To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Armed Conflict
Tuesday 4th April 2023

Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide (a) long-term and (b) flexible funding for programmes to help tackle the causes of conflicts in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Spending Review 2021 provided a three-year settlement of £2.65 billion to the cross-government Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Launched in 2015 it operates in over 80 countries and territories, delivering more than 90 programmes and combines Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other, non-ODA funding sources and integrates activity of a number of British government departments, including the FCDO. The Fund is managed by the Cabinet Office and yearly allocations are signed off by the National Security Council.

The 'Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a More contested and Volatile World' sets out how the UK will meet that challenge head-on. The new Integrated Security Fund (UKISF) will expand upon the existing CSSF. It will have a wider remit, funding projects both at home and overseas to tackle some of the most complex national security challenges facing the UK and its partners. With additional funding from other programming, the Fund will have a budget of almost £1 billion and will continue to spend UK aid money in line with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee rules and guidance.


Written Question
Humanitarian Aid
Monday 26th September 2022

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether HM Treasury's suspension of non-essential aid spend until September applied to humanitarian aid spending.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The Government has provided significant support for Ukraine and taken a leading role in international diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance. Some of this urgent support to Ukraine is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Given the Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit initial allocations to ensure all ODA-eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.

To achieve this, the Government is currently prioritising critical overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We will prioritise spending that is vital to protect against immediate threat to life and wellbeing, will prevent people falling into humanitarian need, or will prevent delays to accessing healthcare, primary education, sanitation and clean water, in addition to considering the value for money of any decisions.


Written Question
Development Aid: Public Expenditure
Monday 26th September 2022

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department counts as non-essential aid in the context of the suspension by HM Treasury of non-essential aid spending until September.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The Government has provided significant support for Ukraine and taken a leading role in international diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance. Some of this urgent support to Ukraine is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Given the Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit initial allocations to ensure all ODA-eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.

To achieve this, the Government is currently prioritising critical overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We will prioritise spending that is vital to protect against immediate threat to life and wellbeing, will prevent people falling into humanitarian need, or will prevent delays to accessing healthcare, primary education, sanitation and clean water, in addition to considering the value for money of any decisions.


Written Question
Pigs
Wednesday 16th March 2022

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear the backlog of pigs on UK farms due to the shortage of butchers to avoid more animals being killed and disposed of.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

We continue to work closely with the pig industry to help them respond to challenges caused by a combination of factors, including the pandemic and the loss of the Chinese export market for certain processing plants, disruption to CO2 supplies and a temporary shortage of labour in the processing sector, which together have led to a growing backlog of pigs on farms.

We are very much aware of the impact that the need to cull pigs has on those individual farmers affected. We have therefore provided a package of measures to help address these unique circumstances, which includes temporary work visas for pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment (SIP) schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs. Together with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and other Government Departments, we are working to both expand existing overseas markets and to identify new export markets for pork, particularly lightly processed pork. We are also working with industry to support their efforts on the recruitment and retention of domestic workers.

I have chaired two Roundtables – on 10 February and 3 March - with representatives of the pig sector from across the UK. Following discussions with the sector, Defra removed all end destination requirements for pigs processed through the SIP scheme, a change which has encouraged further take up of this measure. I also met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Monday 14th June 2021

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2021 to Question 4661 on Overseas Aid: Cost Effectiveness, if he will publish a list of the attendees of each of the four meetings to review, revise and approve proposals on Official Development Assistance.

Answered by Nigel Adams

As per the answer to Question 4661 all departments subject to the ODA prioritisation exercise were represented at ministerial level in the review meetings. This included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (as was at the time), Department for International Development (as was at the time) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Health and Social Care, Department for International Trade, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office (under the Paymaster General for the Cross Government Funds).


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Cost Effectiveness
Monday 14th June 2021

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2021 to Question 4662 on Overseas Aid: Cost Effectiveness, whether he had any input into other Government departments' value for money assessments.

Answered by Nigel Adams

As per the answer to Question 4662 all departments are responsible for their own value for money assessment against their suggested reductions.


Written Question
Research: Finance
Wednesday 24th March 2021

Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the effect of reductions to the Overseas Development Assistance budget on the ability of the UK to fund research across the world and (b) the effect of that matter on the credibility and reliability of the UK as a research funding partner.

Answered by James Duddridge

The Covid pandemic's economic impact has forced the government to take the difficult decision to temporarily reduce ODA to 0.5% of GNI. Despite this reduction, we will remain a world-leading ODA donor, spending around £10 billion on ODA in 2021-22. The Foreign Secretary has set out a strategic approach to ensure maximum impact for our aid spend for 2021-22, laying a Written Ministerial Statement for Parliament in January, summarising overall departmental cross-government allocations of ODA. FCDO and other departments are working through the implications of their allocations for the research programmes they manage.

The UK has led funding for scientific advances that have helped drive significant reductions in extreme poverty, increases in agricultural productivity, declines in childhood mortality, and increases in life expectancy across the developing world. We remain committed to the use of ODA to support research that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development.


Written Question
Development Aid: Disclosure of Information
Thursday 3rd December 2020

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 26 November 2020, Official Report column 1020, that he will strengthen accountability and value for money, what steps he is taking to ensure that official development assistance is spent only through Government Departments achieving a (a) good and (b) very good on the Aid Transparency Index.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK Government recognises that transparency can help deliver better value for money, and we will continue to be accountable to Parliament and to taxpayers for how we spend UK aid. To support this, following the Chancellor's statement announcing the outcome of the Spending Review, the Foreign Secretary announced he will run a cross-government review to agree Official Development Assistance allocations across Whitehall, by the end of the calendar year, to ensure a coherent approach. Alongside this, the HMG Transparency Community of Practice has established a good exchange of learning between aid-spending departments to improve aid transparency and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will continue to build on this. FCDO is committed to improving transparency of aid globally and maintaining our high standards for overseas spending and will continue to promote this across HMG.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Monday 23rd November 2020

Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2020 to Question 111558 on Overseas Aid, (a) on what date the in-year review of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office programme budgets was conducted and (b) which Government department or departments applied for the two programmes over £1 million which will be delivered in 2020-21.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The review took place in September 2020 after the International Programme received confirmation of its revised allocation, including £8.4 million for the Gulf Strategy Fund. Both programmes over £1 million were applications by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Thursday 19th November 2020

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2020 to Question 102832 on Overseas Aid, which Government departments applied for those 13 projects in financial year 2018-19 that were covered by an Overseas Security and Justice Assessment; and how many of those projects each of those Government departments applied for.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

We do not disclose information related to individual Integrated Activity Fund projects to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of our Gulf partners.