Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to support the development of phage therapy solutions for low-to-middle-income countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is not directly supporting the development of phage therapy solutions currently. The FCDO is monitoring research developments, which may prove phage therapy solutions useful for tackling antimicrobial resistance, other anti-infective uses, vaccines and cancer therapies, however this work is at an early stage.
The Prime Minister has set out a clear path to spending 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product on defence spending. Doing so demands the difficult but necessary decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income by 2027. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used in future will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will seize the interest that has accrued on Roman Abramovich’s assets associated with the sale of Chelsea Football Club.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In a statement announcing the sale of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich stated the proceeds would be used to establish a foundation for the benefit of all the victims of the war in Ukraine. The Government is determined to see the proceeds reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, and we are exploring all options to bring that about.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in UK relations with Bangladesh.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK is committed to assisting investigative, prosecuting and judicial authorities in combating international crime. Whilst we cannot comment on any individual asset recovery cases, we have robust illicit finance legislation and instruments which can be used to support asset recovery requests. The UK is providing support to the Interim Government of Bangladesh through the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency and the International Centre for Asset Recovery. We will continue to support these recoveries to the extent that we can.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Oral Statement of 24 February 2025 on Ukraine, Official Report, columns 513 to 515, what diplomatic steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help end the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain in close contact with the United States, our European partners, and Ukraine on how to achieve a just and lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine's security and sovereignty. The UK, alongside France, is leading efforts to build a 'Coalition of the Willing' to defend any peace deal and support Ukraine's future security. The Prime Minister recently hosted over 200 military planners from 30 countries in London and attended the subsequent leaders meeting in Paris on 27 March. The Foreign Secretary took forward these discussions with Weimar+ Foreign Ministers on 31 March, and the Defence Secretary will chair the next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 11 April.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 34422 on Overseas Trade: Russia; if his Department will ban UK-Russian imports and exports that are not directly linked to (a) humanitarian organisations and (b) UK and Russian embassies.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Together with our international partners, we have unleashed the largest and most severe package of trade sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. As a result, Russian imports into the UK have fallen by more than 99 per cent, and UK exports to Russia are down by more than 75 per cent. Examples of unsanctioned goods include food and pharmaceutical items. UK sanctions provide for a range of exceptions and licensing grounds, including relating to humanitarian and diplomatic activity.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to end all (a) non-humanitarian aid, (b) trade, (c) financial services and (d) exports to Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK has put in place an unprecedented package of sanctions.
The UK has locked most of the Russian banking sector out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), frozen Russia's sovereign assets and adopted a wide range of trade and financial sanctions measures, covering most areas of the Russian economy with the exception of trade in humanitarian goods such as food and medicine.
We will continue to bear down on Russia, ratcheting up economic pressure until it ends its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 proposed reduction in the proportion of gross national income spent on overseas development assistance on the influence of Russia in the countries from which aid would be withdrawn.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments. This government remains fully committed to a significant role on development.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 Elon Musk's business interests in connection with his role as head of the US Department of Government Efficiency on UK national security.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The appointment of US officials is a matter for the US and not one in which we have a role. We have no plans to make an assessment along the lines proposed. The UK-US relationship has been the cornerstone of our security and prosperity for over a century. When the Prime Minister visited the White House on 27 February 2025, he discussed with President Trump the depth of the special relationship and their commitment to shared security and prosperity.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to ban UK firms from insuring supplies and products to and from Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Together with our international partners, we have unleashed the largest and most substantial package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. As a result, Russian imports into the UK have fallen by more than 99 percent, and UK exports to Russia are down by more than 75 percent. Many of our trade sanctions on goods include restrictions on the provision of financial services underlying trade to and from Russia. This includes the provision of insurance.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it her policy to use frozen Russian assets to provide compensation for Ukrainian (a) war survivors and (b) victims of (i) economic crime and (ii) human rights violations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is clear that Russia must be held responsible for its illegal war. Working with allies, we remain committed to considering all lawful means by which Russia is made to pay for the damage it has caused Ukraine. Our agreement with G7 partners to provide approximately $50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine, repaid by the profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets, is an important step in this regard. The UK will make a £2.26 billion contribution, earmarked for military spending.