Written questions by Blackman.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of China concerning the reported police raid on Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu on 14 June 2026, and what assessment

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Government of Bangladesh on the protection of Christian converts and religious minority civil society organisations, following re

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 June in response to Question 10876.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Iran on the revocation of passports and travel documents of (a) Christian converts and (b) other religious minority mem

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 April to Question 122688.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what evidentiary standard was applied before designating the entities and individual listed on 9 June 2026 under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020, and wheth

All sanctions designations are based on a rigorous assessment of the available evidence against the standards set down in the relevant sanctions framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many designations under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 relating to the West Bank have been made in respect of (a) settler violence against Palestinian

All sanctions designations are based on a rigorous assessment of the available evidence against the standards set down in the relevant sanctions framework.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, why her Answers to Questions 5322 and 5323 referred to the DevTracker programme GB-GOV-13-OODA-AHRC-C4WCAGQ-R6SBCMZ-AYRNVWK rather than the Palestine Monitoring, Evaluation a

The previous answers provided to the Hon Member were intended to refer him to the section of the Dev Tracker website where details of all active and former programmes in Palestine can be found, including all publicly-available information in relation to t...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Palestine Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning programme (PALMEL, GB-GOV-1-400409) has produced any completed monitoring, evaluation, research, analysis, accountab

The previous answers provided to the Hon Member were intended to refer him to the section of the Dev Tracker website where details of all active and former programmes in Palestine can be found, including all publicly-available information in relation to t...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Nigerian counterpart on the release of people abducted from churches and improving protection for places of worship in the last three mo

Since my statement to the House on 27 November 2025 (HWCS1105), we have continued to raise the importance of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) with the Nigerian authorities on a regular basis.The Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, visited Nigeria ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Government of Nigeria on securing the release of people abducted from churches and improving protection for places of worship in the las

Since my statement to the House on 27 November 2025 (HWCS1105), we have continued to raise the importance of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) with the Nigerian authorities on a regular basis.The Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, visited Nigeria ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor cases of abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage affecting girls from religious minority communities in Pakistan.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 13 October 2025 in response to Question 77037.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what outputs the Palestine Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning programme (PALMEL, GB-GOV-1-400409) has produced to date on value for money of UK-funded programmes in Palestin

Value for money is embedded across all of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's work. We employ robust systems and frameworks, and continuously review our programmes, to ensure the effective and responsible use of UK taxpayers' money. Documen...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has conducted a written equality or non-discrimination assessment of UK ODA spending on Palestine covering differential provision of infrastructure, le

Value for money is embedded across all of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's work. We employ robust systems and frameworks, and continuously review our programmes, to ensure the effective and responsible use of UK taxpayers' money. Documen...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the security of Hindu and other religious minority communities in Bangladesh following the February 2026 election; and what re

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March in response to Question 112260.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the security of Hindu and other religious minority communities in Bangladesh following the February 2026 election; and what representations sh

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March in response to Question 112260.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department conducted a value for money assessment of the WBPC rebuild-after-demolition cycle; and whether programme-specific due diligence was carried out before

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he received on 29 April in response to Question 27792.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the then Department for International Development conducted any written reassessment or value-for-money analysis after receiving the December 2019 evaluation report f

Documentation related to the Area C Development Programme is available on DevTracker at: DevTracker Programme GB-1-203452 - https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/programme/GB-1-203452/documents. Value for money is embedded across all of the Foreign, Commonwealth...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether FCDO has conducted any written equality or non-discrimination assessment concerning the differential provision of UK-funded infrastructure, legal advocacy, or protect

Documentation related to the Area C Development Programme is available on DevTracker at: DevTracker Programme GB-1-203452 - https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/programme/GB-1-203452/documents. Value for money is embedded across all of the Foreign, Commonwealth...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the then Department for International Development conducted any written assessment of the objective stated in the December 2019 evaluation report for Area C Developme

Documentation related to the Area C Development Programme is available on DevTracker at: DevTracker Programme GB-1-203452 - https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/programme/GB-1-203452/documents. Value for money is embedded across all of the Foreign, Commonwealth...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take diplomatic steps to encourage the Government of Japan to acknowledge the sinking of the SS Tilawa in 1942, and for them to provide goodwill closure to known s

I refer the Hon Member to the answers he received on 27 April in response to Questions 128231 and 128238.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take diplomatic steps to encourage the Government of Japan to acknowledge the sinking of the SS Tilawa in 1942; if she will support survivors and families by asking them to participate in the 84th anniversary commemoration on 23 November 2026 in London; and if she will take steps to encourage Japanese representation alongside Her Excellency Nimisha Madhvani.

The sinking of the S.S. Tilawa was an appalling tragedy which continues to resonate eight decades on. Our thoughts remain with all the families who lost loved ones on that day, and the Government supports their efforts to commemorate the tragedy, including on the 84th anniversary later this year.Decisions on Japanese diplomatic representation are a matter for the Government of Japan, which has apologised several times for its wartime actions in recent decades. Over that time, the UK and Japan have worked hard to promote our shared values, including respect for human rights and the rule of law, and the mutual pursuit of peace and prosperity, and we will continue working with Japan to those ends in the years to come.