Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Blue Belt Programme Expedition to the Caribbean.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Blue Belt Beyond the Reef Expedition (13 January-28 February) is a pioneering survey of the largely unexplored offshore waters of Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands. A full assessment of findings will follow the conclusion of the survey and subsequent data analysis.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Mauritian Government concerning that Government's plans for the resettlement the Chagos Islands in each of the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer she was provided on 13 February in response to Question 110763.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having, if any, with major supermarkets about the evidence and findings about production of food in the Uyghur Region in the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money in each of the last seven years, broken down by year, has been given to the Gurkha Welfare Trust to deliver development projects in Nepal.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Since 2019, FCDO projects delivered through the Gurkha Welfare Trust have totalled £14,249,415.21, comprising £2,500,000.00 (2019), £3,287,835.23 (2020), £1,999,999.70 (2021), £1,981,792.73 (2022), £1,892,458.82 (2023), £1,408,265.60 (2024), £1,069,681.90 (2025) and £109,381.22 (2026). Over the past seven years, The Gurkha Welfare Trust has delivered two major UK‑funded programmes: the Rural Water & Sanitation Programme V (RWSP V, until 2021) and the Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and Emergency Preparedness Programme (RWEPP, up to March 2025) - providing safe, reliable water to over 53,000 people and upgrading facilities in 185 public institutions. These programmes have strengthened water security, sanitation and disaster resilience across Nepal.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what outcomes have been achieved by projects delivered by the Gurkha Welfare Trust on behalf of the Government in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Since 2019, FCDO projects delivered through the Gurkha Welfare Trust have totalled £14,249,415.21, comprising £2,500,000.00 (2019), £3,287,835.23 (2020), £1,999,999.70 (2021), £1,981,792.73 (2022), £1,892,458.82 (2023), £1,408,265.60 (2024), £1,069,681.90 (2025) and £109,381.22 (2026). Over the past seven years, The Gurkha Welfare Trust has delivered two major UK‑funded programmes: the Rural Water & Sanitation Programme V (RWSP V, until 2021) and the Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and Emergency Preparedness Programme (RWEPP, up to March 2025) - providing safe, reliable water to over 53,000 people and upgrading facilities in 185 public institutions. These programmes have strengthened water security, sanitation and disaster resilience across Nepal.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024; and what action they plan to take in response to the report's findings on how state-imposed forced labour in the Uyghur Region is embedded in agricultural production and global supply chains.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the findings of the report Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production, published on 10 December 2024, on UK procurement and anti-slavery policies.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. We are aware of the December 2024 report and have used these findings to inform current policy.
We are committed to tackling Uyghur forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The Government has launched the responsible business conduct review to provide a neutral, objective appraisal of UK policy to tackle forced labour. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK's current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, including human rights and environmental considerations.
We raise our concerns about human rights in Xinjiang at the highest levels: last month, the Prime Minister raised our concerns about Xinjiang directly with President Xi Jinping. We continue to coordinate our efforts with other international partners to hold China to account for their human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances, if any, they have received from the government of China that sanctions will not be imposed on UK parliamentary representatives in the future.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the Prime Minister's statement on China and Japan on 2 February in the House of Commons, and the Private Notice Question that was debated on 2 February.
In his meeting with the Prime Minister, President Xi Jinping confirmed that all parliamentarians are free to travel to China.
This Government has been clear that China's retaliatory sanctions on UK parliamentarians and others are unwarranted and unacceptable. The lifting of restrictions for all parliamentarians is a positive step, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is engaging with Chinese officials to get more clarity on what the latest changes mean in practice, including for non-parliamentarians sanctioned by China.
Except for the sanctions announced by the Chinese authorities in March 2021, the Government is not aware of any other UK citizens who are subject to official sanctions.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK citizens are subject to sanctions by China.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the Prime Minister's statement on China and Japan on 2 February in the House of Commons, and the Private Notice Question that was debated on 2 February.
In his meeting with the Prime Minister, President Xi Jinping confirmed that all parliamentarians are free to travel to China.
This Government has been clear that China's retaliatory sanctions on UK parliamentarians and others are unwarranted and unacceptable. The lifting of restrictions for all parliamentarians is a positive step, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is engaging with Chinese officials to get more clarity on what the latest changes mean in practice, including for non-parliamentarians sanctioned by China.
Except for the sanctions announced by the Chinese authorities in March 2021, the Government is not aware of any other UK citizens who are subject to official sanctions.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much aid has been allocated to (a) safeguarding and (b) gender-based violence prevention programmes for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain concerned by the challenges faced by Rohingya refugees and committed to improving their situation in Bangladesh. In September, the Foreign Secretary announced £27 million in new funding for these efforts, bringing the UK's total support to £447 million. This includes assistance to help refugees access to essential services. In December, the UK also announced joint funding with Saudi Arabia and Qatar of £6.96 million to support the response to the Rohingya crisis.