set the scene. The programme has been decreased by £53 million in the past year. The Minister knows that I always try to be respectful to Ministers, so when I ask the question, I do so only to try to highlight the issue. As the right hon. Lady said, there is more mine usage now, so it is not the time to decrease money; we should at least hold funding at that level. Some would say— I am probably among them—we should look for more. That is the real question we are all asking.

I understand—I put it on the record—that the Government have been incredibly generous. However, at a time of austerity, and when mine usage across the world has become much greater, it is time to reflect on that. My concern is that the reduction does not reflect the urgency of the situation. I sincerely ask the Minister to make it clear that the nation’s view is that we must do all we can to fulfil our international obligations and, as was agreed, dispose of these landmines.

I could not contribute to a debate that involved landmines and not include Ukraine. I do not think there has been a debate on Ukraine that I have not attended, although it may have been a case of being here in Westminster Hall while trying to be in the main Chamber —no matter how good you are, Mr Mundell, you cannot be in two places at once—

--- Later in debate ---

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Gentleman speaks about landmine contamination and how long it can take to de-mine an area of land, and gives further examples of countries with landmines. It is estimated that explosives can take between 10 and 90 years to leach because of the casings and corrosion. Therefore, land is at risk for a long period of time. Now we have much better ways of decontaminating land, but does he agree that the urgency to go and tackle landmines becomes even more important? The longer they are in the land, the more contamination can occur. That must surely impact the ability to restore the land for agricultural use, for instance.

[Fabian Hamilton]

I thank the right hon. Lady for her extremely important points. Indeed, when I was in Colombia last year I went to see the HALO Trust headquarters in Bogota. I was told that vast areas of land were contaminated with perhaps half a dozen mines, but of course nobody knew where they were. That meant that the whole area was out of bounds and could not be put into productive use.

As many right hon. and hon. Members will know, Colombia, like much of Latin America, is incredibly fertile. Drop a seed and it will grow into a plant or food or whatever is needed. The release of that land through decontamination is vital. I was impressed at the way that HALO had gone about decontaminating that land. There were very few landmines, but a huge amount of land was released for agricultural and development purposes. As we have heard, over 5,500 people were casualties of landmines in 2021, with just under half of them dying from their injuries. As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, about half of the victims were children. That should bring great shame to every human being on the planet.

I would like to turn now to the war in Ukraine, as many colleagues already have. It is shocking to realise that it will take a minimum of 365 months, at this point in time, to de-mine Ukraine as a result of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. That is about 30 years. If that does not summarise the true cost of these appalling weapons, nothing ever will. Based on a calculation that the war ends today, the cost of the reconstruction of Ukraine would be more than $500 billion. Each day of fighting results in at least a month’s worth of landmine clearance. It has to stop and I hope the world will work harder to make sure that it does.

Even more shockingly, the Ukraine Government estimate that around 40% of Ukraine—about 250,000 sq km—may now need to be searched and cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance. That equates to an area larger than the United Kingdom. More than 120 minefields have so far been identified in northern Ukraine alone. In addition to the anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, tens of thousands of artillery rounds are being fired every single day, with thousands failing to explode. I would like to ask the Minister what message it sends to the world that the UK still has not ratified protocol V of the convention on certain conventional weapons, which requires the clearance of unexploded ordnance from conflict zones.

In 2021, the then FCDO Minister of State, now the Foreign Secretary, told me that the Government were

“undertaking a comprehensive cross-Government review of Protocol V ratification”.

I would be grateful if the Minister could update the House on the Government’s progress on protocol V of that treaty, if she is able to. If not, could she kindly write to me about it?

I pay tribute to the work that the HALO Trust is continuing to do in Ukraine and across the world. It has vital projects in Afghanistan, where this Government’s botched evacuation certainly did not help the situation, and in Somaliland, Somalia and Ethiopia, where landmines are still a leading cause of civilian casualties. Indeed, we heard recently from General James Cowan, the chief executive of the HALO Trust, that he has been in talks with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to try to continue to employ women to clear those mines. It is vital to HALO that men and women from the local communities are part of the landmine clearance teams. They need to own it, as he always says, and be part of it, because it will benefit them. I praise HALO for that.

