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Written Question
South Asia: Development Aid
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) actual, and (2) projected, aid contributions to individual countries in South Asia, broken down by category of project.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We do not have a breakdown by project category of future spend. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

We do have information on project category spend for previous calendar years which is published in the statistics on international development. This data is based on calendar year not financial year and covers the whole of HMG. Please see below data based on 2022, the last available calendar year.

2022

2022 Total

Row Labels

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Administrative costs (non-sector allocable)

£273,832

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£150,105

£0

£423,938

Advanced technical and managerial training

£0

£0

£0

-£54,390

£0

-£2,535

£0

£0

-£56,924

Agricultural development

£1,292,411

£0

£0

£47,020

£0

£0

-£1,361,746

£0

-£22,316

Agricultural policy and administrative management

£0

£2,809

£0

-£152

£0

£0

£0

-£253,566

-£250,909

Agricultural research

£0

£0

£0

£240,948

£0

£0

£7,715

£0

£248,663

Agricultural services

£0

£0

£0

-£2,274,286

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£2,274,286

Anti-corruption organisations and institutions

£2,518,313

£576,402

£0

£0

£0

£175,805

£144,143

£0

£3,414,663

Basic drinking water supply

£0

£350,000

£0

£0

£0

£219,574

£0

£0

£569,574

Basic drinking water supply and basic sanitation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£639,497

-£1,361,746

£0

-£722,250

Basic health care

£707,157

£250,000

£0

£0

£0

£2,994,645

£387,457

£0

£4,339,258

Basic life skills for adults

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£258,611

£0

£0

£258,611

Basic nutrition

£0

£712,997

£0

£0

£0

£14,770

£0

£0

£727,767

Basic sanitation

£0

£350,000

£0

£0

£0

£37,522

-£2,723,493

£0

-£2,335,971

Biodiversity

£0

£22,328

£0

£165,389

£74,068

£961,707

£37,573

£67,842

£1,328,907

Business development services

£0

£0

£0

£96,736

£0

£0

£0

£0

£96,736

Business policy and administration

£0

£0

£0

£565,783

£0

£0

£437,513

£0

£1,003,296

Civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution

£4,130,547

£1,981,030

£0

£0

£0

£4,399

£2,225,242

£1,355,856

£9,697,073

Communications policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£127,531

£0

£44,422

£0

£171,953

COVID-19 control

£0

£23,407

£0

£802,602

£0

£0

£5,949

£0

£831,958

Culture

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£61,341

£0

£61,341

Culture and recreation

£0

£0

£0

-£22,408

£0

£0

£85,158

£0

£62,750

Decentralisation and support to subnational government

£0

£0

£0

£0

£138,288

£2,475,959

£0

£0

£2,614,248

Democratic participation and civil society

£250,000

£1,394,795

£0

£0

£57,419

£973,571

£443,327

£0

£3,119,111

Domestic revenue mobilisation

£0

-£728,536

£0

£193,016

£0

£117,203

£1,059,571

£0

£641,254

Education and training in water supply and sanitation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£12,737

£0

£0

£12,737

Education facilities and training

£0

£115,830

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,464,741

£0

£1,580,571

Education policy and administrative management

£0

£577,278

£0

£97,983

£0

£0

£3,077,249

£0

£3,752,510

Educational research

£0

£361,000

£0

-£266,036

£0

£188,423

£594,639

£0

£878,026

Elections

£0

£12,027

£0

£0

£0

£0

£900

£0

£12,927

Electric mobility infrastructures

£0

£0

£0

£70,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£70,000

Electric power transmission and distribution (centralised grids)

