Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to help support the (a) repair of damaged water pipelines and (b) continued operation of desalination plants in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Gaza's desalination plants rely on fuel and hardly any fuel has been allowed to enter Gaza for over 4 months. The acute shortage is threatening to shut down water supply, hospitals and ambulances. The UK continues to demand a full and unhindered resumption of aid, including fuel, into Gaza immediately, and for the repair and protection of essential civilian infrastructure. We continue to raise this issue as a matter of priority with our Israeli counterparts.
Recognising the vital role that desalination plants play in providing clean drinking water to civilians in Gaza, the UK supported efforts to establish a Gaza Central Desalination Programme through the World Bank. This work is currently on hold due to the conflict, and the programme has been restructured to meet urgent, short-term water needs in Gaza.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 retain civil servants in his Department with expertise in (a) maternal, (b) new born and (c) child health policy.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a well established and highly skilled health profession made up of 61 health advisers who have been tested and accredited against a set of technical standards. These include specialist skill sets in strengthening health systems for maternal, newborn and child health. Advisers are assessed during formal accreditation exercises at either the affiliate, practitioner or expert level and deployed throughout the FCDO technical and geographical departments. For example, the FCDO deploys health advisers in Nigeria, Somalia, Malawi, and Ethiopia, to help reduce maternal and child mortality.
A robust learning and professional development framework is in place and includes a comprehensive Global Health toolkit, the Global Health hub, monthly bulletins, and a dedicated communications and engagement distribution list with over 400 members. The recent Health Advisers' Professional Development Conference held 3-5 June 2025 in London provided a platform for knowledge exchange and upskilling for 85 FCDO health advisers and affiliates.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding he plans to provide for programmes supporting (a) nutrition and (b) primary health care services in each of the next three financial years; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that funding on levels of immunisation in affected countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain committed to strengthening health systems through a Primary Health Care approach that includes nutrition. We continue to support integrating nutrition into other sector investments, with the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration an important mechanism in achieving this. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used from 26/27 onwards, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
At the Gavi Summit on 25 June 2025, the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £1.25 billion investment in Gavi for 2026 - 2030. This commitment will help support Gavi to partner with countries to immunise up to 500 million more children and save up to 8 million more lives through a primary health care approach. We are currently working through how best to allocate our new funding across the 5-year period.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in each of the next three years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. This has enabled GPEI to reduce wild poliovirus cases by over 99 per cent. The UK is also the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We recently announced a new investment of £1.25 billion for 2026 - 2030 that will support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of an essential package of childhood immunisation. The UK is working with international partners to ensure sustainable resources for global health. We are reviewing our spending - including for GPEI - following the outcome of the Spending Review to ensure that every pound of development assistance is spent in the most impactful way.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to adopt a new target that would triple UK international climate finance to 2035 in line with the global goal agreed at COP28.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to providing International Climate Finance (ICF) now and in the future, and to playing our part alongside other developed countries and climate finance providers to deliver our international obligations. Climate and nature are top priorities for the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget, alongside humanitarian and health. Meeting the £11.6 billion ICF commitment by March 2026 remains the Government's ambition. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Departmental resource allocation processes. The Government will set out spending plans following the completion of these resource allocation processes.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed changes to funding of Official Development Assistance from the 2027-28 financial year on (a) gender equality and (b) inclusion.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Detailed decisions on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. Equality impact assessments - which consider impacts on those with protected characteristics, including gender - are an essential part of this process. The FCDO will share the conclusions of the Equality Impact Assessment of the 2025/26 ODA allocations alongside the final allocations which will be published in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts this summer.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to announce the UK’s financial commitment to the 2025 Global Fund replenishment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has long been a strong supporter of the Global Fund and we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment this year in partnership with South Africa. Except for a few time-sensitive decisions, such as our pledge at the Gavi replenishment conference, we will be working through decisions on future multi-year Official Development Assistance allocations over the coming months, including our Global Fund pledge and announcement timing.
The Global Fund is the primary channel for UK support to fight HIV, TB, and Malaria. It currently invests approximately $5 billion a year to defeat the three diseases and strengthen health systems. In 2023, the Global Fund accounted for 28% of all international financing for HIV, 76% for TB and 62% for malaria.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to (a) match and (b) exceed its previous £1 billion pledge to the Global Fund at the forthcoming replenishment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has long been a strong supporter of the Global Fund and we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment this year in partnership with South Africa. Except for a few time-sensitive decisions, such as our pledge at the Gavi replenishment conference, we will be working through decisions on future multi-year Official Development Assistance allocations over the coming months, including our Global Fund pledge and announcement timing.
The Global Fund is the primary channel for UK support to fight HIV, TB, and Malaria. It currently invests approximately $5 billion a year to defeat the three diseases and strengthen health systems. In 2023, the Global Fund accounted for 28% of all international financing for HIV, 76% for TB and 62% for malaria.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to pledge of £1.45 billion to the twentieth-first replenishment of the International Development Association.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to the International Development Association (IDA). As the Minister for International Development, Latin America and the Caribbean has said, we will prioritise spending our ODA budget through multilaterals which deliver most impact, like IDA.
Following the decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget, allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of resource allocation processes.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to encourage other donor countries to make pledges to the Global Fund.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is co-hosting the Global Fund 8th replenishment with South Africa. The Department, together with officials from South Africa and the Global Fund, will engage with existing and potential new donors in the private and public sector through bilateral engagement and multilateral events to encourage support and pledges for the Global Fund.
The Global fund is the primary channel for UK support to fight HIV, TB, and Malaria. It currently invests approximately $5 billion a year to defeat the three diseases and strengthen health systems. In 2023, the Global Fund accounted for 28% of all international financing for HIV, 76% for TB and 62% for malaria.