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 stable long-term funding for international nutrition programmes.

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.

The UK worked in close partnership with France to make the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris a success. The Minister for Development was pleased to lead the UK delegation, and alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, to launch the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration.

Partners have welcomed the Compact as a new initiative to drive change and a positive signal of the UK's continued leadership on the global stage. Over 80 countries and organisations have already expressed support for the Compact, signalling their commitment to embed nutrition objectives into investments across other sectors, such as economic growth, climate and health, to boost impact and leverage existing financing for nutrition.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of fully funding apprenticeships for under-22s in SMEs on apprenticeship starts to date.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Since April 2024, the government pays 100% of apprentice training costs, up to the funding band maximum, for non-levy paying employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 21, and apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care.

Apprenticeship statistics, including starts by young people, can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has faced legal challenge on the use of assets derived from sanctioned (a) individuals and (b) entities.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

UK financial sanctions limit the provision of certain financial services and restrict access to financial markets, funds, and economic resources. Financial sanctions do not involve a change in ownership of the frozen funds, or economic resources, nor are they confiscated or transferred to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation for safekeeping.

The G7 is providing Ukraine with $50 billion of funding as part of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration scheme. The first £752 million of the UK's £2.26 billion contribution was received by Ukraine earlier this month and will be used to strengthen their defence capabilities in the face of Russian aggression. The G7's funding will be repaid by the profits generated on holdings of immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the EU.

Separately, we continue our work at pace with allies to consider all lawful routes to ensure Russia pays for the damage it is causing Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary is having regular discussions with key partners on this issue, including at the Weimar+ Group on Monday 31 March.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to harmonise sanctions against Belarus with those imposed on Russia; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of such harmonisation on (a) the protection of human rights, (b) support for political prisoners and (c) other UK foreign policy objectives in Belarus.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has sanctioned over 200 Belarusian individuals and entities to date, in response to both human rights abuses in Belarus, and the Lukashenko regime's support for Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There are also a range of broad UK sanctions measures in place in Belarus, targeting goods and technologies. We keep further sanctions against Belarus under review.

Sanctions are just one of the tools we use. Alongside our partners and multilateral organisations, the UK consistently calls for human rights abuses to be investigated and for the release of all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. In August 2024, the UK announced £2.5 million of funding to support the survival of Belarusian human rights and civil society causes in the face of continued political pressure.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned changes to the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme on listed places of worship.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.

The changes announced were necessary given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector.Will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.

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 changes to Overseas Development Assistance on the Africa Strategy.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.3 per cent in 2027.

We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the spending review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support local government to help tackle flytipping and littering.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local councils have wide ranging enforcement powers to help them tackle littering and fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 to fly-tippers and £500 to those who litter, prosecution action and, in the case of fly-tipping, vehicle seizure. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding she has allocated to frontline policing to mitigate changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 and represents a 6.4% cash increase and 3.9% real terms increase in funding.

This includes an additional £230.3 million of funding for territorial police forces to cover the costs of the increases to National Insurance Contributions.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) support, (b) funding and (c) capacity building his Department is providing to Sudanese civil society organisations.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This financial year (FY) the UK will provide £226.5 million towards the crisis in Sudan. UK funding is delivered through key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF. We are also one of the largest donors to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms and international non-governmental organisations. The majority of the UK's work with national civil society actors has been paused following the outbreak of hostilities. In Darfur the UK continues to support local conflict mitigation initiatives via national organisations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to publish information on the level of funding he plans to provide to Sudan in the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Sudan remains a priority for the Prime Minister and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Ministers. The UK has been a longstanding and major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million allocated in Financial Year 2024/25 towards the crisis. 2025/26 budgets are now being finalised, and we will share information in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of Official Development Assistance funding to Sudan has been spent on Sudanese refugees in Chad.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan, almost one million people have crossed the border into Chad which now has Africa's largest refugee caseload. On average, 200 people each day seek safety in Chad from Sudan. In January, whilst in Chad, the Foreign Secretary announced a doubling of aid to Sudan with an overall allocation of £226.5 million for financial year 2024/25. We have also provided over £40 million this financial year to address humanitarian needs in eastern Chad among refugees and host communities which has benefited 300,000 people with food assistance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of the risks to displaced people in Sudan of (a) human trafficking and (b) exploitation for crime.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are concerned by reports of the increasing prevalence of human trafficking as a result of the conflict in Sudan. The UK continues to prioritise the protection of civilians and we are taking action on this agenda. In November 2024, the Minister for Africa chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address the plight of Sudanese civilians. The UK tabled a UNSC resolution on protection of civilians in Sudan which Russia vetoed. We will continue to use our position on the UNSC and as leader of the Core Group on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council to keep a spotlight on, and take actions in response to, the appalling human rights situation in Sudan.

