Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will recognise Somaliland as an independent nation.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the UK's long-standing position that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to decide through a consultative process and dialogue, in line with the principles of the UN charter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British citizens were murdered in overseas countries in each of the last five years by country .
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021 we have supported bereaved families in approximately 250 cases of the murder or manslaughter of British nationals abroad. To protect the privacy of the bereaved, we do not publish country‑level figures where fewer than five cases are recorded. Fifteen countries recorded more than five such cases since 2021: Pakistan, Spain, the United States, South Africa, Israel, Australia, Jamaica, France, Thailand, Kenya, New Zealand, Mexico, Turkey, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. All other countries recorded fewer than five cases individually over that time period.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of what the percentage of gross national income spent on overseas aid will be at the end of the current spending review period.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As things stand, and in line with the Government's stated policies, we expect spending on Official Development Assistance to be at 0.3 per cent of gross national income in the 2027 calendar year, and stay at that level until fiscal circumstances allow the UK to return to the 0.7 per cent target.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to stop goods produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 in response to Question 77510.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will hold discussions with her Israeli counterpart on allowing (a) Medicines Sans Frontiers and (b) UNWRA to continue to provide aid in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to ODA on access to prevention tools such as long-acting PrEP; and what steps she is taking to (a) ensure equitable global access to those tools and (b) end AIDS.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains firmly committed to ending AIDS. We continue to support the organisations at forefront of the global response to HIV, including UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and our investments to Unitaid, CHAI and MedAccess have helped shape the market for new HIV innovations, including Lenacapavir. A formal Equality impact assessment of Official Development Assistance programme allocations for 2025 to 2026 was published on 2 September 2025, and is available on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-official-development-assistance-programme-allocations-2025-to-2026-equality-impact-assessment/equality-impact-assessment-of-official-development-assistance-oda-programme-allocations-for-2025-to-2026). Assessments of the impact of future funding allocations will be made in due course once those allocations are set.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help prevent (a) products or (b) services produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 to Question 77510.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department plans to take to support the rebuilding of the Palestinian economy.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 13 October, alongside representatives from the Egyptian Government and the Palestinian Authority, I co-hosted a summit at Wilton Park focused on how we can leverage in private finance to support the reconstruction of Gaza and the recovery of the Palestinian economy, attended by business leaders from the region, international partners, and financial experts from here in the UK.
Both through short-term humanitarian relief, and long-term support, we are determined to help the Palestinian people as they rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and we will continue to drive international support for that effort as a crucial component of Phase Two of the US-led peace plan.