£0

£0

£0

£68,700

£0

£173,312

£0

£0

£242,012

Emergency food assistance

£128,041,086

£8,635,594

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£136,676,679

Employment creation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£255,005

£0

£0

-£255,005

Ending violence against women and girls

£21,461,697

£1,009,135

£0

£0

£0

£728,846

£3,068,578

£0

£26,268,255

Energy generation, renewable sources - multiple technologies

£0

£0

£0

-£889,376

£0

£1,200,806

£0

£0

£311,430

Energy policy and administrative management

£0

£50,553

£0

£158,146

£0

£368,287

£0

£0

£576,985

Energy research

£0

£0

£0

£23,688

£0

£147,098

£0

£0

£170,786

Energy sector policy, planning and administration

£0

£0

£0

£1,479,122

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,479,122

Environmental education/training

£0

£0

£48,668

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£48,668

Environmental policy and administrative management

£635,676

£6,904,699

£0

£24,064,426

£0

£4,380,855

£5,812,804

£0

£41,798,459

Environmental research

£0

£120,723

£0

£3,082,518

£0

£863,732

£0

£0

£4,066,974

Facilitation of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility

£0

£102,902

£0

£0

£0

£234,377

£0

£0

£337,279

Family planning

£265,080

£565,862

£0

£0

£0

£102,500

£3,660,244

£0

£4,593,686

Financial policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£507,690

£0

£0

£301,387

£0

£809,077

Formal sector financial intermediaries

£0

£0

£0

£49,665

£0

£0

£0

£0

£49,665

Health education

£338,898

£0

£0

£0

£0

£219,770

£0

£0

£558,668

Health personnel development

£0

£273,503

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£273,503

Health policy and administrative management

£0

£1,760,392

£0

£3,122,660

£0

£2,298,530

£343,452

£0

£7,525,034

Higher education

£911,301

£649,203

£172,288

£2,693,479

£214,955

£434,329

£1,992,063

£395,690

£7,463,308

Human rights

£0

£1,775,384

£0

£0

£183,646

£0

£0

£0

£1,959,030

Immediate post-emergency reconstruction and rehabilitation

£4,081,072

£2,602,056

£0

£0

£0

£1,382,031

£12

£0

£8,065,171

Industrial development

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£317,516

£0

£0

£317,516

Industrial policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,102,394

£0

£0

£1,102,394

Infectious disease control

£0

£344,911

£0

£106,589

£0

£721,591

£3,657

£0

£1,176,748

Informal/semi-formal financial intermediaries

£1,133,493

£0

£0

£65,012

£0

£129,305

£0

£0

£1,327,810

Information and communication technology (ICT)

£0

£277,978

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£277,978

Legal and judicial development

£0

£562,328

£0

£0

£207,433

£219,762

£1,059,545

£23,435

£2,072,502

Legislatures and political parties

£0

£0

£0

£0

£86,128

£28,936

£0

£0

£115,064

Livestock

£1,133,493

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,133,493

Low-cost housing

£0

£0

£0

£7,590

£0

£0

£0

£0

£7,590

Material relief assistance and services

£133,863,525

£7,210,063

£0

£0

£0

£367,000

£13,753,266

£1,840,000

£157,033,854

Media and free flow of information

£0

£27,380

£0

£0

£85,021

£201,771

£0

£0

£314,172

Medical research

£0

£349,577

£0

£3,227,794

£0

£153,028

£1,625,422

£0

£5,355,821

Medical services

£0

£0

£0

£19,694

£0

£0

£0

£0

£19,694

Monetary institutions

£0

£0

£0

-£4,122,509

£0

£367,746

£0

£0

-£3,754,763

Multi-hazard response preparedness

£0

£3,119,353

£0

£0

£0

£2,296,059

-£346,074

£0

£5,069,339

Multisector aid

£10,000,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£10,000,000

Multisector education/training

£179,070

£2,964,257

£0

£10,757,244

£0

£1,082,590

£5,089,541

£1,148,813

£21,221,516

Participation in international peacekeeping operations

-£26,486,939

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£26,486,939

Personnel development for population and reproductive health

£0

£628,071

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£628,071

Population policy and administrative management

£0

£63,206

£0

£0

£0

£49,325

£159,552

£0

£272,083

Primary education

£677,795

£1,749,487

£0

£96,754

£0

£0

£1,368,615

£0

£3,892,652

Privatisation

£4,424

£0

£0

£62,081

£0

£0

£0

£0

£66,505

Public finance management (PFM)

£0

-£4,128,373

£0

£0

£0

£820,701

£1,854,023

£0

-£1,453,650

Public sector policy and administrative management

£34,999

£576,042

£0

£859,780

£0

£789,046

£91,270

£0

£2,351,137

Relief co-ordination and support services

£59,853,084

£2,072,828

£0

£0

£0

£0

£6,022,939

£0

£67,948,851

Removal of land mines and explosive remnants of war

£5,000,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£5,000,000

Reproductive health care

£1,369,857

£1,435,386

£0

£52,362

£0

£490,359

£1,851,776

£0

£5,199,740

Research/scientific institutions

£378,625

£1,287,873

-£72,577

£740,328

£0

£1,049,080

£908,916

£2,760

£4,295,005

Road transport

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

£0

£2,256,726

£1,800

£0

£1,121,383

Rural development

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£202,165

£0

£0

£202,165

Security system management and reform

£0

£43,536

£0

£0

£458,799

£69,946

£0

£0

£572,281

Site preservation

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development

£5,530

£0

£0

£1,245,753

£0

£0

£0

£0

£1,251,283

Social Protection

£0

£1,351,346

£0

£39,879

£0

-£345,949

£226,615

£0

£1,271,891

Solar energy for centralised grids

£0

£0

£0

£117,792

£0

£648,694

£0

£0

£766,486

Statistical capacity building

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£353,100

£0

£0

£353,100

Teacher training

£0

£508,061

£0

£0

£0

£0

£663,698

£0

£1,171,759

Trade facilitation

£5,530

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£133,722

£0

£139,252

Trade policy and administrative management

£6,637

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£203,275

£0

£209,912

Transport policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£69,054

£0

£128,892

£1,200

£0

£199,146

Tuberculosis control

£0

£29,991

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£29,991

Upper Secondary Education (modified and includes data from 11322)

