Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the humanitarian situation in northern Ethiopia, including the Tigray region; what estimate she has made of the number of internally displaced persons and other vulnerable populations currently experiencing acute food insecurity; what steps her Department is taking to provide emergency food, nutrition, and medical assistance; and what steps she is taking to coordinate UK support with the World Food Programme, other UN agencies, and international partners to alleviate hunger in the region.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The ongoing conflict in Amhara has led to significant humanitarian needs, and widespread conflict-related human rights violations and abuses. In Tigray, there are an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
UK Official Development Assistance to Ethiopia in 2025/26 is £172.7 million, of which £95.5 million has been used to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid, focused on emergency health, nutrition, and social protection implemented by a combination of UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the Red Cross.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 resilience of UK diplomatic missions’ digital infrastructure against state-sponsored cyber threats.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) maintains a clear and comprehensive strategy to address cyber and information security threats across the global network and continues to deliver an ongoing programme to strengthen resilience and safeguard critical assets. The FCDO's approach aligns with National Cyber Security Centre best practice and includes regular assessments to ensure resilience amid a continuously evolving business, digital and threat landscape.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with Commonwealth partners on strengthening trade resilience amid global supply chain disruptions.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
These issues were discussed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit (CHOGM) in Samoa in October 2024. Economic resilience is a key area of focus in the Commonwealth Strategic Plan for 2025 - 2030. Since CHOGM we have continued to discuss these issues in international and multilateral fora, and in bilateral conversations with our Commonwealth partners.
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, what steps her Department is taking to support persecuted minorities in Bangladesh.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November 2025 in response to Question 86282, and I would add that Baroness Chapman raised the issue of violence towards religious minority groups during her trip to Bangladesh later that month.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review sanctions on Russian assets: and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation licensing rules to require owners to maintain sanctioned properties.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We keep our sanctions powers, regimes, designations and measures under review to respond to new developments and changing circumstances.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) may issue general or specific licences on behalf of His Majesty's Treasury to allow activities otherwise prohibited by an asset freeze, such as payments for existing obligations or property maintenance. However, a licence only permits these actions - it does not require the designated person to carry them out. Maintenance or repairs will occur only if they choose to do so.
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, if she will ensure that her Department has contingency plans in place to respond to any invasion or hostile act against Greenland by a foreign power.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the long-standing policy of the United Kingdom under successive governments never to speculate on hypothetical operational responses to hypothetical scenarios.
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 5 January, and her responses to questions raised in that debate, where she set out in comprehensive terms the UK's position on Greenland.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
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 stop goods produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 in response to Question 77510.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what data her Department holds on the breakdown by age of the impact of changes in levels of overseas development aid.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are an essential part of how we make decisions on Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations. The 2025/26 EIA, as published on gov.uk captures the impacts on children where these were reported at programme level. We will continue to track spend on equalities and plan to improve the availability and use of data. As part of this, we will consider how we measure impacts on relevant age groups, as this is not something we have done previously.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent engagement His Majesty’s Government has had with IGAD about a) food security and b) regional stability in East Africa.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain in regular contact with members of IGAD on a range of regional issues, including through the UK's Representative to IGAD based in Djibouti.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions or meetings her Department has held with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado since January 2024.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has sought to maintain a constructive dialogue with senior figures in the Venezuelan opposition in recent years, including Maria Corina Machado, and as the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 5 January, she spoke to Ms Machado in the wake of the removal of Nicolas Maduro to reassure her of the UK's support for a peaceful transition to a democratic government in Venezuela, respecting the will and rights of all its people.