Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help facilitate independent scrutiny of Official Development Assistance across Government departments.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In relation to all the questions raised by the Hon Member on 28 January, I refer her to Baroness Chapman's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed these issues at length. We will set out any further plans in this area in the context of Official Development Assistance funding allocations up to 2028-29, decisions on which will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of independent scrutiny on value for money across the aid programme.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In relation to all the questions raised by the Hon Member on 28 January, I refer her to Baroness Chapman's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed these issues at length. We will set out any further plans in this area in the context of Official Development Assistance funding allocations up to 2028-29, decisions on which will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to maintain public confidence in the value for money and accountability of UK aid spending.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In relation to all the questions raised by the Hon Member on 28 January, I refer her to Baroness Chapman's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed these issues at length. We will set out any further plans in this area in the context of Official Development Assistance funding allocations up to 2028-29, decisions on which will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 potential impact of changes to the allocation of NHS training places included in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on UK medical students studying at foreign campuses of UK universities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.
Under the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.
For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the independent scrutiny of Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In relation to all the questions raised by the Hon Member on 28 January, I refer her to Baroness Chapman's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed these issues at length. We will set out any further plans in this area in the context of Official Development Assistance funding allocations up to 2028-29, decisions on which will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she has taken with her international counterparts to help ensure the independence of Armenia’s Apostolic Christian Church.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 November 2025 to Question 89462.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of Prime Minister of Armenia moving to enact state control of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 November 2025 to Question 89462.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the state of religious freedom in Armenia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 November 2025 to Question 89462.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the long-term (a) funding, (b) staffing and (c) remit of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI); and whether she plans to bring forward proposals to (i) reduce resources, (ii) alter the independence and (iii) limit the operations of ICAI.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Minister for Development's appearance before the International Development Committee on 20 January, where she addressed issues around the future of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) at length. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used up to 2028/29 will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2026, to Question 101383, on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, what the total cost would be in cash terms over 99 years without net present value discounting.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this and other matters during the Urgent Question debate on 26 January. As an expert in the financial services industry, he will understand that it is simply wrong to ignore the effects of inflation and the changing value of money on the real costs of a deal that lasts 99 years.