Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to commission an investigation into potential Russian interference in UK democratic processes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government shares the Hon Member's concern regarding the threat from Russian interference. The UK will not tolerate attempts to interfere in our politics from any foreign actor and we will take all measures necessary to defend our democracy.
I would refer the Hon Member to the statement made on 25 March by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on Foreign Financial Influence and Interference in UK Politics.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to relax arms export controls to Argentina.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the government statement on this subject issued in December 2025, which said: "There are no specific talks with Argentina about the UK relaxing its arms export controls, but more broadly, we look forward to deepening our co-operation with Argentina across areas including trade, science and culture to deliver growth for the British people."
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps HM Government is taking to prepare for the G20 Summit in 2027.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is progressing in the normal way and further details will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which dedicated funding lines for women and girls have been a) protected; b) had funding been reduced; c) had funding delayed; and d) had funding discontinued in the ODA allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to hold (a) discussions and (b) summits with the Government of South Africa on providing it with (i) aid and (ii) development.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to work closely with their South African counterparts on a wide range of issues.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people did her department sponsor Chevening scholarships for from (a) Sudan, (b) Cameroon, (c) Myanmar and (d) Afghanistan in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The table below provides the number of Chevening Scholarships awarded to individuals from Sudan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Afghanistan in the last ten years.
Country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Afghanistan | 18 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 23 | 29 | 18 | 21 | 13 | 10 |
Cameroon | 18 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Myanmar | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 |
Sudan | 12 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 10 |
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Ministers in her Department have met with (a) BP and (b) Shell to discuss Venezuela since January 2026.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to her party leader on 12 January in response to Question 103190, and I would suggest that she resumes talks with him to coordinate their lines of questioning, and avoid duplicating each other's work.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions were held at the meeting in Caracas on 5 March 2026 with Harriet Thompson, Colin Dick and British natural resource companies.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to her party leader on 12 January in response to Question 103190, and I would suggest that she resumes talks with him to coordinate their lines of questioning, and avoid duplicating each other's work.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, who was present at the meeting on 24 January 2025 between Baroness Chapman and Shell PLC; and what their job titles were.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to her party leader on 12 January in response to Question 103190, and I would suggest that she resumes talks with him to coordinate their lines of questioning, and avoid duplicating each other's work.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions were held at the meeting on 24 January 2025 between Baroness Chapman and Shell PLC.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to her party leader on 12 January in response to Question 103190, and I would suggest that she resumes talks with him to coordinate their lines of questioning, and avoid duplicating each other's work.