As I said, the HALO Trust employs local people and empowers populations with its work to keep their communities safe. The work does not stop at de-mining. In Somaliland, for example, HALO’s environmental projects include the employment of local people to dig soil bunds to capture rainwater and prevent topsoil erosion, reseed grazing land, establish tree nurseries and plant saplings. I hope later this year to see some of those programmes for myself in El Salvador and Guatemala —part of the region I cover in my FCDO brief. That vital work is so important to the prosperity of our international partners and allies, as well as to ending conflict, so how are the Government working with NGOs such as the HALO Trust to further projects of that type?

Innocent civilians should never have to live in fear alongside landmines that could still detonate and kill or maim them in an instant. On the Opposition side of the House, as I am sure throughout the whole House, we are committed to empowering everyone who wants to help to rid the world of landmines. We look forward to working with them in Government to make the world a safer, more secure place. I am absolutely sure that the current Government share that full commitment.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) for securing this timely and always important debate and to colleagues for sharing their concerns and experience and, indeed, the passion they feel for this issue and for how we can continue to be a real leader in this area.

Our colleague the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—I think I can say with confidence that he is a friend to us all—reminded us that the topic of the debate is not only about far-flung, war-torn countries that we see on our television screens. It can be very close to home, and indeed has been for him, and we all need to remember that landmines have killed and maimed our own neighbours and our own citizens. That is a sobering thought in a debate that often takes us to faraway countries.

I put on record, because I think he is about to stand up in the main Chamber, that the Minister for Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), would have been pleased to respond to this debate, because the topic is at the heart of his brief, but he is currently occupied on those other Benches. It is my pleasure to be able to respond on behalf of the Government today.

Earlier this month, the world marked the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, when we celebrate progress towards a mine-free world, despite the setbacks we continue to see. Of course, there is much more to be done, because these indiscriminate weapons continue to cost lives, rob people, young and old, of their limbs, destroy their livelihoods and hinder development opportunity.

The debate provides a good opportunity to reflect on the UK’s world-leading work to rid the world of this menace, and I am grateful for the thoughtful contributions from all our colleagues today. I will do my best to respond to all the points raised but, as ever, where I do not have a proper, full answer to hand, I will ensure that the Development Minister and his officials respond in a timely manner.

The UK was among the first to sign the 1997 anti-personnel mine ban convention and the 2008 convention on cluster munitions, which have catalysed progress. The first, the Ottawa convention, now has 164 member states and 30 of them have met their obligations to clear territory contaminated by landmines. That includes the UK, with its responsibilities, which my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills knows well, as she announced the conclusion of our work in the Falklands back in 2020. I thank her for her work. I know her commitment in that space, and she will continue to champion other countries that have yet to be able to look up and breathe a sigh of relief that they are clear of mines after a war that their country endured.

In the Falklands, nearly four decades were spent clearing more than 10,000 landmines and other unexploded remnants of war. That eventually allowed them to be free of that deadly legacy, but four decades gives us an idea of the time involved, even for what we know to be a relatively small area of land. We are very proud of the completion of that project, which underlined and demonstrated the UK’s commitment and real leadership on mine action. We continue to be a strong advocate for such work globally, including through our recent presidency of the convention on cluster munitions.

The hon. Member for Strangford educated me—I was not expecting to learn something today about my actual brief as the Minister with responsibility for the Pacific—about how the Solomon Islands only recently freed its citizens from the fear of landmines. It is safe to say that we learn something new every day. That is something I will be able to take with me as I travel around the Pacific islands. I will also consider how else the voice of the UK might be able to support such areas.

