Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN Committee against Torture’s concluding observations on Bahrain issued on 28 November (CAT/C/BHR/CO/4); and what assessment they have made of the implications of those findings for any UK training or assistance provided to institutions in Bahrain.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain. We have noted the observations issued on 28 November, and we continue to encourage all countries to engage constructively with UN mechanisms.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s National Institution for Human Rights; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Prisoners' and Detainees' Rights Commission; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior Ombudsman; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money has been spent since the start of the 2017–18 financial year on support for Bahrain’s Special Investigations Unit; and what was (1) the source of funding, including funding provided through any UK Government department or fund, and (2) the amount spent in each financial year.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is firmly committed to supporting human rights reforms and strengthening governance worldwide. Programme funding is allocated and deployed in line with this commitment, ensuring that resources are used to promote transparency, accountability, and respect for fundamental rights. The FCDO is mandated to publish programme and project data for all official development assistance (ODA) funded programmes, and aims to be as transparent as possible, whilst not publishing sensitive details that may negatively impact on the security or safety of the programme, our staff and delivery partners and the recipients of the programme. This mandate is not extended to non-ODA programmes. All funding decisions are made in accordance with FCDO's strategic objectives and financial guidelines to deliver maximum impact and value for money.
The majority of UK funding in support of the Bahrain human rights reform agenda has come from the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) - and its predecessor the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) before financial year 2019/20. Further information on the GSF programme is available in the Annual Summaries published on Gov.UK.
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 she has spoken with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on support for Guyana in light of (a) ongoing instability in Venezuela and (b) Venezuela’s territorial ambitions in Guyana.
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 5 January, and her responses to questions raised in that debate. Furthermore, let me point out the Essequibo border was settled more than 125 years ago, through international arbitration. The UK's support for Guyana's sovereignty is unwavering. We will continue to work with allies and regional partners to avoid escalation in tensions on the Venezuela/Guyana border.
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, if her Department will publish a summary of the legal advice it has received regarding US airstrikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 5 January, and her responses to questions raised after that statement.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the new Venezuelan President, Delcy Rodríguez, has had sanctions imposed upon her by the UK Government.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the current list of designated persons publicly available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-venezuela.
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 26 November 2025 to Question 92373 on Lord Mandelson, what the normal HR processes are for Heads of Mission.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
They are the same processes that were in place when the Hon Member was in government.