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 risks of (a) radicalisation and (b) human trafficking to children not in school in Sudan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on children. An estimated 17 million children are out of school and children comprise over 50 per cent of Sudan's 8.8 million caseload of internally displaced persons. We urge the warring parties to take every precaution to safeguard the wellbeing of children. And we will push hard for those suspected of targeting, abusing or exploiting children to face justice, including through our position on the United Nations Security Council.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with regional partners on the potential reconstruction of Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, alongside Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy on 8 March. Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework that provides long term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians alike. We are committed to working with regional partners on the Arab initiative, and Palestinians and Israel. The UK is engaging with international partners to help cohere support for Palestinian-led recovery. We are funding technical expertise to support Palestinian Authority planning for Gaza's recovery and reconstruction.

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 help support the UN fact finding mission to collect and preserve evidence of potential human rights and international humanitarian law violations in Sudan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

UK-led lobbying at the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2024 directly led to the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) securing a mandate extension with an increased majority. The Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable in Geneva in February where experts from the FFM briefed member states about the situation in Sudan to increase understanding regarding the atrocities being perpetrated. This year we will provide roughly £1 million to support the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a research body gathering open-source evidence about the conflict in Sudan with a view to supporting future accountability. The CIR has been able to assist the FFM in verifying reports of violations through its use of digital information. Human rights violations and abuses by all sides in Sudan's brutal conflict must be investigated impartially. The FFM is the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan. The UK will strongly support its expected mandate renewal later this year in voting at the Human Rights Council.

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 proposal to reduce official development assistance to 0.3% of gross national income on the level of funding he plans to provide to Sudan in the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has been a longstanding and major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million allocated in the financial year of 2024/25 towards the crisis. In his statement to Parliament on Defence and Official Development Assistance spend, the Prime Minister made clear that Sudan would remain a humanitarian priority. The Prime Minister is committed to returning 0.7 per cent spending when fiscal conditions allow. The ongoing obfuscation of relief operations by Sudan's warring parties is imperilling millions of people. More funding is required from across the international community. However, without a step change in access the already dire situation will drastically deteriorate.

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 support capacity building with local partners in Sudan to support displaced people.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is the most severe and largest globally. The conflict has caused significant levels of forced displacement with more than three million Sudanese refugees seeking safety in neighbouring countries and a further 8.8 million people internally displaced within Sudan. This financial year (2024/25) the UK will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. Since the conflict started more than 2.5 million people have received UK funded humanitarian aid. Local organisations are an important part of our humanitarian response and UK funding has contributed to building their capacity through partnerships with the United Nations and international non-governmental organisations. These local organisations are continuing to provide critical support and assistance to displaced people across Sudan.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the Immigration White Paper.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system, end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth. The paper will be published in due course, and announced in Parliament in the normal way.

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 adequacy of access to (a) water and (b) sanitation in Sudan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The conflict in Sudan is causing a nationwide humanitarian crisis - the most severe and largest globally with over 30 million people in need. Water access remains woefully inadequate in part due to the targeting of water supply infrastructure by armed actors. More than 17 million people now lack access to safe drinking water with 24 million people without access to adequate sanitation facilities. Combined these factors have contributed to a huge spike in cases of cholera and malnutrition among children. These conditions will only get worse as we approach the rainy season. This financial year (2024/25) we will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. As part of this, we support the United Nations Children's Fund, who conduct a wide range of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions across Sudan.

