Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provision of the Equality Act.
Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
In FY 23/24 the total contracted spend was £915,037.52.
In FY 24/25 the total contracted spend was £1,003,283.32.
In FY 25/26 so far, the total contracted spend is £256,707.82.
The languages in this data exclude written translations into English, Welsh and Braille.
The languages translated into from English (United Kingdom) are:
Albanian (Albania)
Amharic (Ethiopia)
Arabic (Classical)
Arabic (Egypt)
Arabic (Modern Standard) Middle Eastern
Arabic (Modern Standard) North African
Arabic (Morocco)
Armenian (Armenia)
Bangla (Bangladesh)
Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Bulgarian (Bulgaria)
Burmese
Burmese (Myanmar)
Catalan (Catalan)
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Czech (Czech Republic)
Danish (Denmark)
Dari (Afghanistan)
Dutch (Netherlands)
Estonian (Estonia)
Filipino (Philippines)
Finnish (Finland)
French (Belgium)
French (France)
Georgian (Georgia)
German (Austria)
German (Germany)
Greek (Greece)
Gujarati (India)
Hebrew (Israel)
Hindi (India)
Hungarian (Hungary)
Icelandic (Iceland)
Indonesian (Indonesia)
Italian (Italy)
Japanese (Japan)
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)
Kiswahili (Kenya)
Korean (Korea)
Kurdish (Bahdini)
Kurdish (Sorani)
Latvian (Latvia)
Lingala (Congo DRC)
Lithuanian (Lithuania)
Macedonian (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Malay (Malaysia)
Malayalam (India)
Maltese (Malta)
Mirpuri (Central Asia)
Mongolian (Cyrillic, Mongolia)
Nepali (Nepal)
Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)
Norwegian, Nynorsk (Norway)
Oromo (Ethiopia)
PahariPotwari (Central Asia)
Pashto (Afghanistan)
Persian (Afghanistan)
Persian (Iran)
Polish (Poland)
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Portugal)
Punjabi (India)
Punjabi (Pakistan)
Romanian (Romania)
Romany (Europe)
Russian (Russia)
Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia)
Serbian (Latin, Serbia)
Shona (Latin, Zimbabwe)
Sinhala (Sri Lanka)
Slovak (Slovakia)
Slovenian (Slovenia)
Somali (Somalia)
Spanish (Argentina)
Spanish (Latin America)
Spanish (Mexico)
Spanish (Spain)
Swedish (Sweden)
Tajik (Cyrillic, Tajikistan)
Tamazight (Latin, Algeria)
Tamil (India)
Tetum (Timor)
Thai (Thailand)
Tigrinya (Eritrea)
Turkish (Turkey)
Ukranian (Ukraine)
Urdu (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)
Vietnamese (Vietnam)
Wolof (Senegal)
Yoruba (Nigeria)
The Languages translated into from English (United States) are:
Arabic (Egypt)
Hungarian (Hungary)
Polish (Poland)
Romanian (Romania)
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 budget was allocated for his Department's involvement at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville and how many (a) officials,(b) ministers and (c) special advisers attended.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean, led the UK's delegation at the Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) in Seville. Alongside the Minister, fourteen Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials supported and represented the UK at a range of events, including two UK-led initiatives, across the four days of the conference. No Special Advisors attended. The UK contributed £250,000 to the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs FfD4 Fund to support participation from accredited civil society organisations and academia primarily from developing countries.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 resolution passed on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands taken at the Organization of American States General Assembly on 27 June 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is clear: it is for the people of the Falkland Islands only to decide their future and the Government has no doubt about the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean, represented the UK at the Organization of American States General Assembly, reaffirming the UK Government's commitment to the Falkland Islanders and their democratic rights. We will resolutely defend their sovereignty and rights as I and ministerial colleagues have made repeatedly clear.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 (a) his Brazilian counterpart and (b) Indigenous Brazilian representatives on (i) protecting and (ii) recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ ahead of COP30 in Belem; and what steps he is taking to collaborate with (A) his European counterparts and (B) other donors on this issue.
Answered by Catherine West
On 24 June 2025, the Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and the Caribbean met Brazil's Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara. They agreed on the importance of ensuring meaningful inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in COP processes. Sonia Guajajara has spoken publicly about the importance of COP30 as a "COP of implementation" and securing concrete benefits for IPLCs. The UK collaborates with European and international partners on this issue through multilateral funds and initiatives such as the Amazon Fund and the REDD+ Early Movers programme, which support IPLC-led forest protection and sustainable livelihoods. Through the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership (FCLP), which the UK co-chairs with Guyana, we are working to promote greater recognition of IPLCs as vital stewards of critical forest ecosystems.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 international counterparts on the (a) protection and (b) recognition of the rights of (i) indigenous peoples and (ii) local communities’ rights in relation to COP30 in Belem.
