Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 merits of introducing a ban on importing Russian-derived oil products processed in third countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To further restrict the flow of funds to the Kremlin on 15 October the UK announced that it will ban imports of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil. We note the EU's announcement of a ban on the import of refined oil products containing oil of Russian origin. We will continue to work closely with partners to explore options to bear down on Russia's energy revenues.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of President Trump’s State visit in September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Costs related to the State Visit will be published on GOV.UK in the usual way. President Trump's State Visit heralded a new era of the special relationship - securing a record £150 billion of inward investment from US companies and saw the signature of the first ever UK-US tech agreement.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote democracy in Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has consistently called on Russia to cease repression, release political prisoners and to safeguard space for independent media and civil society, most recently at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 6 October, and will continue to do so. The UK supported the renewal of the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia this September.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure aid air drops are carried out safely to avoid unintentional harm.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the last few years, the UK has been involved in a limited number of aid air drops operations, specifically into Gaza. The latest effort in July 2025 was led by Jordan where up to £500,000 of humanitarian aid was procured by the UK and placed onto Royal Jordanian Air Force aircrafts. In line with humanitarian principles, we assess all delivery methods to minimise unintended consequences and ensure aid does not exacerbate existing vulnerabilities or tensions. We have been clear from the start that whilst airdrops into Gaza would have helped to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid at scale.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on market systems strengthening by country in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Market system strengthening has been a core part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) approach to development for over two decades. Roughly 50 different country programmes, and at least 15 centrally managed, multi-country programmes have been identified that broadly deliver impact through this approach, and many more contain elements of the approach. The following table shows spend estimates for the top ten countries, for calendar year 2024, through projects which are primarily Market System Strengthening. A comprehensive estimate is not possible due to definitional issues, and there may be additional programmes containing elements of the approach.
Estimated market system strengthening spend by country in 2024 (£millions)
Country | 2024 FCDO ODA spend |
Zambia | 26.7 |
Kenya | 12.4 |
Uganda | 9.2 |
Nigeria | 8.0 |
Sierra Leone | 6.1 |
Pakistan | 5.7 |
Ethiopia | 5.4 |
Ghana | 4.1 |
Bangladesh | 3.8 |
Zimbabwe | 2.4 |
Additional non-country specific programming
Country | 2024 FCDO ODA spend |
Africa Regional | 31.9 |
Middle East regional | 8.6 |
Other Multi country programming [Note 1] | 77.4 |
Source: Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024.
Note 1. Programmes that benefit several developing countries, across regions, cannot be tagged to a specific country or region and are tagged as benefitting "Developing countries, unspecified".
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 implication for her policies of the the IMF report, the Urgency of Conflict Prevention – A Macroeconomic Perspective, published in 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions (IFIs) bring valuable expertise and investment to address key drivers of fragility and conflict, improving employment and livelihoods, natural resource management, access to essential services and governance.
The UK is working closely with IFIs to prioritise early engagement in conflict prevention. This includes enhancing the use of analytics to anticipate potential conflict, increasing funding in at-risk areas before violence breaks out, and guiding timely interventions.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of further sanctions on Russia that target the network of camps being used for indoctrinating Ukrainian children.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."
Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of placing further sanctions on people attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."
Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with European counterparts on joint sanctions for people attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."
Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the release of the Ukrainian children held in Russia and its occupied territories.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."
Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.