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 (a) seasonal weather changes, (b) road closures and (c) border closures on (i) the delivery of and (ii) access to humanitarian aid in Sudan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Road and border closures continue to impede the delivery of and access to humanitarian aid in Sudan. The continued obfuscation of humanitarian aid into and across Sudan is causing huge suffering for civilians The upcoming rainy season will further complicate the already dire operating context for relief agencies. The upcoming Foreign Secretary-led Sudan Conference in London we hope will re-energise efforts to coordinate international action on humanitarian access, including border closures.

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 support frontline workers in Sudan working to (a) immunise and (b) educate children.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on children. Malnutrition rates are at critical levels and an estimated 17 million children are no longer attending school. The context for children will worsen as the fighting continues. This financial year (2024/25) the UK will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. As part of this, we support the United Nations Children's Fund who are providing lifesaving nutrition programmes and immunisations to some of the most vulnerable children in Sudan. The UK supports Education Cannot Wait, providing safe learning spaces and psychological support to 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic and Uganda. We are also one of the largest donors to the Global Partnership for Education who are delivering urgent support to children across Sudan.  The UK is also a major donor to the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and a consortium of international non-governmental organisations. These frontline workers are also working on healthcare and education provisions across Sudan.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps is he taking to (a) support and (b) strengthen the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Human rights violations and abuses by all sides in Sudan's brutal conflict must be investigated impartially. In October 2023 in support of this objective, the UK led work at the United Nations on the resolution that established the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). Its mandate was extended in October 2024 with an increased majority as a direct result of UK-led advocacy. The FFM published its first report in September 2024 and concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both warring parties constituted war crimes and, in the case of the Rapid Support Forces, additionally crimes against humanity.  To amplify these findings the Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable in Geneva in February where experts from the FFM briefed member states about the situation in Sudan to increase understanding regarding the atrocities being perpetrated. The FFM is the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan. The UK will strongly support its expected mandate renewal later this year in voting at the Human Rights Council.

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 Sudanese Government’s response to the findings of the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification entitled Famine Review Committee: Sudan, published on 24 December 2025, on the effectiveness of (a) UK and (b) multilateral nutrition and food programmes operating in that country.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)'s Sudan assessment makes clear the gravity of the humanitarian context across the country. The IPC's findings show the presence of famine in at least five areas of the country and projecting it could expand into at least ten areas by May 2025. The Sudanese authorities since the report's publication have consistently denied the existence of famine and have also announced its withdrawal from IPC-led analyses. The UK remains steadfast in its support to the people of Sudan. This financial year, we will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. As part of this, we are supporting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) who are delivering lifesaving nutrition programmes to some of the most vulnerable children in Sudan as well as the World Food Programme who are delivering urgent food aid.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of new (a) Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and (b) micro businesses created between 30 October 2024 and 31 March 2025.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 1st April is attached.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish the criteria to determine the prioritisation of Official Development Assistance funding in 2025-26; and what steps is he taking to ensure such spending optimises value for money.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are committed to modernising our approach to development to help provide the best value for money for UK taxpayers and deliver mutual benefits at home and overseas. We will work with our partners in new ways to maximise our impact.

To enable us to deliver the transition to spending 0.3 per cent of gross national income on Official Development Assistance effectively, in 2025/26 we are prioritising meeting legally binding commitments and delivering work already underway, as well as planned humanitarian spend. This will help deliver the flexibility the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office requires to set a transitional set of final allocations following the Spending Review. We have also established an exemptions process to allow for critical new development work to continue.

Full detail is set out in Baroness Chapman's 27 March letter to the International Development Committee [https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/47275/documents/245059/default/].

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last had discussions with his French counterpart on the right to freedom of religion or belief in France.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. The UK champions the right to freedom of religion or belief and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and in our bilateral work. Ministers and officials engage with their French counterparts on a broad range of issues, for example at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Conference on Addressing Antisemitism (10-11 February 2025). Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials also engage with faith leaders in France.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a targeted scheme to support older people with their heating bills.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households that are struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power.

The Government’s Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme provides targeted support to eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill. The scheme provides rebates to pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, the vast majority of whom receive the rebate automatically. In February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. This would see an increase in those in receipt of the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit receiving a discount next winter.

I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills.

