Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 November in response to Question 88798.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data on feasibility studies specifically for projects that did not proceed is not tracked individually. Isolating this would require manual review of large volumes of data, making it impractical to extract reliably without disproportionate effort and cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The requested information is not centrally collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. All spending is subject to standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Civil Service publishes sickness absence statistics by organisation and by sickness reason, including mental ill-health. These figures are available in the publicly accessible Civil Service sickness absence reports on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence). The next release of these statistics is scheduled for 18 December, and you may wish to refer to this forthcoming publication for the most up-to-date information.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether U.S. officials have (a) participated in and (b) been consulted on UK–Mauritius negotiations regarding the Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia since 2022.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I stated in the House of Commons on 2 September, the UK-Mauritius treaty was tested at the highest levels of the United States' security establishment, across multiple agencies. The agreement has been backed by our key allies and international partners, including the US and all our Five Eyes partners.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has visibility over donations or grants from U.S. government agencies or foundations to (a) BBC Media Action and (b) the BBC World Service Trust since 2018.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The information requested is not held by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 October to Question 83336. All spending is subject to standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which UK-registered (a) non-Governmental organisations, (b) charities and (c) UN agencies have received more than £10 million in funding for projects involving (i) norm change, (ii) gender ideology and (iii) climate justice since 2021.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that overseas aid funding is not used to promote (a) social transformation, (b) gender ideology, (c) climate justice and (d) other ideological or political objectives.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department undertakes (a) risk and (b) equality impact assessments on aid projects whose stated objectives include (i) influencing norms and (ii) gender ideology.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.