£338,898

£897,000

£0

£0

£0

£0

£985,293

£0

£2,221,190

Urban development

£0

£0

£0

£542,146

£0

£0

£0

£0

£542,146

Urban development and management

£0

£1,050,000

£0

£78,000

£0

£695,269

£781,523

£0

£2,604,792

Vocational training

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£646,527

£0

£0

£646,527

Waste management/disposal

£0

£0

£0

£14,424

£0

£0

£0

£0

£14,424

Water resources conservation (including data collection)

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£219,574

£0

£0

£219,574

Water sector policy and administrative management

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£31,842

£0

£0

£31,842

Water supply - large systems

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£737,655

£0

£0

£737,655

Water supply and sanitation - large systems

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

£0

£0

£0

£0

-£1,137,143

Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions

£0

£1,800,998

£0

£0

£0

£59,406

£1,444,631

£0

£3,305,036

Grand Total

£352,405,092

£54,672,670

£148,379

£45,728,404

£1,633,288

£37,241,408

£57,842,803

£4,580,830

£554,252,874


Written Question
Development Aid
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they differentiate their approach in the delivery of aid between (1) low income, and (2) lower-middle income, countries

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The White Paper on International Development sets out how the UK will target aid where it is most needed and most effective. We will prioritise grant resources to the lowest income countries and communities and aim to spend 50 per cent of our bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). LDCs includes many low-income and lower-middle income countries. They are the least able to finance their development through taxes, borrowing or investment, and most of the world's poorest people live in LDCs which are either fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable to climate change. This focus on LDCs will inform all our ODA spending.

We expect to spend less ODA in contexts where other sources of finance are available and will draw on ODA only as necessary in our partnerships with middle-income countries (MICs). We recognise MICs are a broad and variable group and their status masks pockets of extreme poverty and inequality, as well as acute humanitarian needs. ODA can be used in a targeted way to support their objectives and our shared priorities.


Written Question
Refugees: Ukraine
Friday 29th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic contribution of Ukrainian refugees who are on temporary visas.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The government has not made a specific assessment of the economic contribution of Ukrainian refugees on temporary visas, as it does not hold the necessary data to measure this.

Employment data is published on Ukrainian nationals in the UK, (this also includes Ukrainians not on any of the dedicated visa schemes) which can be found here:

Analysis of Ukrainian nationals entering employment in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Visas: Armed Forces
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent proposed increase of the minimum income threshold to £38,700 for a family visa will apply to (1) serving members of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and (2) other serving foreign and commonwealth members of the armed forces.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

It is the government’s intention to increase the minimum income required for British citizens and those settled in the UK (including serving members of HM Armed Forces who are exempt from immigration control and those applying for settlement upon discharge, at the same as their family member) who want their family members to join them. This reinforces that all those who want to work and live here must be able to support themselves, are contributing to the economy, and are not burdening the state.

The fees and policies that apply to the dependants of members of HM Armed Forces are closely aligned with those that apply to the dependants of other British citizens and settled persons under the standard family immigration rules, although they do recognise the unique position of Armed Forces family members.

Until the Immigration Rules are amended the MIR level remains the same. The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the minimum income requirement in due course. Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.


Written Question
Visas: Ukraine
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to allow Ukrainian refugees who are on three-year visas to extend those visas.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In line with the situation in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian Government, as well as our international counterparts, we keep the need for a possible extension of UK sanctuary, beyond March 2025, under consistent review. We are also mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead, for example if remaining in the UK, entering into rental agreements and living here independently.

The UK Government stands with Ukraine and firmly believes that Ukraine will be safe again. When it’s safe to do so, Ukraine will need the repatriation of its citizens to help recover and rebuild their economy and infrastructure.  Our approach therefore has been to provide 36 months sanctuary under our Ukraine visas which are temporary and do not lead to settlement.


Written Question
Cancer: Children
Thursday 23rd November 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to tackle childhood cancer.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is taking steps to tackle childhood cancer, by improving early diagnosis, delivering more research, and driving progress in genomic medicine.

