Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 number of minority tradespeople that her Department has provided assistance to abroad in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment is readily available, but the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes regular updates of the work it has done to promote investment and growth in the UK and in partner countries around the world in the Department's annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which dedicated funding lines for women and girls have been a) protected; b) had funding been reduced; c) had funding delayed; and d) had funding discontinued in the ODA allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Answered by Chris Elmore - 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 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will adopt the recommendations of the Report by the Eleanor Crook Foundation entitled UK Leadership on Malnutrition, A building block for security and stability.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided to question 89032 on 10 November 2025 regarding the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition around the world.
We will carefully consider the findings and recommendations of the Eleanor Crook Foundation's report, alongside other analysis and research, to inform our future approach to nutrition and food security. We will also continue to support the Child Nutrition Fund, which we proudly co-founded and support as members of the Steering Committee.
Food and nutrition are issues that cut across key FCDO objectives in a range of areas, from humanitarian relief to climate change, and as such, they will not sit within a single Community of Expertise, but be covered by the Communities of Expertise covering those wider themes. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which of the Communities of Expertise announced by the Minister for International Development will cover food and nutrition.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided to question 89032 on 10 November 2025 regarding the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition around the world.
We will carefully consider the findings and recommendations of the Eleanor Crook Foundation's report, alongside other analysis and research, to inform our future approach to nutrition and food security. We will also continue to support the Child Nutrition Fund, which we proudly co-founded and support as members of the Steering Committee.
Food and nutrition are issues that cut across key FCDO objectives in a range of areas, from humanitarian relief to climate change, and as such, they will not sit within a single Community of Expertise, but be covered by the Communities of Expertise covering those wider themes. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to relax arms export controls to Argentina.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the government statement on this subject issued in December 2025, which said: "There are no specific talks with Argentina about the UK relaxing its arms export controls, but more broadly, we look forward to deepening our co-operation with Argentina across areas including trade, science and culture to deliver growth for the British people."
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps HM Government is taking to prepare for the G20 Summit in 2027.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is progressing in the normal way and further details will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the UK's International Development Association contribution will be spent on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - 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 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to commission an investigation into potential Russian interference in UK democratic processes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government shares the Hon Member's concern regarding the threat from Russian interference. The UK will not tolerate attempts to interfere in our politics from any foreign actor and we will take all measures necessary to defend our democracy.
I would refer the Hon Member to the statement made on 25 March by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on Foreign Financial Influence and Interference in UK Politics.
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, how many people did her department sponsor Chevening scholarships for from (a) Sudan, (b) Cameroon, (c) Myanmar and (d) Afghanistan in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The table below provides the number of Chevening Scholarships awarded to individuals from Sudan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Afghanistan in the last ten years.
Country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Afghanistan | 18 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 23 | 29 | 18 | 21 | 13 | 10 |
Cameroon | 18 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Myanmar | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 |
Sudan | 12 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 10 |
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to hold (a) discussions and (b) summits with the Government of South Africa on providing it with (i) aid and (ii) development.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to work closely with their South African counterparts on a wide range of issues.