We are a generous donor, as well as a centre of expertise, including through the HALO Trust. I am sure, Mr Mundell, you are frustrated by not being able to champion one of your constituency’s great charities and organisations today, but we all know you to be a doughty champion of it, so we all speak on your behalf in thanking the trust and the Mines Advisory Group, our other real leader in this field. They are world-renowned, mine action NGOs—I speak with great honesty, as I have worked closely with both. We are grateful for their brave and tireless work to rid the world of this scourge.

I have had the privilege of seeing both organisations at their training bases, meeting some of their experts and indeed being taught by those experts how to go about work on an area of contaminated land. They also do powerful work to educate young people who have to live in mined agricultural areas while demining continues. One can only imagine what is in such children’s backyards. I found that even doing the simulated training and imagining being in that sort of situation was nerve-racking. The people who teach and support locals to develop those skills are genuinely extraordinary people: I record my thanks and that of all Members for their incredible work.

The sad fact remains, however, that 56 countries around the world remain contaminated by landmines and the explosive remnants of war. The number of people killed or injured each year is profoundly troubling: there were at least 5,500 casualties in 2021 alone, of whom more than 1,600 were children. That is not just historical; in the past year, new mines have been laid in Myanmar, and in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s barbaric and illegal invasion.

New wars bring new horrors, with this long tail of threat to civilians who have to continue their daily lives among the minefields, even after the wars eventually run out of steam. That is incredibly difficult. We need to continue to find ways of dealing with that because, beyond people losing their lives and suffering live-changing injuries, the contamination harms the whole economy of a country, and society has a sense of unease, because it is unable to step away after its war. That hinders development and prevents people from being able to live freely and safely, which we all want to see.

We see that from farmers in Laos who are unable to use contaminated fields, to children missing school in Zimbabwe because they cannot get there safely. As colleagues have mentioned, people in Afghanistan are blocked from accessing basic services such as water supplies and healthcare by the deadly legacy of mines, including improvised devices. Now, on our screens, we see Ukrainians unable to return safely to their homes.

In my work as the Minister with responsibility for Myanmar I have worked closely with our teams who are presently based in Thailand because they cannot be in-country. They work with schools and in internally displaced people camps to teach children how to live among dangerous and continually newly laid minefields.

[Wendy Morton]

It is good to understand the Minister’s perspectives from her time as Minister of State with responsibility for the Indo-Pacific. On education, does she agree that women have an important part to play? We often talk in this place about the role of women in development and the peace and security agenda, and they can often go into communities that perhaps a man cannot. They can have a role to play in breaking down barriers and boundaries and doing that really important education piece.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. In fact, female officers in the British Army have shared stories with me about serving with their male counterparts in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were often the only people able to go and talk to women in their homes to try and understand what the challenges were. They were able to work with those women to find solutions. Those women simply could not engage with our male soldiers, even though they, of course, offered a similar relationship. We underestimate what can be done.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton), has highlighted how, in many cases, HALO and others recruit and train women to be the expert de-miners themselves. In a practical sense, it is a motivating skill to develop, but it is an incredibly high-risk one. However, women are stepping up and taking on that protective responsibility to ensure that their children can get to school and go and collect water, and that people can use their agricultural land again to help their livelihoods.

My right hon. Friend is right. We need to champion women and consider not only how much strain they often carry in their communities through the ravages of war, but the skills they have to develop afterwards to help their families get back into an environment that will be safe for their children’s futures.

That is why we will continue to support mine action projects across the world. As colleagues have highlighted, the global mine action programme—GMAP, as it is known—is our main vehicle for that. Over the four years from 2018 we invested £146 million across 14 countries. That helped to clear and confirm safe nearly 500 million square metres—Members should try to get their heads round that; it is a lot of land to check inch by inch—and saw more than 4 million people taught about how to stay safe around contaminated land.

We have explored options to attract new funding and led discussions at last summer’s meeting of parties to the anti-personnel mine ban convention. We have also assisted countries in Africa and Asia to develop strategies and priorities for mine action and helped to build the capacity of their national implementing organisations.