Improving early diagnosis is essential for children with cancer. The National Health Service is working to deliver the ambition set in its Long Term Plan to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028. This is backed by £2.3 billion funding to transform diagnostic services, with 123 new community diagnostic centres opened, giving millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks. In addition, the NHS is expanding direct access to diagnostic scans across all general practitioner (GP) practices, helping GPs recognise cancer symptoms, cutting waiting times and speeding up diagnosis.

Delivering more research is key to understanding the causes of childhood cancer and increasing survival rates. Over the past five years, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has invested £13.9 million on 38 research projects into childhood cancers. In addition, alongside Cancer Research UK, health departments across the United Kingdom are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, collectively investing more than £35 million between 2017 and 2022, driving the discovery, development, and testing of new treatments. This includes the Paediatric Network that the NIHR co-funds with The Little Princess Trust, dedicated to early-phase research on childhood cancers.

Ensuring all children with cancer get access to ground-breaking genomic medicine is vital. The NHS now offers all children with cancer whole genome sequencing, to enable comprehensive and precise diagnosis and personalised treatments. In July, the Government announced a multi-year partnership agreement with the pharmaceutical giant BioNTech which will accelerate the company's clinical trials in the UK and could provide up to 10,000 patients with personalised cancer immunotherapies by 2030.

In addition, the Department is taking steps to better understand the landscape of childhood cancer with experts, aided by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP.

Through improving diagnosis, encouraging research, and ensuring access to ground-breaking treatment, the Government will continue to take steps to tackle childhood cancer.


Written Question
Storms: Channel Islands
Monday 20th November 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they have offered to (1) Jersey, and (2) Guernsey, following the impact of Storm Ciarán.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Crown Dependencies are responsible for their own contingency planning and emergency response but the UK stands ready to assist them in responding to emergencies where they request additional support.

UK officials were in contact with emergency planners in the Channel Islands during Storm Ciarán but none of the Islands requested any support from the UK.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Cybersecurity
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are offering each of the British Overseas Territories in building cyber-resilience, broken down by territory.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2019 HMG has been working with British Overseas Territories to build cyber resilience. Cyber risk reviews have been completed in six British Overseas Territories (Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St Helena and Turks and Caicos Islands) with two more scheduled this financial year. The UK has also established an Overseas Territories cyber community which provides access to expertise and specialist training from the UK.


Written Question
Cybersecurity: Crown Dependencies
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are offering each of the Crown Dependencies in building cyber-resilience, broken down by dependency.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to supporting the Crown Dependencies in deterring and defending against state and non-state threats. Since its creation in 2016, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has supported the Crown Dependencies in building their cyber resilience. The NCSC supports the governments, police and communications service providers of the Crown Dependencies, engaging with them on a regular basis to provide expert advice, guidance, the latest threat assessments and support related to incidents affecting their networks. The governments of the Crown Dependencies also use a range of Active Cyber Defence tools and services provided by the NCSC.

Although a breakdown of costs is not available, examples of support includes:

  • The NCSC supported and advised on the formation of Cyber Security Incident Response Teams in the Crown Dependencies. Jersey Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) has now been established and is responsible for promoting and improving the cyber resilience across the Island’s critical national infrastructure.

  • The NCSC have attended events on each of the Crown Dependencies in recent years, presenting at the Isle of Man’s Cyber Isle cyber Conference in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Attendees were informed about the NCSC’s free products and services available to all Crown Dependencies covering public, private and third sectors;

  • The Governments of the Crown Dependencies, are eligible for and are using NCSC Active Cyber Defence services including Mail Check, Web Check, Early Warning and Protective DNS. These are the same tools used by HMG to help protect our networks.


Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Wednesday 21st June 2023

Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 25 May (HL Deb, col 1063), what plans they have to reform the application process for student visas for British Overseas Territory passport holders.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

While a British Overseas Territory (BOT) passport holder is not automatically a British Citizen, a person who is both a British citizen and British overseas territories citizen will have the right of abode in the UK, and so will not need to apply for a visa to study here. However, they may need to show that they are a British citizen, and so may wish to apply for a British citizen passport or certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. British overseas citizens who are not also British citizens will need to apply for a visa.

BOT citizens who are not eligible for British citizenship can apply for a student visa online, which requires biometrics to be provided.

Biometric enrolment services for those who hold a BOT passport and who wish to make a UK visa application are available in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St Helena and, for those in the Sovereign Base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia, via Nicosia.

It would not be commercially viable to operate a visa application centre or temporary biometrics enrolment service in the remaining BOTs due to the small volume of customers and/or remote locations of these territories. This may mean travelling to a nearby location.

As part of our Future Borders and Immigration System programme, we continue to roll out digitisation of all our application processes, which in future will minimise the requirement to attend visa application centres.