Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 implications for his policies of the forced evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah and the resultant disruption to humanitarian operations in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification of 29 July 2025 which states that Gaza has entered Phase 5 (Catastrophic/Famine conditions); and what steps he is taking in response.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's (IPC) confirmation of famine in Gaza City and the surrounding neighbourhood on 22 August is utterly horrifying. The former Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 22 August stating that the Israeli government's refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza has caused this man-made catastrophe and calling for aid to reach those in need urgently and without delay. He also spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 23 August to urge for restrictions on humanitarian access to be removed. We coordinated joint statements with over 30 international partners on 12 August and on 21 July calling on Israel to immediately restore the flow of aid into Gaza and enable humanitarian agencies to operate. On 1 September, the UK announced an additional £15 million funding for humanitarian and medical support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on reports that several humanitarian organisations and clinics in Gaza have been forced to evacuate following the launch of an Israeli ground assault on Deir al-Balah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September, and the joint statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza made alongside 31 overseas partners on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department holds information on the demographic breakdown of people who engaged with the Travel Aware methanol poisoning campaign between November 2024 and March 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold demographic data on individuals who engaged with the Travel Aware campaigns, including the methanol poisoning campaign. While the campaign generates engagement metrics in aggregate form - such as reach and interaction rates - these do not include breakdowns by age, gender, nationality, or other demographic categories. Between 28 November 2024 and 6 March 2025, the FCDO's methanol related social media posts received a total of 41,103 views.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of British nationals affected by methanol poisoning abroad in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We fully recognise the serious risks posed by methanol poisoning and remain committed to supporting affected British nationals abroad. Methanol poisoning is not classified as a distinct case type within our case management system. Any consular support provided in these situations would have been recorded under broader categories such as medical care, deaths, or general health concerns. We publish our consular data on a regular basis (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/consular-data). It includes a breakdown of where we have been approached for assistance in relation to, amongst other things, hospitalisation and death. It is broken down by country and date. We continue to monitor health and safety risks abroad and provide guidance to help British nationals stay safe while travelling.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 effectiveness of (a) the ABTA and (b) other Travel Aware industry partners in increasing methanol poisoning awareness.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Association for British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Travel Aware partners play a vital role in amplifying information on methanol poisoning as part of our broader proactive messaging efforts. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office collaborates with over 150 partners through the Travel Aware campaign, we engage with selected partners who are best placed to help raise awareness and promote safe travel behaviours in destinations where methanol poisoning is a known risk (their contributions account for 1 in 10 hits to our travel advice website).
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to target (a) gap year students and (b) backpackers as part of methanol poisoning awareness efforts.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Student Brand Ambassadors (SBAs) have played a valuable and strategic role in extending the reach of our safety messaging to young travellers. Through the use of social media, they have delivered key messages on methanol poisoning and drink safety in a voice that is both authentic and relatable. This peer-led approach has proven to be an effective tool in promoting safer travel campaign messages.
Our SBAs create targeted posts focused on drink safety, including the risks associated with methanol poisoning. They have recently increased their social media presence to include TikTok. In June-July this year, this resulted in a 300 per cent increase in the number of people our messaging reached. This impressive increase shows the value in tailored focused messaging across the full range of social media. A full analysis of the SBA programme over the summer period will be conducted late Autumn.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 Student Brand Ambassadors on raising awareness of methanol poisoning among young travellers.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Student Brand Ambassadors (SBAs) have played a valuable and strategic role in extending the reach of our safety messaging to young travellers. Through the use of social media, they have delivered key messages on methanol poisoning and drink safety in a voice that is both authentic and relatable. This peer-led approach has proven to be an effective tool in promoting safer travel campaign messages.
Our SBAs create targeted posts focused on drink safety, including the risks associated with methanol poisoning. They have recently increased their social media presence to include TikTok. In June-July this year, this resulted in a 300 per cent increase in the number of people our messaging reached. This impressive increase shows the value in tailored focused messaging across the full range of social media. A full analysis of the SBA programme over the summer period will be conducted late Autumn.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on (a)ICE detention centres, (b) total abortion bans, (c) incarceration labour, (d) racism and (e) US human rights abuses.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary does not have a single United Nations counterpart. Among other meetings with senior UN representatives, he has recently met with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 March where these issues were not discussed.