There is no escaping the fact—colleagues have raised this—that our development budget has come under real pressure in recent years, and the pandemic and Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine have taken resources in particular directions. Despite that, we launched the third iteration of our GMAP last spring, working with HALO and the Mines Advisory Group across eight countries. This included £2 million for an immediate response to tackle new contamination in Ukraine.

We will continue to build on our work this year. I can confirm a budget of £12.3 million to deliver de-mining, risk education and national capacity building globally, alongside additional funding for Afghanistan. In the short term, we are continuing to fund mine action work in Angola, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. Through GMAP3 those countries have NGO-funded expertise continuing to quietly clear the mines and teaching local people how to do so for themselves.

We have signed a two-year £5.5 million contract for mine action work in Afghanistan, which encourages safer behaviours and increases access to basic services. Afghanistan consistently records the highest annual numbers of civilian casualties. My right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills will be pleased to hear that we are making preparations for further, longer-term contracts  covering multiple countries, including Ukraine, to replace the current short-term arrangements.

We are continuing to innovate. In Cambodia, we are using a development impact bond model, creating partnerships between the public, private and voluntary sectors to solve challenges. We have signed an agreement with APOPO—do not ask me to tell you what it stands for; it is a Belgian acronym. It is an international non-profit mine action organisation that clears mines using specially trained detection southern giant rats—these are known as “hero rats”, obviously. Training can take nine months, and the rats will work for up to five years before retirement, developing skills to be able to identify and pinpoint where mines are. Agricultural experts will then be able to help local farmers to be able to grow organic rice in these newly and safely created land spaces, and then sell it. We hope they will be able to use their land once again to create an income for their families and communities.

I will highlight again that I am conscious of a number of questions that I am unable to provide answers to today, but I will ensure that those are provided to Members. We will continue our action to rid the world of landmines and deliver a safer, more prosperous future for those living under the shadow of these deadly weapons and other unexploded remnants of war. The UK Government’s commitment to funding expert NGOs that are teaching and clearing will remain for as long as it is, sadly, needed. We will also continue to advocate for the conventions, working with our international partners and funding our global mine action programme, including the innovative projects I have mentioned—and others that may come forward—to provide the chance of a safer life and the opportunity for a livelihood for all those left behind after wars end.

[Wendy Morton]

We have had an excellent debate this afternoon. I am grateful to hon. Members for coming to Westminster Hall today and for the interventions from the hon. Members for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) and for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron), and also from my friend, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—it would not be a Westminster Hall debate without him, and he made, as ever, a really important and valuable contribution.

In her summing up, the Minister reflected that the issue of landmines is truly global, from almost on our doorstep to right around the world. We have demonstrated our commitment to and interest in the topic, and it was really interesting to hear from the Minister. We will keep pushing and gently nudging her on funding and commitments—I am sure she would expect that—but we will do it in a polite way, as she would also expect, because there is huge support for this topic across the House.

The Minister set out some of the things we can continue to push and look for in what the Government will be doing. She said she had learned something today about the Solomon Islands; well, I must admit, I had never heard of hero rats before, so I look forward to hearing a bit more about those. However, I will not necessarily end on a light point: this has been a serious debate, but it has been a very timely and good debate.

Finally, I am really pleased that you were able to be in the Chair today, Mr Mundell, because we know of your commitment to and passion for this topic. You are very fortunate to have HALO in your constituency. Thank you for chairing us and keeping us all in order.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered land mine awareness.

Turkey and Syria Earthquake

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2023 Westminster Hall

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered support for Türkiye and Syria after the recent earthquake.

Many of us in this place know that the UK has a strong Turkish diaspora, based primarily, though not exclusively, in London. The UK has also welcomed 20,000 Syrian refugees into our country through the resettlement programme. In introducing the debate, I am conscious that there is not just great interest but real concern in our Parliament. That is evident from the number of colleagues present in Westminster Hall late on a Thursday afternoon. I thank everybody for being here.

The purpose of the debate is to highlight the situation following the recent terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In the early hours of Monday 6 February 2023, a major earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria. The epicentre of the initial earthquake was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, and it measured a staggering 7.8 on the Richter scale. It is reported to be the biggest earthquake to hit Turkey since the Marmara earthquake in 1999. Ten provinces in the south and south-east of Turkey were heavily impacted, as was northern Syria.

A second earthquake struck the same region nine hours later, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, and many aftershocks were also recorded. The impact of the earthquakes was felt hundreds of miles away, with shaking felt in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, and tremors in Cyprus, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Just this week, a further earthquake measuring 6.4 hit the region. Although the scale and extent of the damage is still being assessed, it is clear that Turkey and Syria have been left reeling from the worst earthquake in 80 years.

Current reports estimate over 46,000 deaths and over 100,000 people injured. There has been extensive structural damage in Turkey, with reports of more than 40,000 buildings collapsing, including three major hospitals in Hatay. Not only have buildings collapsed, but infrastructure has been severely damaged. It is estimated that 300,000 people across the region have been left homeless. As we have seen in recent weeks, many have been trapped under building rubble.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

I thank the right hon. Lady for securing this important debate. She is right to say that so many people have turned out on a Thursday because this is important to us.

My constituent, Kholoud, came to the UK as a refugee after campaigning against the president of Syria, and her family was granted temporary protection in Turkey. Her family is one of the many that have been displaced. To make matters worse, they have been refused the help they need and treated with hostility by the Turkish authorities. My constituent is very worried. She says that anti-Syrian racism has been widespread in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, and there are rumours that the rescue teams are prioritising the rescue of Turkish nationals. Will the right hon. Lady ask the Minister to provide some reassurance to my constituent that the UK is open to supporting everyone who has been affected by the tragic earthquakes, including Syrians?

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes a really important point. A natural disaster recognises no boundaries and no borders; it just affects people—citizens. I am sure the Minister will respond to that point.

Few people would not be moved by the images we have seen and the stories we have heard—images of immense bravery, not just of the survivors and their families but of the rescuers who have gone in in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Of course, on top of that there is the added challenge of the weather and the freezing temperatures.

Before I talk about the UK’s aid and the international response, it is important to reflect on the fact that Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees displaced abroad due to the country’s civil war. In some of the affected areas, 50% of the population are refugees. I recall visiting some of those camps and communities back in 2014 as part of a Conservative social action project before I entered this place, and even at that point the numbers were high and it seemed that it would potentially be a long-term situation.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

There are 47,000 dead—my constituency has 44,000 people in it. That gives a sense of what we are facing in human terms. On the subject of refugees, many of those who have been displaced will of course want to stay and rebuild, but they may want to send some of their family to join family here. Would this not be a great opportunity to give a lead in the world and set up a scheme for those who have connections here in the same way that we did for those fleeing war in Ukraine?

[Wendy Morton]

The right hon. Gentleman puts the numbers into context. It is one thing to talk about a number, but to relate it to the size of a constituency or a community absolutely resonates. I am sure the Minister will say a little more about the refugee situation.

When I was in Turkey, I visited Gaziantep—a beautiful part of the country—and the region close to the border, and I recall just how struck I was by the size of the refugee crisis. For Syria, this is yet another devastating crisis after 12 years of conflict. Syria is divided into hostile areas, with the Assad regime controlling most of the country. The northern regions are controlled by a variety of armed opposition groups. There is now the impact of devastating earthquakes to deal with, too.

In Syria’s Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Hama governorates, there are reports of collapsed buildings. Major infrastructure damage has been reported too, and also in Damascus. The British Red Cross estimates that 4.1 million people in the north-west of Syria already rely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. The scale and severity of the humanitarian situation is complex and severe.

