Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will introduce sanctions against senior members of Russia's GUGI agency.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 17 June 2025, the UK sanctioned the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (GUGI). As per the UK's long-standing policy on sanctions, it would not be appropriate to speculate about any future sanctions action.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to align the Africa Approach with multilateral development banks’ capitalisation cycles.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's new Africa Approach was the subject of extensive consultation with African countries, multilateral institutions and others. The priorities set out in the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) reflect the feedback received during that consultation process, a summary of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to co-ordinate the Africa Approach with the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's new Africa Approach was the subject of extensive consultation with African countries, multilateral institutions and others. The priorities set out in the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) reflect the feedback received during that consultation process, a summary of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the UK (i) public and (ii) private finance commitments for renewable energy projects in Africa since launch of the Africa Approach.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out the Government's new Approach to Africa.
The statement recognised that despite its abundant natural resources, Africa has the lowest levels of modern energy access, and the UK is working with the World Bank and African Development Bank to address that issue. We will provide further updates on implementation of initiatives arising from that work.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of African countries with strategic economic development priorities that align with the UK’s Africa Approach.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's new Africa Approach was the subject of extensive consultation with African countries, multilateral institutions and others. The priorities set out in the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) reflect the feedback received during that consultation process, a summary of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-new-approach-to-africa-summary-of-consultation
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 monitor implementation of the Africa Approach across Government departments.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement published on 15 December (UIN HCWS1168) setting out the Government's new Approach to Africa.
The statement recognised that despite its abundant natural resources, Africa has the lowest levels of modern energy access, and the UK is working with the World Bank and African Development Bank to address that issue. We will provide further updates on implementation of initiatives arising from that work.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much total spend, and predicted spend in Sudan, originating from the FCDO ODA budget for bilateral aid there was, and will be, in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The £120 million Sudan allocation announced in April 2025 is funded from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.
Humanitarian ODA allocations are included in country programme budgets, as set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025). Additional emergency humanitarian support comes from the crisis reserve, which is also set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts.
Data on ODA spend for 2020 to 2024 is published in Statistics on International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-oda-spend-2024), including breakdowns by country and region.
Figures for 2025 and 2026 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what conversations she has had with her international counterparts on (a) the impact of global aid cuts to humanitarian aid and (b) the impact those cuts will have on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 impact of reducing humanitarian aid funding in Africa on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with regards to the Prime Minister's announcement on the 15th April 2025 to spend £120M in emergency aid Sudan, a) which governmental budget this originates from and b) which budgetary line emergency humanitarian aid appears under in the FCDO annual report and accounts published on the 31st March 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The £120 million Sudan allocation announced in April 2025 is funded from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.
Humanitarian ODA allocations are included in country programme budgets, as set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025). Additional emergency humanitarian support comes from the crisis reserve, which is also set out in the FCDO annual report and accounts.
Data on ODA spend for 2020 to 2024 is published in Statistics on International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-oda-spend-2024), including breakdowns by country and region.
Figures for 2025 and 2026 will be published in due course.