Building on the work I did with energy suppliers to agree the £500 million Winter Commitment to help customers last winter, I am now also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how we can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March to Question 38609 on Local Government Pension Scheme, what her planned timeline is for the announcement of reforms as part of the Chancellor’s Pensions Review.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government consulted on a proposed set of reforms in our “Fit For the Future" Consultation, which closed on 16 January 2025. We are currently analysing responses and will publish a Government response to the consultation in due course.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason it is her policy to place a mandatory gambling levy on society lotteries while not requiring the National Lottery to make a mandatory problem gambling contribution.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Under the terms of the fourth licence, the National Lottery operator, Allwyn, is required to make a £1.6million annual contribution to socially responsible purposes such as research and treatment.

Society lotteries will be charged the levy at the lowest rate of 0.1%, in recognition of the comparatively low rates of harm associated with participation in society lotteries and the important benefits they bring to good cause fundraising.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 38604 on Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of farmers whose applications were ready for submission but missed out due to the short notice about the scheme's closure.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government inherited an uncapped scheme aimed at mass participation of farm businesses, despite a finite farming budget. In order to ensure we acted in a financially responsible way we took the decision to stop accepting new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications. We needed to ensure fair access to the scheme and avoid creating a sudden increase in the level of demand.

This Government’s commitment to farmers and the vital role they play to feed our nation remains steadfast.  Since we launched the SFI in 2022 Defra have worked closely with the farming sector to develop the SFI and we will continue to do so for the reformed the SFI offer, which we expect to publish more information about in summer 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the Official Development Assistance budget is allocated to initiatives tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is a global leader in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and supports action though its multilateral, bilateral and research investments. It is not possible to identify the AMR element of all such spending.

Direct AMR spend includes, but is not limited to: i) the UK's Fleming Fund programme which strengthens drug-resistance surveillance systems across low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean (£57.5 million in 2023-24); ii) the UK Global Antimicrobial Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) which supports Research & Development into products and solutions that reduce the threat of AMR in low and middle income countries (£16.4 million in 2023-24); iii) FCDO's funding to product development partnerships in 2024/25 included over £32 million to the Medicines for Malaria Venture, TB Alliance and the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit's DeTACT project to develop new antimalarials and treatments for drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis and to protect the effectiveness of existing medicines.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the spending review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38594 on Neighbourhood Policing: Finance, what estimate she has made of funding available to frontline policing in 2025-26.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.

Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors with PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Birmingham bin strikes on neighbouring constituencies.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is aware of the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated public health risks to the residents of Birmingham. While Birmingham City Council continues to lead the response, cross-Government mechanisms have been activated to ensure a coordinated response, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the lead and Defra supporting.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with (a) the United Nations and (b) the Food and Agriculture Organisation to help tackle gaps in fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to seek progress on addressing fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. This includes raising the matter in UN and FAO fora, such as consultations on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries, and the FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management.  At the first FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management in January 2024, text was agreed urging the FAO to support members to enhance cooperation, strengthen data collection and improve regional fisheries management to tackle data gaps in high seas fisheries.

Achieving sustainably managed fisheries is our focus when highlighting these issues in international fora. Defra will continue to work with all relevant parties with the aim of assessing and improving the sustainability of relevant stocks. Regarding the status of relevant fish stocks, I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 01 April to PQ 41239.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, Wendy Morton, on 25 March, PQ 35284.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the biological sustainability level of fish stocks in the South Atlantic.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to seek progress on addressing fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. This includes raising the matter in UN and FAO fora, such as consultations on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries, and the FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management.  At the first FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management in January 2024, text was agreed urging the FAO to support members to enhance cooperation, strengthen data collection and improve regional fisheries management to tackle data gaps in high seas fisheries.

Achieving sustainably managed fisheries is our focus when highlighting these issues in international fora. Defra will continue to work with all relevant parties with the aim of assessing and improving the sustainability of relevant stocks. Regarding the status of relevant fish stocks, I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 01 April to PQ 41239.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, Wendy Morton, on 25 March, PQ 35284.

Found: Letter dated 04/04/2025 from Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty's Chief Inspector, Ofsted to Wendy Morton