Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 merits of imposing sanctions on any British company operating in the illegal settlement activity in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned by the levels of settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank and continue to urge the Government of Israel to stop settlement expansion and take action to hold violence to account. Settlements are illegal under international law.
On 20 May the UK imposed sanctions on three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organisations supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. On 10 June the UK, acting alongside partners Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, imposed sanctions on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in their personal capacity, in response to their repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The UK does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Israeli settlements, as part of Israel. Goods imported from the settlements are therefore not entitled to benefit from trade preferences under the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. The UK also supports accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer.
Sanctions can be used to achieve a range of foreign and security policy objectives. We use sanctions when they complement other tools as part of a wider strategy. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact. We have been clear that we keep these issues under close review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether British nationals will be evacuated from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Support to British nationals remains our top priority and we have worked at pace to ensure those who want to leave Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories can do so, with six flights leaving Israel since 24 June. At this time, no further flights are planned. Commercial flights are now available. This remains a fast-moving and fragile situation, and plans will be kept under constant review.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
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 counterparts in (a) Israel, (b) Iran and (c) the USA concerning the recent military actions in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK did not participate in recent US or Israeli military strikes. This week alone, the Foreign Secretary has spoken with, amongst others, Secretary of State Rubio, Foreign Minister Sa'ar and Foreign Minister Araghchi. I also met the Iranian Ambassador to the UK on 23 June. In our engagement with these and other nations, the Foreign Secretary and I have stressed that stability, de-escalation and restraint are key, and urged all parties to seize the opportunity for a diplomatic solution.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for allowing parliamentary time for (a) scrutiny and (b) ratification of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consistently said that, once a deal was signed, we would lay it before the House for scrutiny in the usual way. That is exactly what we have done. Parliamentary business will be arranged in the usual way.
I have appeared before the IRDC/IAC on 17 June and the FAC on 23 June to discuss the agreement, I have also answered over a hundred written parliamentary questions on the Chagos Archipelago since 22 May.
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, with reference to his letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee, dated 16 June 2025, how much of the £200 million uplift will be used to make payments to Mauritius under the requirements of the UK-Mauritius Treaty.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The payments to Mauritius will be split between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Ministry of Defence (MoD). They will be published in the normal manner alongside other departmental spend in the annual accounts.
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, whether he has made an estimate of cash payments to be made to Mauritius in each of the next 99 years under the provisions of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; and what estimate he has made of levels of annual inflationary uplifts.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply to her question 57197.
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, how much funding his Department plans to provide to each of the Overseas Territories in each of the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recently received its Spending Review (SR) settlement from the Treasury for the three years of the SR period (FY26/27 to FY28/29). Final decisions on funding for the Overseas Territories (OTs) in each of these years is subject to the FCDO's post-SR settlement multi-year internal allocations process which is expected to conclude later this year.
In the current financial year (25/26) the FCDO is providing up to £168.37 million of programme funding to the OTs:
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, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 58962 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the previous currency was prior to the shift to sterling values; whether the indexation measure was changed between October 2024 and the Treaty being signed on 22 May 2025; and what changes were made in relation to the provisions on protecting the base.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The finance package was previously denominated in US Dollars. Transferring to Sterling reduced future foreign exchange risks for the UK and had no impact on overall cost. There was no change to the indexation measure between October 2024 and May 2025. I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to her previous question, 56761, on changes to the Treaty.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 support people stranded in Tel Aviv.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority. Since the beginning of this crisis, when Israeli airspace closed, we deployed specialist teams to the Egyptian and Jordanian borders to support British nationals wishing to leave Israel by land and facilitate their onward travel. When Israeli airspace opened on 24 June we worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could do so, with six evacuation flights leaving Israel.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 support (a) justice for victims and (b) protection for at-risk communities in the Middle Belt.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting Nigeria address security challenges, including intercommunal violence in the Middle Belt, through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). The UK-Nigeria SDP works with Nigeria's security forces to tackle violence against civilian communities. As part of this dialogue, we previously welcomed a commitment from Nigeria on timely, effective and human rights compliant investigations of, and prosecutions for, terrorism. Additionally, through our Strengthening Peace and Resilience programme (SPRiNG) the UK is providing up to £38 million over five years from 2024 to 2028 to help tackle the root causes of intercommunal conflict, including security, justice, and natural resource management challenges.