In Turkey, the Government declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance. The country has an impressive disaster relief operation known as AFAD—the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency—which I was fortunate to visit in my time as Minister for the European Neighbourhood, but even that has been severely tested by the scale of the disaster.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

The week of the earthquakes, I visited the Nurture Society in Cambuslang in my constituency to lend my support to the phenomenal amount of work it quickly undertook to support the Turkish community locally and across the central belt, and to get vital supplies sent to those on the ground. Does the right hon. Lady share my gratitude to local community groups that mobilised so swiftly? Does she agree that they are the pride of our constituencies?

[Wendy Morton]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady. I will touch on the tremendous support from local communities shortly. I am really pleased that in the immediate aftermath the UK Government—the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and many others—took swift action and stepped up to deliver aid and humanitarian support. I want to take a moment to mention some of this work.

A Disasters Emergency Committee—DEC—appeal was launched and raised almost £53 million in its first two days. I was pleased to see the FCDO, which I know is a long-standing member, pledge to match the first £5 million raised. As at 20 February, which is when I last checked, the appeal had raised more than £93 million for both Turkey and Syria. Fifteen charities are involved in that vital fundraising and response effort.

UK ISAR, the UK international search and rescue team, funded by the FCDO, sent a 77-strong team of specialists—I was really pleased to note that that included eight West Midlands Fire Service personnel—along with four specialist search and rescue dogs, to assist with search and rescue. Many of us saw the scenes on our TVs of people being rescued from the rubble days after the earthquake had struck. I pay tribute, as I am sure all Members would, to all the search and rescue personnel and, of course, to the amazing rescue dogs, who have a vital part to play.

The UK has sent out thousands of lifesaving items, including tents and blankets, and announced an aid package. I welcome the UK’s sending out a joint Ministry of Defence and FCDO field hospital, which includes an emergency department and a 24/7 operating theatre to provide emergency treatment to the critically injured. The Government have committed additional funding to the White Helmets to support earthquake search and rescue efforts in north-west Syria, where the situation is extremely complex. And of course there are organisations and charities such as the British Red Cross, ActionAid and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to name just a few of the many that do incredible work in these challenging and often dangerous humanitarian situations.

Before I move on to talk a little more about some of the challenges and to seek some reassurances from my hon. Friend the Minister, I want to recognise also the contribution of businesses, our local communities and individuals in the UK, who are playing their part in this effort. I want to mention in particular, from my own constituency, my fellow Rotarians in Aldridge, who held a collection in the village—I think it was in Morrisons —last weekend. Their response was very warmly received by the local community. Also, Tynings Lane Church in Aldridge recently collected blankets and warm clothes to send over with a family who were travelling to the region.

I am sure that the Minister will want to update us on the latest situation regarding the UK response to the Turkey-Syria situation and I look forward to that, especially because, following the visit to the region earlier in the week by the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, our right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), he will have more up-to-date information. I would also like to gently ask him how he balances this latest humanitarian situation among all the many other, equally important pressures on his budget. I can remember from my time in the FCDO that that is always quite a challenge, so I just wanted to raise it with him.

Let me turn briefly to the situation in Syria. Even before the earthquake struck, there was only one remaining UN-mandated border crossing, at Bab al-Hawa. When I visited in 2021, I saw at first hand the huge volume of trucks and aid that was passing through, and even then it simply was not enough to match the needs of north-west Syria. I am pleased that the UK is working very closely with the UN, international partners and non-governmental- organisation partners to look at mobilising support. I welcome the UN-brokered agreement of 13 February to open additional crossings, but I believe that they are only temporary—for three months—so I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will reassure me and others that he will do all he can to keep those crossing points open.

Of course, the difficulty of humanitarian access to north-west Syria is not new; it is the result of the ongoing conflict and the Assad regime’s use of aid as a political weapon. The Turkey-Syria earthquake has acted to highlight the challenge once again. What more can the UK and the international community can do, working with the UN and NGOs, to help humanitarian assistance to reach those who need it?

