Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, over what period the £14 million allocated to the second round of the OCEAN Grants Programme will be spent.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The following projects have been funded under Round Two of the OCEAN Grants Programme. Funding comes from Defra’s Official Development Assistance budget and is projected to be spent between January 2026 and March 2029. The Round Two projects with signed grant agreements have been awarded the following amounts:
A final list of projects will be available on the OCEAN website in due course.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, what Department's budget the £14 million OCEAN Grants Programme funding will be drawn from.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The following projects have been funded under Round Two of the OCEAN Grants Programme. Funding comes from Defra’s Official Development Assistance budget and is projected to be spent between January 2026 and March 2029. The Round Two projects with signed grant agreements have been awarded the following amounts:
A final list of projects will be available on the OCEAN website in due course.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled UK leads global efforts to help communities save the ocean and beat poverty, published on 26 January 2026, how much funding has been allocated to each project awarded grants under the second round of the OCEAN Grants Programme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The following projects have been funded under Round Two of the OCEAN Grants Programme. Funding comes from Defra’s Official Development Assistance budget and is projected to be spent between January 2026 and March 2029. The Round Two projects with signed grant agreements have been awarded the following amounts:
A final list of projects will be available on the OCEAN website in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 ensure access to humanitarian aid for women and children in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is actively supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza, with a particular focus on protecting vulnerable groups including women and children. In August, the UK announced £3 million funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to contribute to UNFPA's response and early recovery results under four key pillars: Sexual and Reproductive Health; Gender-Based Violence; Adolescents and Youth; Interagency Coordination. This funding addressed the urgent needs of women and girls facing violence within Gaza. The UK has also funded United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with £9.7 million to support provision of ready-to-use infant formula, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial services for children, and social protection to children. We continue to call on Israel to fully enable the UN and other humanitarian organisations to be able to deliver humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on raising awareness of the potential dangers of methanol poisoning.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice remains under regular review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. We include information about the risks from methanol poisoning or counterfeit alcohol in our Travel Advice pages for a range of countries, including Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Since November 2024 the FCDO has also proactively communicated the risks of methanol poisoning to British travellers through Travel Aware, the FCDO's public-facing campaign that aims to arm travelling British nationals with knowledge to help them avoid incidents overseas. This includes:
In addition, the FCDO works closely with international partners, such as the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, to share best practice about how to communicate the risks of methanol poisoning to British nationals.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to raise awareness of the potential dangers of methanol poisoning among UK nationals travelling overseas.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice remains under regular review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. We include information about the risks from methanol poisoning or counterfeit alcohol in our Travel Advice pages for a range of countries, including Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Since November 2024 the FCDO has also proactively communicated the risks of methanol poisoning to British travellers through Travel Aware, the FCDO's public-facing campaign that aims to arm travelling British nationals with knowledge to help them avoid incidents overseas. This includes:
In addition, the FCDO works closely with international partners, such as the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, to share best practice about how to communicate the risks of methanol poisoning to British nationals.
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 steps his Department is taking to help support dialogue between Sudanese (a) civilian and (b) political forces.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Throughout the duration of the conflict in Sudan, the UK has continually advocated for a return to a civilian-led government that represents the interests of Sudanese people across the country. In our engagements with the warring parties and their aligned governance structures, we continue to reiterate the importance of engaging with a broad range of civilians to facilitate an inclusive transition that delivers peace and stability. We have also frequently engaged directly with a range of Sudanese civilian actors, notably in the run-up to the London Sudan Conference to ensure that Sudanese views on how to end the crisis were represented. In addition, the UK supports the neutral, anti-war element of the Somoud civilian coalition (formerly known as Taqaddum) with technical facilitation and logistics to help broaden its base and promote a more inclusive and unified civilian vision for Sudan. The UK will continue to champion the importance of Sudanese civilians, especially women and youth, as well as civil society, in any efforts to resolve the conflict and shape the future of Sudan.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with (a) civil society and (b) women's organisations in Sudan on advancing a pathway to peace.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials, including our Special Representative to Sudan, regularly meet Sudanese civil society and diaspora groups. We also had extensive engagement with civil society and NGOs prior to the London Sudan Conference on 15 April. This included engagements led by Baroness Chapman who, on 9 April, spoke at a 'Women's Inclusion Roundtable' in London that was attended by Sudanese civil society and academics. The recommendations of the roundtable were used to help shape discussions at the London Sudan Conference.
In addition, the UK supports the neutral, anti-war element of the Somoud civilian coalition (formerly known as Taqaddum) with technical facilitation and logistics to help broaden its base and promote a more inclusive and unified civilian vision for Sudan. The UK will continue to champion the importance of Sudanese civilians, especially women and youth, as well as civil society, in any efforts to resolve the conflict and shape the future of Sudan.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 53071 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries, whether he plans to make further bilateral agreements.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have existing bilateral agreements with Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg, which were negotiated by the previous government. The UK is open to further, fully reciprocal bilateral voting agreements but these would be subject to the detail of future negotiations.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Andorra.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Andorra have a close bilateral relationship, and celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with an event where Andorran Prime Minister Espot spoke alongside our Ambassador to Andorra. We agreed a Youth Mobility agreement in 2024, and in February 2025 signed a Double Taxation Agreement which should come into force in 2026. We continue to explore further areas of cooperation.