Answered by Catherine West
We recognise the global contribution Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) make to climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and inclusive and sustainable development, and support global efforts to recognise and advance their contribution.
At COP26, the UK led international efforts to strengthen IPLC forest tenure, launching the IPLC Land and Forest Tenure Pledge to mobilise $1.7 billion in support of IPLC efforts by the end of 2025. This funding has supported legal reforms or land titling processes within several countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through its own commitments, the UK has increased direct support to IPLC organisations, including backing the Tenure Facility's work in the Amazon. We are working with international partners and IPLC groups through the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership to shape a new pledge for COP30.
Complementing these joint initiatives, the UK is directly supporting IPLC efforts through bilateral programmes including the Amazon Catalyst for Forest Communities, the Global Land Governance Programme and Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme. All of these include a focus on strengthening IPLC rights. The UK is advocating for IPLC to have a greater voice in climate finance notably with IPLC-led mechanisms in the Climate Investment Funds and Global Environment Fund.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 protect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in rainforest countries.
Answered by Catherine West
We recognise the global contribution Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) make to climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and inclusive and sustainable development, and support global efforts to recognise and advance their contribution.
At COP26, the UK led international efforts to strengthen IPLC forest tenure, launching the IPLC Land and Forest Tenure Pledge to mobilise $1.7 billion in support of IPLC efforts by the end of 2025. This funding has supported legal reforms or land titling processes within several countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through its own commitments, the UK has increased direct support to IPLC organisations, including backing the Tenure Facility's work in the Amazon. We are working with international partners and IPLC groups through the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership to shape a new pledge for COP30.
Complementing these joint initiatives, the UK is directly supporting IPLC efforts through bilateral programmes including the Amazon Catalyst for Forest Communities, the Global Land Governance Programme and Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme. All of these include a focus on strengthening IPLC rights. The UK is advocating for IPLC to have a greater voice in climate finance notably with IPLC-led mechanisms in the Climate Investment Funds and Global Environment Fund.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2025 to Question 50064 on China: Caribbean, whether he plans to provide guidance to the Inter-American Development Bank on the financing of infrastructure in Caribbean nations as an alternative to Chinese state-backed loans.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK is a shareholder of and supports the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank (WB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in their work in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) regions, providing financial support for sustainable development and growth, including sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure, to bolster climate resilience, advance citizen security and create economic opportunities to improve lives across the region.
The UK is a leading development partner within the IDB Group, exemplified by its flagship UK Sustainable Infrastructure Programme (UKSIP), a partnership between IDB and the UK. UKSIP supports countries in LAC to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, ensure infrastructure and communities are resilient to its effects, and invest in cost effective nature-based solutions through technical assistance and blended finance investments.
IDB has robust and well-established policies and procedures in place. As one of the Bank's shareholders, we engage closely with the bank to help shape their strategies, policies and procedures.
Asked by: Lord Grayling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their priority countries are for the Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use Phase 2 programme.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use Phase 2 (IFSLU2) will operate in a range of countries that face critical vulnerabilities in the land sector arising from climate change, and which have an essential role to play in addressing the linked crises affecting climate and nature.
IFSLU2 will take a regional approach, covering Latin America; West, Central and East Africa; and Southeast Asia. Several countries are within scope, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The final geographical scope will be determined during 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 Colombian counterpart on their offer to host a UK technical delegation to assess migration and border control improvements.
Answered by Catherine West
The Minister for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean has discussed migration and border control issues with her Colombian counterparts, including the potential for a technical visit from the UK to Colombia. We also regularly engage on these issues with the Colombian Government through our Embassy in Bogotá. Tackling irregular migration into the UK remains our top priority. The UK Government keeps its visa and immigration system under constant review given our commitment to border security.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 his (a) counterpart in Venezuela and (b) the Venezuelan Ambassador in London on Jesús Armas.
Answered by Catherine West
Protecting human rights in Venezuela is a priority for the UK and we have repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, including at the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 18 March. On 26 May the Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean expressed the UK's deep concern about continuing repression and arbitrary detentions in Venezuela. The UK was also party to the G7 Foreign Ministers' statements of 24 September and 26 November 2024 calling for all unjustly detained political prisoners to be released. The UK will continue to work with international partners to achieve a peaceful solution in Venezuela and for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained.