Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department has offered to the a) Republic of Mozambique, b) Republic of Zimbabwe and c) Republic of South Africa following the recent flooding incidents in those countries; and what direct engagement has taken place between His Majesty's Government and Ministers in each nation about the recovery effort.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK was one of the first countries to step up with lifesaving assistance for Mozambique. We delivered a £2 million increase in humanitarian funding, building on earlier action in 2025 to help communities prepare for increasingly frequent climate-related disasters. This support enabled the deployment of a specialist UK International Search and Rescue team, which saved dozens of lives, and helped provide emergency sanitation and health support to those most in need through local partners. The Minister of State for Development has just returned from Mozambique and saw first-hand the impact of the UK's flexible and rapid response to the crisis.
We have not had any direct ministerial engagement with Zimbabwe or South Africa on this matter, but we continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to question 57617 on Zimbabwe: Commonwealth, what recent steps she has taken to support a further Commonwealth assessment mission.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The timing of any Commonwealth assessment mission is for the Secretary General and the Government of Zimbabwe to agree. Given the time passed since their last reports, we would welcome a Commonwealth assessment mission returning to Zimbabwe to follow up on its recommendations from its last visit and the subsequent election observation report.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her counterparts in the Commonwealth to help support Zimbabwe rejoin the Commonwealth.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer he received on 23 June 2025 in response to Question 57617. We will update the House if there are any new developments.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church has had with the Government of Zimbabwe on John Smyth QC.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The National Church Institutions of the Church of England have engaged with the Church of Southern Africa and the Church of the Province of Central Africa regarding the historic safeguarding cases relating to John Smyth. The two provinces of the Anglican Communion are independent from the Church of England, and discussions with the Government of Zimbabwe would be a matter for the Province of Central Africa.
The Church of Southern Africa held its own review into the activity of John Smyth’s activities which was published on the 3rd February 2025 and can be found here: https://anglicanchurchsa.org/archbishops-panel-of-inquiry-pinpoints-churchs-failures-on-smyth-abuse-report/ and Archbishop Thabo published a statement, which can be read here: https://anglicanchurchsa.org/archbishop-thabo-apologises-for-churchs-failures-over-abuse/
There have also been extensive discussions with the Province of Central Africa, and Archbishop Chama has been encouraged to undertake a similar review to that held by the Church of Southern Africa.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what criteria her Department will use to determine whether an application's healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, cannot be fully met in their country of origin.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
A claimant may claim that requiring them to leave the UK would breach their human rights due to a serious medical condition, which could be a physical illness or mental health issue. Such cases must be considered in accordance with our obligations under Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The threshold in Article 3 medical cases is very high, as set out in the UK Supreme Court case of AM (Zimbabwe) [2020] UKSC 17, which affirmed the Article 3 medical threshold as set out in the European Court of Human Rights case of Paposhvili v Belgium [2017] Imm AR 867.
We are committed to the ECHR and we believe that people should never be subject to torture. However, the interpretation of “inhuman or degrading treatment” has been expanded over time. As a consequence, we see examples of foreign national offenders who are being allowed to stay in the UK on the basis of an Article 3 protection claim, despite committing serious criminal offences in the UK. Others have blocked a deportation because their healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, cannot be fully met in their country of origin.
To retain public confidence, the ECHR and other instruments must evolve to face modern challenges. We are working with key partner countries over concerns that the interpretation of “inhuman or degrading treatment” has extended in scope, limiting their ability to make sovereign decisions on migration in their own democracies. The criteria, for considering healthcare needs, including mental healthcare, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 market systems strengthening by country in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Market system strengthening has been a core part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) approach to development for over two decades. Roughly 50 different country programmes, and at least 15 centrally managed, multi-country programmes have been identified that broadly deliver impact through this approach, and many more contain elements of the approach. The following table shows spend estimates for the top ten countries, for calendar year 2024, through projects which are primarily Market System Strengthening. A comprehensive estimate is not possible due to definitional issues, and there may be additional programmes containing elements of the approach.
Estimated market system strengthening spend by country in 2024 (£millions)
Country | 2024 FCDO ODA spend |
Zambia | 26.7 |
Kenya | 12.4 |
Uganda | 9.2 |
Nigeria | 8.0 |
Sierra Leone | 6.1 |
Pakistan | 5.7 |
Ethiopia | 5.4 |
Ghana | 4.1 |
Bangladesh | 3.8 |
Zimbabwe | 2.4 |
Additional non-country specific programming
Country | 2024 FCDO ODA spend |
Africa Regional | 31.9 |
Middle East regional | 8.6 |
Other Multi country programming [Note 1] | 77.4 |
Source: Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024.
Note 1. Programmes that benefit several developing countries, across regions, cannot be tagged to a specific country or region and are tagged as benefitting "Developing countries, unspecified".
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 children expected to be impacted by the planned reductions to Official Development Assistance spending on health programmes in 2025-26 in (a) Democratic Republic of Congo, (b) Mozambique, (c) Zimbabwe and (d) Ethiopia.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To assess the impact of decisions on Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations in 2025/26, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) conducted an equality impact assessment (EIA). While this did not capture the requested information and the data cannot readily be obtained for the purposes of answering this question, the EIA we have published confirmed we have avoided disproportionate negative impacts on women and girls and people living with disabilities in our 2025/26 ODA allocations.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held discussions with the government of Zimbabwe about the security situation in that country following the bomb attack on the home of the opposition politician Job Sikhala.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is concerned about the alleged use of explosives to target the home of Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala on 30 August and is closely monitoring the ongoing police investigation. UK officials have spoken to Mr Sikhala following the incident. The UK is committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with Zimbabwe; UK ministers and officials regularly engage with the Zimbabwean authorities on a wide range of issues, including the security situation.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review their relationship with the government of Zimbabwe in the light of the bomb attack on the home of the opposition politician Job Sikhala.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is concerned about the alleged use of explosives to target the home of Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala on 30 August and is closely monitoring the ongoing police investigation. UK officials have spoken to Mr Sikhala following the incident. The UK is committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with Zimbabwe; UK ministers and officials regularly engage with the Zimbabwean authorities on a wide range of issues, including the security situation.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Zimbabwe state agents were involved in the bomb attack on the home of the opposition politician Job Sikhala.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is concerned about the alleged use of explosives to target the home of Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala on 30 August and is closely monitoring the ongoing police investigation. UK officials have spoken to Mr Sikhala following the incident. The UK is committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with Zimbabwe; UK ministers and officials regularly engage with the Zimbabwean authorities on a wide range of issues, including the security situation.