Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase funding for education for children around the world.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a world leader in championing safe, inclusive, quality education, working in partnership with governments and multilaterals to deliver the education that all children deserve. In a context of scarce resources, the UK is working to increase both the volume and effectiveness of global and national financial investments in education, including supporting innovative financing mechanisms such as the International Finance Facility for Education.
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, if her Department will undertake a review of its explosive ordinance policies.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way 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, what conversations she has had with her international counterparts on (a) the impact of global aid cuts to humanitarian aid and (b) the impact those cuts will have on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way 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, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a global programme supporting civilian victims of landmines.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way 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, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of reducing humanitarian aid funding in Africa on landmine disposal.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of maintaining investment in the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait in advance of their 2026 replenishments.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK played a leading role in establishing both Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and we remain advocates for both. We committed £80 million towards ECW's current strategic plan (2023 to 2026), alongside an additional £14 million for the Sudan regional response announced in November 2024. In October, the UK fulfilled our £430 million pledge to GPE for its current 2021-2026 strategic plan. The UK's future commitments to both funds are being determined as part of our multi-year budget allocation process, the outcome of which will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to consider child rights in (1) foreign policy, (2) international development policy, and (3) humanitarian policy.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
As a ratifier of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UK is committed to safeguarding and promoting the rights and wellbeing of children. These principles are embedded across our foreign, development, and humanitarian policies. We work with international partners to deliver better outcomes for children, including through education, health, and nutrition programmes. The UK is an active member of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, and we continue to support global initiatives that strengthen child protection systems and uphold children's rights in all contexts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that funding for programmes supporting women’s and girls’ rights, education, and health is maintained in the current and future aid budgets.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to place women and girls at the heart of our international work, including playing a key role in the global effort to tackle violence against women and girls. We are also continuing to support countries to build resilient and sustainable health systems, and partner with governments to strengthen their own education systems. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to increase support for women and girls in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to place women and girls at the heart of our international work, including playing a key role in the global effort to tackle violence against women and girls. We are also continuing to support countries to build resilient and sustainable health systems, and partner with governments to strengthen their own education systems. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29 will be announced in due course.
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 steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s commitments at the 2025 Nutrition for Growth Summit are implemented through integration with (a) education, (b) immunisation, and (c) other relevant areas of development policy.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is a global leader in nutrition and continues to prioritise nutrition integration across sectors. At the 2025 Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, the UK launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration, encouraging all 86 signatories to integrate nutrition into sectors such as education and health, for example through GAVI's Immunisation Nutrition Integration work. Since 2021 the FCDO has adopted a Nutrition Policy Marker, which prompts teams to consider nutrition objectives and integration during programme design. This is applied across programmes on early childhood development, food and agriculture, and social protection that are delivered bilaterally or through multilateral partners.