Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to widen the participation of girls in sport in secondary schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for children and young people, including girls. Our manifesto set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

On 19 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced next steps for the future of PE and sport in schools. As part of our mission-led approach and Plan for Change, the government will co-design PE and School Sport Partnership networks. We are looking to develop and build strong partnerships between schools, national governing bodies, local organisations and clubs. The planned model will look to strengthen and broaden partnership-based support with the aim to increase equal access for children to high quality PE and extracurricular sport.

Schools are also supported to increase girls’ engagement in sport through programmes delivered by sector organisations, such as the Football Association’s ‘Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships’ programme and Sport England’s online Studio You programme.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the third updated submission by the BRIXMIS Association, which the Ministry of Defence acknowledged receipt of on 24 June, will be considered by the Independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee on 9 July.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The BRIXMIS Association submission was an agenda item at the independent Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC) meeting on 9 July 2025. Following discussions, the Secretary was directed to prepare a letter to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) for its consideration. The findings of the sub-committee will be communicated to the Association in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 267 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, whether they will provide a breakdown of the aggregate proposed £132,940,000 support to overseas territories in 2025–26 by individual overseas territory.

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

As per programme management best practice, Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for individual Overseas Territories evolve during the financial year in line with their changing priorities.  Current proposed allocations (which may be subject to further change) total £132.7 million:

Montserrat: £64.3 million

St Helena and Tristan da Cunha: £56.3 million

The Pitcairn Islands: £5.6 million

Further ODA amounts will be allocated throughout the year via cross-Territory programmes, including the Blue Belt initiative.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 172 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, for what purposes the £425,000 Gibraltar Guarantee contingent liability may be used.

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

The UK Government is committed to supporting Gibraltar, its people and its economy. In 2020, the UK Government provided the Government of Gibraltar with a Loan Guarantee of up to £500 million (of which the Government of Gibraltar has drawn down £425 million) with the purpose of supporting Gibraltar's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic which had severely affected the main pillars of Gibraltar's economy, including financial services, online gaming and tourism.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 268 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, whether they will provide a breakdown of the proposed £46,557,000 to Nepal in 2025–26 by individual project.

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

The UK is a longstanding partner to Nepal and the UK's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is one part of our broad and diverse cooperation. Our Embassy in Kathmandu currently forecasts a full utilisation of its £46,557,000 bilateral ODA allocation for 2025-26. The actual spend may be influenced by factors beyond our control.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to transparency and our forecast bilateral spend for 2025-26 is published through the UK Government's Development Tracker: Devtracker. A breakdown of current programme allocations, rounded to the nearest £100,000 is provided below:

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 268 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, what assessment they have made of the impact that the proposed £13,628,000 reduction in support to Nepal between 2024–25 and 2025–26 will have on the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the UK.

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

Development is an essential part of the UK's global objectives and to the delivery of the Government's missions: working with partners to strengthen and stabilise countries, to tackle poverty and support growth, and to make the world safer. The UK continues to work closely with the Government of Nepal and other partners to ensure UK Official Development Assistance aligns with Nepal's national development priorities. Therefore, we have prioritised the following for our 2025-26 allocation: Nepal's inclusive economic transformation and the creation of jobs; building resilience to disasters and climate change, infrastructure development, and the strengthening of social services. We are aware that budget reductions will have an impact on Nepal and British Embassy Kathmandu is in continuing discussions with the Government of Nepal about these issues.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which specific projects in Nepal funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in 2025–26 will directly contribute to maintaining consent to recruit members of the Brigade of Gurkhas.

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

The UK's development partnership with Nepal is built on long-standing cooperation across various sectors. We are working closely with the Government of Nepal and other stakeholders to ensure our 2025-26 budget is targeted towards Nepal's national development priorities. We acknowledge the outstanding contribution of the Gurkhas in the British Army and remain committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific and supporting economic growth and development across the region.