[Margaret Ferrier]

US trade sanctions in Syria have led to accusations that they have prevented humanitarian aid from reaching victims of the disaster, which could reasonably be an unintentional consequence, despite exemptions on aid goods. Does the right hon. Member share my concerns about the Syrian Government’s attempt to use the situation to have sanctions lifted?

[Wendy Morton]

In any situation, I would always be concerned about the possibility of any regime using humanitarian aid as a weapon of conflict, so I urge those involved in the effort to do all they can to keep the crossing points open and the flow of aid going through to the people who need that help the most.

Finally, I want to return briefly to reconstruction. I am aware that there has been criticism of construction methods used in Turkey and the fact that many buildings may have failed to meet the correct standards. What can the international community do to keep the pressure on and ensure that reconstruction projects are built to the best standards possible, certainly where UK aid and UK companies are involved? That becomes ever more pressing as we move from the rescue to the recovery phase of the disaster.

In common with other Members, I have visited Turkey on a number of occasions, including both Gaziantep and Hatay. I have seen the beautiful mosaics in the museums. I have spoken with many people. I have visited refugee camps on the banks of the Euphrates and I have stood right on the border between Turkey and Syria, watching the aid trucks cross. Turkey has shown great solidarity by opening its country and its homes to many thousands of displaced people. I hope that today’s debate reinforces not just the UK’s role in international development but our solidarity with all those affected by the devastating earthquakes.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Wendy Morton]

Thank you, Sir Graham. I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for responding to this debate. Equally importantly, I thank each and every Member from across the House who has contributed. We have had a really good debate. We have been able to highlight the tragedy of the situation in Turkey and Syria and the many organisations that have stepped up to the plate in many ways, including our own constituents, to help with this.

We have highlighted and raised a number of issues with the Minister that I hope he will take back to the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), on his return from his travels. I am particularly reassured by the point about fairness and equity of access to aid, as well as the really important recognition that women and girls are often most affected.

In conclusion, here in Westminster Hall this afternoon, we have shown that we stand united in our solidarity with those in Turkey and Syria and their families beyond. Again, I thank everyone who has contributed.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered support for Türkiye and Syria after the recent earthquake.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

Iran’s actions, both through militia proxies in the region and through the supply of military weapons to Russia that are then used in Ukraine, are completely unacceptable. We have implemented more than 50 new sanctions designations in recent months in response to Iranian human rights abuses and its military support to Russia. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to take further actions to make it clear that that behaviour is unacceptable.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to help women across the world access education.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Britain is leading the campaign to secure education for girls and women across the developing world. This is not, of course, just about the numbers entering school, but about ratcheting up the quality of education overall.

[Wendy Morton]

I very much welcome the support that my right hon. Friend’s Department continues to provide to educate women around the world, but can he confirm that he will continue to work with our G7 allies to ensure that they play their part in helping us to get an additional 40 million girls into school by 2026?

[Mr Mitchell]

I hardly dare answer my right hon. Friend’s question such is her expertise in this matter. I can tell her that the UK has committed to tackling the global education crisis through the girls’ education action plan, which was set up in 2021, and through two G7-endorsed global objectives to get 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by the age of 10 by 2026.

Ukraine

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

The hon. Gentleman has made a good point. We will continue to take action to discourage the supply to Russia of weapons that might be used in Ukraine, and we will keep under constant review our sanctions packages to choke off the supply of weapons such as drones.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has explained what he is doing to urge allies and other countries to provide extra support for Ukraine, but can he now tell us what more we can do in respect of the training of those brave Ukrainians who are fighting in their homeland, perhaps working with our NATO allies?

[James Cleverly]

I am proud to have been joined on the Front Bench by the Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, my right hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Wells (James Heappey). I am incredibly proud of the work that the British armed forces have done in training members of the Ukrainian armed forces, and we are being joined by an increasingly large number of international allies who are doing likewise. I think it is being demonstrated on the battlefield that what has been decisive is not just the equipment we have supplied or the inherent resolve of the Ukrainian forces, but the technical improvement that our training of those forces has helped to bring about, and I have no doubt that that will continue.