Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to coordinate with other (a) donor governments and (b) implementing country partners to mitigate the potential impact of reductions to the (i) United States Agency for International Development and (ii) other global health funds.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials regularly meet international partners on a number of global health and international development issues, both in the course of their duties and as part of our role as a board member to a number of global health bodies.
Discussions will continue to take place through bilateral meetings and other key multilateral fora, including with the G20 under the Presidency of South Africa, with whom we will be co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment later in the year, and at the High-Level Summit on 25 June, where the UK announced our new investment in Gavi.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the placement of sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich on (a) Pearson Engineering Limited and (b) other UK-based companies that are (i) owned and (ii) partially controlled by the Israeli Government Companies Authority.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our sanctions are carefully designed to minimise unintended consequences within the UK and globally. The sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir apply to them in their personal capacities, and not to their ministries, departments or businesses owned or partially owned by the State of Israel.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the Official Development Assistance budget is allocated to global health programmes in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. We will sharpen our focus on humanitarian, health and climate and nature.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 support a just energy transition in Africa.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting access to clean energy in Africa is vital for supporting growth and reducing poverty across the continent. Through British International Investment, the UK has provided access to clean energy for over 26 million people. We support multilateral initiatives like Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 the potential risk that the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel may result in Israel firms having access to British public procurement contracts which support Israeli firms involved in human rights abuses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights. We have taken action in the Procurement Act 2023 to strengthen the rules around excluding suppliers which may be unfit to bid for public contracts due to serious past misconduct.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a ban on data localisation in the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government is committed to securing the best outcomes for the UK in our Free Trade Agreement negotiations. We are a strong supporter of modern and ambitious digital provisions which prevent unjustified data localisation requirements for UK businesses whilst protecting the UK's high standards for personal data protection.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Israel on whether (a) digital services, (b) cyber security and (c) Artificial Intelligence products included in a potential trade agreement have been (i) developed and (ii) deployed during military activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel is an important trading and bilateral partner for the UK and remains a part of our trade negotiation programme but our Free Trade Agreement negotiations with them have not yet restarted.
In September 2024, we suspended export licenses to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. The suspension covers all items that we assess could be used in military operations in Gaza. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.
We continue to use our range of diplomatic tools and bilateral dialogues with Israel to discuss issues of concern, including in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 the potential impact of the suspension of USAID programmes on his Department's international development programmes.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across development sectors. We welcome the news that emergency food aid and life-saving humanitarian assistance should be exempt from the pause in US foreign aid. The UK's commitment to supporting both humanitarian aid and development across the world remains steadfast. Progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals requires collective action, and the UK will continue to work with international partners toward that vision.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 support the expansion of immunisation programs in northern Nigeria.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK supports immunisation programmes in Nigeria through GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation), the public-private global alliance that has helped vaccinate more than half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. The UK's contribution to GAVI is £1.65 billion over five years (2021-2025). Nigeria will receive over $1 billion in funding from GAVI between 2018 and 2028, one of the largest of any country.
The UK continues to work with the Government of Nigeria to strengthen health systems in Northern Nigeria, which are crucial for ensuring access to life-saving vaccinations for the poorest and most vulnerable.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK-Nigeria joint communiqué, published on 6 November 2024, what support for humanitarian action is included in the new UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
In the Financial Year 2024/25, UK humanitarian support to Nigeria totalled £33.5 million in life-saving assistance and has reached approximately 1 million people with our Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP), reducing mortality and increasing resilience for people with the most severe humanitarian needs. This assistance is one part of our development partnership with Nigeria - an important component of the new UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.