Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 31508 on religious freedom, what issues have been recently considered between the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Minister for Human Right to inform wider foreign policy.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief continues to work closely with ministers and officials across a range of issues and geographies, including the current situations in Sudan, Nigeria and Syria. He also works to strengthen international coalitions and represent the UK internationally, most recently at the High-Level International Religious Freedom or Belief (Article 18) Alliance Conference, held in Prague on 12-13 November.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64094 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing the payments to Mauritius in advance of the releasing of annual accounts.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Details of payments have already been published in the exchange of letters accompanying the Treaty and the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59764 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what estimate he has made of the cost of payments to Mauritius for the (a) FCDO and (b) MOD as part of the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The payments to Mauritius will be split between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. They will be published in the normal manner alongside other departmental spend in the annual accounts.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 57372 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the costs to his Department were of the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The payments to Mauritius will be split between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence. They will be published in the normal manner alongside other departmental spend in the annual accounts.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the Chagos deal is funded by his Department's budget.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The costs associated with the deal will be split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the annual cost to the public purse is of maintaining the Chagos Marine Protected Area.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provides money for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration for the good governance of the territory, including environmental protection. The FCDO does not itself spend money for maintaining the BIOT Marine Protected Area, outside of the Blue Belt programme. The Blue Belt Programme, which is funded by the FCDO, has provided £1,230,562 since 1 April 2022 to support BIOT manage its Marine Protected Area.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 provided through the Blue Belt Programme to help protect ocean health in the British Indian Ocean Territories since 2022.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Blue Belt Programme, which is funded by the FCDO, has provided £1,230,562 since 1 April 2022 to support the British Indian Ocean Territory manage its Marine Protected Area. This includes measures to prevent illegal fishing through satellite monitoring and joint surveillance with Sri Lanka and India, as well as a coastal monitoring plan.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 proposed treaty with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands on the long term sustainability of the Chagos Marine Protected Area.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The agreement will be supported by an enhanced partnership between the UK and Mauritius on conservation. This partnership will prioritise high conservation standards, with the UK supporting Mauritius' ambitions to establish a Marine Protected Area (MPA) that protects the globally significant ecosystems in the Chagos Archipelago. This will extend to technical, financial, capacity-building assistance, fostering long-term sustainable management.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief on the role of freedom of religion or belief in his policies.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) holds regular discussions with the Minister for Human Rights on key FoRB issues and reports to the Foreign Secretary through the Minister for Human Rights. The UK Government champions the right to FoRB and promotes tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora - including our position at the UN and Article 18 Alliance - our bilateral work, and programme funding.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to support the work of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; committing £1.65 billion in the 2021-2025 period. This funding supports Gavi's mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives. There are a number of global health replenishments coming up in 2025. The UK is considering all future investments in the round and announcements will be made following the completion of the Spending Review.