Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to help tackle the potential impact of aid cuts on (a) South Africa, (b) Kenya, (c) Nigeria and (d) other countries of strategic importance to the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains fully committed to the UK playing a globally significant role on development; it is both in our national interest and in the interest of our partners.
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and official development assistance. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including the likely impact on the UK's international partnerships with developing nations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps with (a) G7 and (b) European donors to return to previous levels of Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains committed to returning Official Development Assistance to 0.7 per cent of gross national income when the fiscal circumstances allow. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals requires collective action, and the UK will continue to work through international partnerships towards that vision. Other donors' decisions on overseas development funding are a matter for their governments.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to encourage (a) the private sector and (b) other donors to increase funding for global HIV prevention and treatment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the co-host with South Africa of the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UK is actively engaging with both international counterparts and private sector partners to advocate for maintaining or increasing funding for global health, including HIV prevention and treatment. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific attended an event in parliament on 2 April celebrating the contribution of the private sector where the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) made a landmark $150 million pledge to the 8th replenishment. The Minister welcomed this significant contribution from a British partner which demonstrates the key role of the private sector in the fight against HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria, and global health more broadly.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support the scale up of the provision of long-acting HIV prevention medicines now entering the market.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to sustainable development goal 3.3 in ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030. Long-acting technologies have the potential to be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most. The UK supports key partners to improve access to long-acting technologies, including Unitaid who recently committed £17 million in market-shaping grants with the Wits Institute in South Africa and Fiotec in Brazil to accelerate affordable access to Lenacapavir.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Lancet entitled Impact of an international HIV funding crisis on HIV infections and mortality in low income and middle income countries, a modelling study, published on 26 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK takes note of the current context for international HIV funding. We remain committed to our long-standing support to global health organisations at the core of the response to HIV and AIDS, and we continue to support efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. We are excited to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria together with South Africa. In countries where the Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 73 per cent since 2002.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the British Council has to repay its pandemic loan on commercial terms.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The previous Government made available up to £200 million in loans during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the British Council remained solvent, to support restructuring, and to help the British Council return to surplus. The loan was made on commercial terms to ensure compliance with the UK subsidy control regime.
The Government remains committed to recovering the loan as soon as the British Council's finances allow.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10496 on Hong Kong: Travel, what steps his Department is taking to (a) clarify and (b) mitigate risks of British-born children of naturalised British citizens of Chinese descent being subject to (i) PRC nationality laws and (ii) potential limitations on consular access.
Answered by Catherine West
The FCDO provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad. In some cases, British Nationals of Hong Kong or Chinese descent may be considered Chinese by the Chinese authorities meaning the consular assistance we can provide may be limited. As per our nationality guidance, we advise seeking legal advice where appropriate for individual cases.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Hongkongers who have (a) arrived in the UK under the BN(O) scheme and (b) will be naturalised as British citizens have access to UK (i) consulates and (ii) consular services.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad. This includes British Nationals (Overseas) who, under the Memoranda to the Joint Declaration, are eligible for consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China. The help we can provide to dual nationals depends on the circumstances and the agreement of the country of the individual's other nationality. China does not recognise dual nationality and considers anyone born in China to a Chinese parent Chinese. This applies to all British citizens travelling to China including those naturalised under the BN(O) scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to communicate the risks associated with travel to Hong Kong to Hongkongers who have (a) arrived in the UK under the BN(O) scheme and are (b) due to be naturalised as British citizens.
Answered by Catherine West
FCDO's Travel Advice for Hong Kong explains that Hong Kong does not recognise dual nationality and anyone born in China to a Chinese national parent would be considered by authorities to be of Chinese nationality and treated as a Chinese citizen. Anyone with both British and Chinese nationality may be treated as a Chinese citizen by local authorities, even if they enter on a British passport. This advice applies to all British citizens travelling to Hong Kong, including those naturalised under the BN(O) scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of of the impact of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on the delivery of HIV and TB services.
Answered by David Rutley
We have no means of independently assessing the impact of the crisis on medical services however we are aware of World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting on the significant impact the crisis is having on the delivery of medical services and wider aid. The UK continuously assesses needs as part of our humanitarian response in Gaza and there is an urgent requirement for the entry of significantly more aid. At this stage, we are focused on getting more aid through the Rafah crossing and other land routes, which is the most effective way of getting humanitarian support in at scale. We are also urging Israel to open other border crossings, such as Kerem Shalom, to enable more humanitarian aid to reach civilians in need. This is still not enough to meet the immediate needs of the population and we support pauses in hostilities to improve access to humanitarian assistance for all people in need.