Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, what information his Department holds on the timescale for the Palestinian Authority to hold (a) presidential and (b) parliamentary elections.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports and commends the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform', based on its seven strategic development initiatives and four institutional performance and service delivery reform pillars. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding, the PA committed to convening Presidential and Parliamentary elections within the shortest feasible timeframe. President Abbas has publicly outlined his commitment to holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections within a year. We continue to encourage the PA to work towards genuine and democratic elections within the shortest feasible timeframe.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhill of 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, if he will publish the bilateral humanitarian aid spend allocation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 April, the UK announced a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £101 million for humanitarian aid, support for Palestinian economic development and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform. As part of this package, on 21 May the Minister for Development announced a £4 million contribution to the British Red Cross to deliver humanitarian relief in Gaza through their partner, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Once the remainder of the funding has been allocated, we will publish the information.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhills on 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, what steps he is taking to get (a) new aid routes into the Occupied Palestinian Territories opened and (b) more aid where it is needed most.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. Not enough aid is getting in and vital services such as water supplies, ambulances and hospitals are at risk of shutting down due to fuel shortages. On 12 July, the UN stated that fuel shortages in Gaza had reached a critical level. The small amounts that have been allowed to enter in recent days are nowhere near enough. We continue to call on Israel to allow for a full and unhindered resurgence in the flow of aid into Gaza and to allow the UN and humanitarian partners to operate in line with humanitarian principles. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 12 July, where he reiterated our concerns about the situation on the ground and pressed for a return to a ceasefire. We called on Israel to open all access routes and allow fuel into Gaza at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 30 June.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department with Cabinet colleagues to help seek justice for every victim of grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 June 2025, the Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament announcing Government's acceptance of all the recommendations made in Baroness Louise Casey's independent National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales.
The Government is now moving swiftly to act on these recommendations which includes the establishment of a national inquiry into Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation, with the power to go into local areas, gather evidence, talk to victims, compel witnesses to appear, and to get to the truth of institutional failures.
We have also announced that the police will launch a new national criminal operation into group-based child sexual exploitation, overseen by the National Crime Agency, against a backdrop of continued investment in other work to strengthen law enforcement capacity and capability to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation, including the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce which - since July 2023 - has supported the arrest of over 1300 individuals and protected thousands of victims.
Both initiatives will operate in parallel with continued commitment from Government to strengthen efforts to tackle this abhorrent crime and improve victims and survivors' access to justice.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of funding the National Association of Local Councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government welcomes the work of the National Association of Local Councils to support and represent town and parish councils in England. The government has not assessed the merits of providing general funding to the National Association of Local Councils.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on which dates the Ministerial Women Peace and Security National Action Plan steering board has met since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers are unwavering in their commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
A robust governance structure is in place to ensure accountability and transparency in delivery of the WPS National Action Plan (NAP). This includes a commitment to quarterly Cross-Whitehall Working Group meetings with civil society and academics (most recent meeting in April 2025), a biannual Cross-Whitehall Deputy Director Shadow Board (most recent meeting in January 2025), an annual Ministerial Steering Board, and a two-yearly update to the WPS All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). In June 2025, the Minister for Africa and the Minister for the Armed Forces briefed the WPS APPG on the NAP Annual Report. In addition, Ministers engage regularly with civil society organisations on WPS.
A Ministerial Steering Board will form a part of the process of refreshing the WPS NAP.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 maintaining the UK’s level of support for the Global Fund for the 2026-28 period on global health security.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. Over the coming months, we will work through decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used, and the impact on specific programmes, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 merits of decision to close the Fleming Fund.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027. This reflects the world we live in and the threats our country faces and to maintain economic stability - the foundation of this Government's Plan for Change.
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a top priority for the UK Government and is vital also for protecting our NHS. The UK played a key role in securing an action-oriented Political Declaration from the UN High Level Meeting on AMR last September, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance.
The UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration. Regarding specific UK funding in light of the upcoming conclusion of the work of the Fleming Fund in its current form we are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 the UK’s contribution to the Pandemic Fund.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has committed £25 million to the Pandemic Fund. We remain committed to building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacity and capability in developing countries, including through our other multilateral investments and diplomatic engagement.
We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to p.99 of The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy 2025, published on 23 June 2025, what strategic partnerships are being trialled by The National Wealth Fund in the West Midlands.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is trialling a Strategic Partnership with West Midlands – as well as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Glasgow City Region – to provide enhanced, hands-on support to help it develop and finance long-term investment opportunities.
The Strategic Partnerships will offer a closer, enhanced relationship with a small number of places to test whether this approach is more effective at building investment pipelines. They are bespoke arrangements, tailored to unique local requirements. This will include specific support at the early stages of project development to address capability and capacity gaps.
Alongside these, the NWF continues to provide financial and commercial advice and financing to local authority projects across the UK.