Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the peace and reconstruction plan for Gaza that was endorsed by the Arab League summit on 4 March.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government welcomes the Arab initiative of a recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza. The plan proposes a realistic pathway to the reconstruction of Gaza and, if implemented, will alleviate the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza. Reconstruction must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians. The Government is clear that Hamas must not govern Gaza, and there should be a central role for the Palestinian Authority. On 8 March, the Foreign Secretary issued a joint statement with European partners commending the serious efforts of the Arab states in developing this plan.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of the Associations Bill (Amendment—Donation from Foreign State Entity) 2024, currently before the Knesset, on the United Kingdom’s overseas development assistance to Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is deeply concerned about the potential impact of this Bill on civil society and human rights organisations working in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have raised our concerns with the Government of Israel. The UK supports civil society organisations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on a range of issues, including those who do invaluable work promoting and defending human rights.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prospects of a negotiated peace settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The prospect of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is closer now than it has been throughout the 30-year conflict. We welcome the progress on the delimitation of their borders and encourage both sides to maintain momentum to agree a lasting settlement. The Minister for Europe called both Foreign Ministers in October and met with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Ambassadors to the UK on 16 December 2024 and 13 January 2025 respectively, where he reiterated the UK's support to secure a long-lasting peace deal. The Foreign Secretary also spoke with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 22 January 2025 where he conveyed this message.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the plan to allocate additional Official Development Assistance (ODA) for (1) 2024–25, and (2) 2025–26, to compensate for the share of ODA being spent on refugees in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to restoring ODA spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of GNI when fiscal circumstances allow. The Government is currently undertaking a Spending Review and will set out its approach to the House in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to revise the fiscal tests used for determining when the Official Development Assistance Budget has returned to its required level of 0.7 per cent of gross national income.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to restoring ODA spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of GNI when fiscal circumstances allow. The Government is currently undertaking a Spending Review and will set out its approach to the House in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to apply a cap to the share of Official Development Assistance reported as "in-donor refugee costs".
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to restoring ODA spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of GNI when fiscal circumstances allow. The Government is currently undertaking a Spending Review and will set out its approach to the House in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of Official Development Assistance was spent outside the United Kingdom in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, (5) 2023, and (6) 2024.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance is Statistics on International Development (SID). Table 1 shows the volume and percentage of UK ODA that is estimated to have been spent outside the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2023. Data for 2024 will be available via Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024 in Autumn 2025.
Table 1: Volume and Percentage of UK ODA estimated to have been spent outside the UK (1), 2019 - 2023
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
ODA spend outside UK (£millions) | 13,791 | 12,959 | 9,527 | 8,320 | 10,238 |
Total ODA (£millions) | 15,176 | 14,477 | 11,423 | 12,786 | 15,344 |
% of ODA spend outside UK | 90.9% | 89.5% | 83.4% | 65.1% | 66.7% |
Source: Statistics on International Development
1. Spend outside the UK has excluded these categories of in-donor spend: Refugees/asylum seekers in donor country; administrative costs not included elsewhere; private sector instrument intra-governmental transfers; scholarships/training in donor country; donor country personnel; development awareness.
2. There may be a portion of spend in the other types of aid which has been spent in the UK, for the benefit of developing countries, which can't be separately identified.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about (1) the delay in introducing eVisas, and (2) the requirement that, notwithstanding this delay, those with biometric residence cards must apply for a replacement eVisa by 31 December.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including ILPA and the 3million, as we roll out eVisas and are grateful for their feedback.
eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be ‘digital by default’ by 2025, a change that will enhance the customer experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.
We have been inviting people to come forward at scale since March to register for an account so that they can access their eVisa. We will continue to deliver an extensive communications campaign to explain how people can register for a UKVI account and access their eVisa.
The transition to eVisas does not impact a customer’s underlying immigration status. For many, the end 2024 deadline will have no impact; most people don’t need to prove their immigration status on a day-to-day basis, and many of the checks performed will be unaffected by the expiry of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs).
BRP holders will also still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid status – although we will encourage them to register for an account and to use that to access those services.
Customers will be able to create an account quickly and easily post-2024, using their expired BRP if needed, at www.gov.uk/evisa. There are also services in place, via our contact centre, to support vulnerable users and enable status to be verified in alternative ways on an emergency basis if a customer is not able to create their account immediately.
Notwithstanding these safeguards, we are keen to ensure that all customers take action to create an account and access their eVisa before the end of the year, to ensure they have the smoothest possible experience.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise (1) the limits on earnings and the number of hours that can be worked, and (2) the rate at which earnings above those limits can be reclaimed, for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the challenges unpaid carers are facing and is determined to provide them with the help and support they need and deserve. It is looking closely at how the benefit system currently does this.
Universal Credit provides support to carers on low incomes, whether they are in paid employment or not. Carer’s Allowance, by contrast, is available to all unpaid carers, provided they are not in ‘gainful employment’. This is currently defined as having earnings not exceeding £151 a week net of allowable expenses. This level is reviewed annually alongside the Secretary of State’s statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. Many Carer’s Allowance recipients are in households also receiving Universal Credit, where the structure of tapers and work allowances (where applicable) effectively takes precedence over ‘gainful employment’ test in Carer’s Allowance.
With respect to overpayments of Carer’s Allowance due to the interaction with earnings, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report, Carer’s Allowance Overpayments, published by Carer’s UK on 26 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the invaluable service provided by the millions of unpaid carers across the country who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day. It recognises the challenges they face and is determined to provide them with the support they deserve.
The Government welcomes the report published by Carers UK, and is considering its findings. Ministers were pleased to meet with the organisation, and with carers, to discuss the issues raised shortly after publication of the report.
More broadly, in respect of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.