Asked by: Lord Sedwill (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish auditable cost records for Afghan resettlement schemes.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Afghan resettlement is a cross-Government effort, with costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other Government departments including the Home Office, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
On 18 March 2026, the NAO published a report which detailed the costs of the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) in response to the Department’s provision of information on MOD spending to the NAO. Part Three of this report sets out funding for the schemes, the costs incurred to date, and expected future costs. This report can be accessed via the link below:
The report lays out that, since 2021, His Majesty’s Government (HMG) has spent £3.1 billion on the ARP. HMG estimates a total cost of £5.5-6 billion on Afghan resettlement activity throughout the life of the programme. This figure is kept under review using the latest data available.
The MOD and its cross-Government partners will continue to update Parliament including the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in line with usual processes throughout the course of the ARP.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 14 October 2025 (HL10630), why the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office did not contribute to the established process to collate relevant information as part of the identification and selection of the appointee for the role of Ambassador to the United States.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 14 October 2025 to question HL10630.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure alignment between the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on critical minerals.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
His Majesty's Government recognises the strategic importance of strengthening the UK's critical minerals security. The Critical Minerals Strategy, published on 22 November 2025, sets out a cross-government approach involving the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Ministry of Defence and other partners. Ministers and officials already work closely together through established governance structures to ensure policy alignment and effective coordination. We continually review whether these arrangements remain proportionate and effective. At present, we believe the existing cross government ministerial oversight provides the appropriate mechanism for coordinating critical mineral security policy.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government’s assessment is of the steps required by the UK and international allies to help prevent further illegal settlement building and settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this issue in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office oral questions on 3 March, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and fourteen of her overseas counterparts on 24 December 2025 condemning condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-israeli-settlement-expansion-in-the-west-bank.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
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 the UK's 1 June 2025 update on its position on the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK wants to see a lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict. We assess that our endorsement of Morocco's autonomy plan - as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting solution - supports that objective. It is for this reason that we also welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted on 31 October, extending the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) mandate for 12 months. We continue to engage with all relevant parties in support of the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has discussed the humanitarian situation in the Tindouf camps with her Algerian counterpart.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps. I discussed the political and humanitarian implications of the Western Sahara conflict with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf during my visit to Algeria in October 2025. Our embassy in Algiers also regularly discusses the humanitarian situation with representatives of Algeria and the United Nations, as well as visiting the camps in Tindouf, most recently in November 2025.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to condition the continuation of UK funding to the Palestinian Authority on the removal of (a) antisemitic content and (b) incitement to violence from its school textbooks.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this topic on 3 March at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Oral Questions, and on 9 March in response to Question 115698.
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, whether she has had discussions with Israeli ministers about the annexation of Sebastia in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to response given on 24 March to question 120656.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what analysis the Government has undertaken to assess levels of increases of illegal settlement building in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this issue in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office oral questions on 3 March, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and fourteen of her overseas counterparts on 24 December 2025 condemning condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-israeli-settlement-expansion-in-the-west-bank.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure internally displaced people with chronic illnesses and other vulnerable groups can access essential medicines and health services in Lebanon.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - 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 17 March, and her answers to the questions raised in response, which dealt with the current situation in Lebanon at length. We will provide further such updates to the House in due course as the situation develops.