Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove the remaining sanctions in relation to Syria, in the light of US plans to do so.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In April, the UK lifted sanctions on some sectors, including trade, energy production, transport and finance, and de-listed 12 government and media entities, including the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior. This followed the removal of asset freezes on 24 entities, including the Central Bank of Syria. The majority of remaining sanctions are on individuals and entities linked to the former regime. Sanctions on military goods and technology; chemical weapons; and those related to gold, precious metals, diamonds, luxury goods, and the interception and monitoring services also remain in place. We will keep our sanctions regime under review.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current restrictions on aid going into Gaza.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel's announcement that it will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. 2.1 million people are in dire need of food, healthcare, water, and shelter. As the Minister for the Middle East stated on 4 June, Israel's newly introduced measures for aid delivery are inhumane, foster desperation and endanger civilians. No one should risk death or injury to feed their family. The UK will not support any mechanism that endangers civilians or politicises aid. Israel must immediately allow the United Nations and aid partners to safely deliver all types of aid at scale to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what aid they provided to Gaza in May.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 April, the UK announced a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £101 million for humanitarian aid, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform. A significant portion of our Financial Year 2024/25 funding has already reached Gaza, including life-saving medical supplies. Some remains prepositioned at border crossings or in regional warehouses. Due to the complex operating environment and limited real-time data, it is difficult to quantify the volume of aid currently awaiting entry. We continue to urge Israel to immediately allow the United Nations and humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisations to operate in line with their principles.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contribution they have made to the UN's Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan in 2025.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
According to the United Nations Financial Tracking Service, as of 9 May the UK has contributed $260.4 million to UN-coordinated appeals in 2025 so far. Of this, $198.9 million went to Humanitarian Response Plans and Needs and Response Plans. This data is gathered and reported by the UN; The UK's official Statistics on International Development, covering the whole of 2025, will be published in autumn next year.
The UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role, including in Sudan, in Ukraine, and in Gaza. For example, last month we announced £120 million in new support for Sudan, which will target over 600,000 people with lifesaving assistance.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the £120 million humanitarian funding for Sudan announced on 15 April will be allocated to support survivors of sexual violence.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million provided in financial year (FY) 2024/25 and a further £120 million in support this current FY which the Foreign Secretary announced at the London Sudan Conference on 15 April. Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, millions of Sudanese civilians have benefitted from UK-funded humanitarian programmes including survivors of sexual violence. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials are now determining how funding for FY 2025/26 will be allocated and further information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what value of humanitarian aid they have provided to Myanmar following the recent earthquake.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. This includes up to £5 million to match the British public's generous donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground, who can directly access affected populations. UK-funded food, water, healthcare and shelter supplies are already reaching affected areas, helping over 300,000 people so far.
Since the 2021 coup the UK has provided more than £170 million in live-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare and education support, and support to civil society and local communities, in Myanmar.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reform the funding rules for local elections.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The funding of costs necessarily incurred for the delivery of local elections is a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the year-on-year commitment of the £7.85 million provided to the Global Survivors Fund since 2019; and what was the country breakdown of this year-on-year commitment.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2019, the UK Government has supported the Global Survivors Fund to provide life-saving support and reparative measures for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence around the world.
UK funding to the Global Survivors Fund has supported thousands of survivors, including in Ukraine, Colombia, Iraq, South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Turkey, East Timor, Nigeria and Nepal among others. Projects have included the provision of psychosocial, educational and livelihood support, as well as technical support to Governments.
A year-on-year breakdown of funding is as follows:
• From Financial Year (FY) 2019/20 to 2021/22: £2.7m
• FY 2022/23: £1.5m
• FY 2023/24: £1.85m
• FY 2024/25: £1.8m
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they recognise the term "domicide".
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government does not recognise the term "domicide". "Domicide" is not a standalone international crime, though certain breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) involving homes may be war crimes. Promoting IHL compliance is central to the Government's humanitarian policy, and IHL compliance provides protections for civilian objects, such as homes.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to aid children in Gaza in 2025, and especially those in need of medical assistance.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has consistently pressed Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, including children, and for all parties to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law. In the last financial year, we announced £6 million for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support vulnerable families in Gaza, and £41 million funding for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), supporting their delivery of essential services including education across Gaza, the West Bank and to Palestinian refugees in the region. £5.8 million of the UK's contribution to the Global Partnership for Education has been earmarked to support essential education service delivery in Gaza and the West Bank. Through our partnership with UK-Med, they have provided over 405,000 patient consultations in Gaza since January 2024. The UK also supported delivery of Polio vaccination campaigns protecting over 600,000 vulnerable children across Gaza through funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. As the Prime Minister has said, the UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role in Gaza.