Found: Baroness Chapman of Darlington Minister for International Development and Africa Foreign, Commonwealth

Found: Questions 100 - 193 Witnesses I: Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State for International

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 17 December 2025 (HL12793) and 5 January (HL13110), and with reference to paragraph 223 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work and paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, what is the public interest basis in terms similar to those in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for neither confirming or denying whether Lord Mandelson has received a severance payment in relation to his role as Ambassador to the USA.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

It has been the normal practice under successive governments, including the one in which the Noble Lord served, for the details of individual severance payments received by ministers to be disclosed on a named basis in departmental annual reports, but for payments made to senior officials, special advisers and other employees to be disclosed anonymously.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 17 December 2025 (HL12793) and 5 January (HL13110), and the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 18 December 2025 (HC97798), whether Lord Mandelson left the his role as UK Ambassador to the USA (1) for gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal, (2) on the grounds of efficiency, (3) as a result of disciplinary proceedings in circumstances where summary dismissal is not justified, (4) during the probation period, (5) on medical grounds, (6) on other compulsory grounds, or (7) in exceptional circumstances.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

It has been the normal practice under successive governments, including the one in which the Noble Lord served, for the details of individual severance payments received by ministers to be disclosed on a named basis in departmental annual reports, but for payments made to senior officials, special advisers and other employees to be disclosed anonymously.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 19 December 2025 (HL11657), and further to the Prime Minister's statement on 21 September that he had "directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks", what plans the Home Office has to review (1) the continued presence in the United Kingdom of members of Hamas, and (2) the continued citizenship of Hamas members who hold British passports but are resident overseas.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s top priority remains the safety and security of the United Kingdom and its citizens. The Government does not comment on individual cases or on operational activity.

Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules sets out the grounds on which the Home Office may refuse or cancel entry clearance, permission to enter, or permission to stay. These provisions allow action to be taken where a person’s presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good because of their conduct, character, associations or other reasons.

The Home Secretary has the power to deprive an individual of British citizenship where it was obtained by fraud, or where deprivation is conducive to the public good. Deprivation on conducive grounds is used only for individuals who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct is considered to involve very high harm, for example activities relating to national security (including terrorism and espionage), war crimes, serious and organised crime, or extremism and the glorification of terrorism. Decisions on deprivation are taken on a case-by-case basis.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 4 December 2025 (HL12406), whether they have a framework for assessing Palestinian Authority curriculum reform targets; and if so, how that framework differs from that used by the European Commission.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 16 December 2025 to Question 98592, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:

We welcome the Palestinian Authority (PA) contracting an independent audit firm to complete a review of curriculum reform in early 2026, and we would expect the results of that audit to be made public. The UK will continue to press for implementation of the PA's reform commitments, and will assess progress in the education area based on the audit results.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 4 December 2025 (HL12405), what specific evidence they have received or reviewed that demonstrates progress on Palestinian Authority curriculum reform.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 16 December 2025 to Question 98592, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:

We welcome the Palestinian Authority (PA) contracting an independent audit firm to complete a review of curriculum reform in early 2026, and we would expect the results of that audit to be made public. The UK will continue to press for implementation of the PA's reform commitments, and will assess progress in the education area based on the audit results.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 27 November 2025 (HL11898), what the expected timeframe is for completing the review of the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict; and whether they will publish the full outcomes of that review, including any decision on the continuation or termination of that position.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

In her appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee on 16 December 2025, the Foreign Secretary explained that work on the review of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office envoys had been delayed because of September 2025's ministerial reshuffle, but we expect to complete that work in the near future.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13210), whether in the past 20 years they have undertaken a study of the merits of the UK joining the European Development Bank; if so (1) when this was, and (2) whether a report of the study was laid before Parliament; and if not, why not.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

There is no record of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office having undertaken a formal study of the potential merits of membership of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The government keeps the potential membership of various international organisations under periodic review but our current position on the CEB remains as set out in our previous responses.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13151), where the information about whether the conviction of Jimmy Lai represents a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration is located in the statement or response in the House of Lords on 17 December 2025 (HL Deb cols 798–806).

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

At Column 799, in the Foreign Secretary's statement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington 13 January 2026 (HL13296), what plans they have to support the network of Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth in 2026.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office discontinued funding to this specific programme at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, but - as set out in my previous answers - we remain committed to UK leadership in driving forward the Women, Peace and Security agenda, through other programmes in the Commonwealth and beyond, and through our role as penholder on UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13152), where the information about the representations they have made to the (1) government of China, and (2) authorities in Hong Kong, regarding the admission of evidence obtained through the reported torture of Andy Li and cited during the trial of Jimmy Lai is located in the statement or response in the House of Lords on 17 December 2025 (HL Deb cols 798–806).

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

These were among the representations that the Foreign Secretary referred to in her opening statement, at Column 800, and again - in response to Lord Oates - at Columns 802-803.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 5 January (HL13153), where the information about what consideration the Prime Minister has given to delaying his official visit to China in January until Jimmy Lai has been released from prison is located in the statement or response in the House of Lords on 17 December 2025 (HL Deb cols 798–806).

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

At Column 804, in response to the Noble Lord's question on the matter.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 29 December 2025 (HL12894), what specific plans they have, if any, to develop the work of the network of Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth in 2026.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

We remain committed to UK leadership in defending and driving forward the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, including through our role as penholder on UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The UK's WPS National Action Plan sets out the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's commitment to improving women's full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in political dialogue and peace processes.

Found: and Women and Equalities Sir Chris Bryant MP Minister of State for Trade The Rt Hon Baroness Chapman of Darlington

Found: Bell Counsel 1 See Hansard, Volume 843, Wednesday 29th January 2025 at 3:37pm where Baroness Chapman of Darlington