Written questions by Johnson.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department are in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department are eligible to receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department that are posted overseas receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs). Internal data on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's performance is shown below: Named Day PQsOrdinary Written PQsMay 202541%56%June 202535%52%July 202518%45%August 2025N/AN/ASeptember 202528%29%October 202550%59%November 202571%88%The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the Government's consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to increase the level of funding available for water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.

The UK is committed to action on Global Health, including water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as part of our development partnerships. Current UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £37 million in 2023, and we continue to support WASH through our multilateral spend, estimated to have been approximately £79 million in 2022.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in (a) schools and (b) healthcare facilities in low and middle-income countries.

We remain committed to work in partnership with governments to strengthen the systems to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools and health care facilities in low and lower-middle income countries. Our WASH Systems for Health Programme works with five district health teams in Sierra Leone to maintain WASH services in health care facilities, to prevent infection and protect health workers. Globally, we work with partners including the World Bank, UNICEF and WHO to provide data on WASH services in schools and health care facilities to support governments prioritising, planning and mobilising finance to close the service gaps.