Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the security of energy supplies in (a) Moldova and (b) Transnistria.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is monitoring the situation in Moldova closely. In this financial year, the UK has provided £25.5 million worth of financial support, including a £5 million uplift in humanitarian assistance announced by the Foreign Secretary during his visit to Moldova in November 2024. I saw first-hand during my visit to Moldova in September 2024 how this support is helping Moldova to defend its democracy against Russian hybrid aggression and bolster its energy security. We are considering further measures to bolster our support to Moldova to reduce its dependency on Russian gas and mitigate deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Transnistria.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to discuss the proposed treaty with Mauritius in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory with (a) the new US administration and (b) the Secretary of State for Defence.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have been clear that this deal protects UK and US national security interests by ensuring the long-term effective operations of the base. However, given the importance of the base to the US, it is right that the new US Administration has the chance to consider the full agreement properly. We look forward to discussing the deal with them, which will include, of course, sharing the full detail of what has been agreed, including the detailed protections we have secured for the base for the next 99 years and beyond. We have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on this and other matters and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pending pension credit applications as of 21 December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Outstanding Pension Credit claims totalled 92,400 at the end of week commencing 23rd December 2024. This includes 8,500 advanced claims. Advanced claims are where the application can be started up to 4 months before reaching State Pension age.
The most recent available information shows 74,000 claims outstanding at the end of week commencing 13 January 2025. This includes 8,700 advanced claims.
Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of protecting global water supplies in humanitarian and development settings.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The world is facing a growing water crisis exacerbated and accelerated by climate change. Decades of collective mismanagement and undervaluation of water have damaged our ecosystems and contaminated our water resources. We can no longer rely on having enough freshwater for our collective future. Restoring stability of the water cycle is critical to deliver an equitable and sustainable future for all. We will fail to address the climate and nature crises and deliver all the Sustainable Development Goals if we fail on water.
This will undoubtedly impact the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. We are working to build resilience for the most vulnerable to cope with crises, including water insecurity and food insecurity. We are committed to increasing the quality and quantity of international climate finance to fragile and conflict affected states, which have traditionally struggled to attract investment. The UK is playing a critical role driving systems transformation to protect freshwater ecosystems and global water supplies.
Through our Just Transitions for Water Security programme, we are working with climate vulnerable countries to influence policy, strengthen governance and accountability mechanisms, and shift markets to leverage critically needed investments in water. Similarly, the UK is working with our international partners to ensure climate-resilient and sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) - which is essential for poverty reduction, achieving global health goals, and for empowering of women and girls. For example, the UK is working through Sanitation and Water for All's Heads of State Initiative to accelerate access to water security and WASH by engaging political leadership at the highest level.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief on his (a) priorities and (b) plans to engage with international counterparts.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
David Smith MP was announced as UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in December 2024. The Envoy works closely with Lord Collins, the Minister responsible for Human Rights, and with other Ministers in the FCDO and, where relevant, other government departments to promote the government's shared priorities on FoRB for all with a range of UK and international partners individually and collectively through the Article 18 Alliance.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Chief Secretary to the Treasury on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Preventing conflict and empowering women and girls is critical to the delivery of the government's missions, and this Government remains committed to delivering the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). The FCDO works closely with HM Treasury to ensure that spend is directed towards our priorities.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) financial and (b) social impact of hospices on the (i) health and (ii) social care sectors.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, and their loved ones.
Palliative and end of life care are broad, holistic approaches, provided through a range of professionals and providers, and generalists and specialists across the NHS, social care, and voluntary sector organisations, including hospices. Therefore, the financial and social impacts of hospices on the broader health and care sectors are difficult to measure because the relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as palliative or end of life care.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the coming weeks.
I am meeting with the major hospice and palliative and end of life care stakeholders early in February 2025 to discuss potential solutions on longer-term sector sustainability.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department made of the safety of travel to Trinidad and Tobago before issuing recent travel advice.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A factual update to FCDO Travel Advice for Trinidad & Tobago was made on 31 December 2024 and 14 January 2025 as a result of assessments made in the wake of the declaration of and extension of a state of emergency in response to gang-related violence. The safety of British nationals in each country and territory is our overriding concern when determining our travel advice. The FCDO keeps travel advice under regular review.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 824 on Development Aid, when she plans to set out her approach on restoring official development assistance spending to 0.7 per cent of gross national income.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the government remains committed to restoring ODA spending to the level of 0.7% of GNI as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow. The OBR’s latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests, which determine when a return to 0.7% of GNI is possible, are not due to be met within this Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development Act (ODA Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's International Women and Girls Strategy 2023-2030, published in March 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the three Es within the strategy.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. We will continue to support women and girls to access quality education, tackle gender-based violence, and empower women and girls globally and stand up for their health and rights. Last November, I announced a new £27 million programme to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence. We have doubled our aid for Sudan, including £14 million for education programmes in Sudan and for Sudanese refugees, the majority of whom are women and children. In December, the Prime Minister pledged £37 million to strengthen grassroots and civil society organisations and expand access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.