Written questions by Thomas.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has for future independent oversight of UK Official Development Assistance spending.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 4 February in response to Question 109820.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of human rights abuses in Uganda.

The UK works with the Government of Uganda on a range of important issues, including trade, development, regional security and refugee response. We also regularly raise concerns about infringements of human rights and restrictions on political activity, including on opposition parties and their supporters. The UK engaged across the political spectrum to advocate for peaceful and credible January 2026 elections, including for opposition candidates to be able to campaign freely and safely, and we continue to press for democratic rights and freedoms, including through our High Commission in Kampala.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of allegations of harassment by the Government of Uganda against leaders of the opposition and their families.

The UK works with the Government of Uganda on a range of important issues, including trade, development, regional security and refugee response. We also regularly raise concerns about infringements of human rights and restrictions on political activity, including on opposition parties and their supporters. The UK engaged across the political spectrum to advocate for peaceful and credible January 2026 elections, including for opposition candidates to be able to campaign freely and safely, and we continue to press for democratic rights and freedoms, including through our High Commission in Kampala.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has no such plans.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will recognise Somaliland as an independent nation.

It is the UK's long-standing position that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to decide through a consultative process and dialogue, in line with the principles of the UN charter.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British citizens were murdered in overseas countries in each of the last five years by country .

Since 2021 we have supported bereaved families in approximately 250 cases of the murder or manslaughter of British nationals abroad. To protect the privacy of the bereaved, we do not publish country‑level figures where fewer than five cases are recorded. Fifteen countries recorded more than five such cases since 2021: Pakistan, Spain, the United States, South Africa, Israel, Australia, Jamaica, France, Thailand, Kenya, New Zealand, Mexico, Turkey, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. All other countries recorded fewer than five cases individually over that time period.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of what the percentage of gross national income spent on overseas aid will be at the end of the current spending review period.

As things stand, and in line with the Government's stated policies, we expect spending on Official Development Assistance to be at 0.3 per cent of gross national income in the 2027 calendar year, and stay at that level until fiscal circumstances allow the UK to return to the 0.7 per cent target.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to stop goods produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 in response to Question 77510.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will hold discussions with her Israeli counterpart on allowing (a) Medicines Sans Frontiers and (b) UNWRA to continue to provide aid in Gaza.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to ODA on access to prevention tools such as long-acting PrEP; and what steps she is taking to (a) ensure equitable global access to those tools and (b) end AIDS.

The UK remains firmly committed to ending AIDS. We continue to support the organisations at forefront of the global response to HIV, including UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and our investments to Unitaid, CHAI and MedAccess have helped shape the market for new HIV innovations, including Lenacapavir. A formal Equality impact assessment of Official Development Assistance programme allocations for 2025 to 2026 was published on 2 September 2025, and is available on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-official-development-assistance-programme-allocations-2025-to-2026-equality-impact-assessment/equality-impact-assessment-of-official-development-assistance-oda-programme-allocations-for-2025-to-2026). Assessments of the impact of future funding allocations will be made in due course once those allocations are set.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help prevent (a) products or (b) services produced in illegal settlements in the West Bank from entering the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 15 October 2025 to Question 77510.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of effectiveness of UK funding for (a) the United Nations Development Programme and (b) Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) assesses the effectiveness, value for money, performance and relevance of UK funding to multilateral organisations including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), through annual reviews and continuously encouraging effectiveness in delivery and reform where necessary. The FCDO scrutinises UN budget proposals to ensure activities are effective and in line with UK priorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support UN peacekeeping operations in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.

For the 2025/26 peacekeeping fiscal year (July to June), the UK's mandatory contribution to the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Budget will be $245 million (4.7454 per cent) of a budget of $5.16 billion. Further funding will be required for the 2025/26 UK fiscal year following the Security Council's decision in September 2025 to establish a UN Support Office in Haiti, but the cost is yet to be confirmed. In addition, two UN Peacekeeping Operations are funded from the UN Regular Budget; the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO). Their respective budgets for the 2025 UN Regular Budget fiscal year (January to December) are approximately $9.680 million and approximately $41.4 million. The UK's contribution to the UN Regular Budget is 3.991 per cent. UN peacekeeping budgets are negotiated from May to June so figures for the UK's contribution in 2026/2027 will be available once budgets are confirmed. The UK has forecast for the entirety of the UN Regular Budget for 2026, so it is difficult to provide individual figures for both UNMOGIP and UNTSO budgets until they are agreed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support development efforts in (a) Pakistan and (b) Nepal in the (i) 2025-2026 and (ii) 2026-2026 financial years.

For Financial Year 25/26, UK Government development funding for Pakistan is £103 million, and for Nepal it is £47 million. We are currently in the process of allocating budgets for 2026 onwards. The Minister for Development will inform Parliament in the usual manner when these budgets are confirmed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that there is an effective replenishment conference for the Global Fund to fight HIVAids, TB and Malaria.

The UK is proud to be co-hosting the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment with South Africa and looks forward to working with an expanded range of partners to help end AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for good.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working with South Africa and the Global Fund on a range of international engagements and events to help generate international support for the Replenishment. For example, Heads of Mission have recently hosted events in support of the Global Fund at our High Commission in Canberra, our Embassy in Addis Ababa and our High Commission in Pretoria, in addition to bilateral discussions in other key countries.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department plans to take to support the rebuilding of the Palestinian economy.

On 13 October, alongside representatives from the Egyptian Government and the Palestinian Authority, I co-hosted a summit at Wilton Park focused on how we can leverage in private finance to support the reconstruction of Gaza and the recovery of the Palestinian economy, attended by business leaders from the region, international partners, and financial experts from here in the UK.Both through short-term humanitarian relief, and long-term support, we are determined to help the Palestinian people as they rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and we will continue to drive international support for that effort as a crucial component of Phase Two of the US-led peace plan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 August 2025 to Question 68668 on Israel: Palestinians, if she will have discussions with her Israeli counterparts on (a) releasing children held in administrative detention, (b) the transparancey of information on the number of Palestinian children detained and (c) allegations in relation to the abuse of those children in detention.

The UK regularly raises our concerns about Palestinian children in detention with the Israeli authorities. We are clear that children must always be protected, and their rights upheld in accordance with international law. We are horrified by reports of mistreatment or abuse of Palestinian children in detention and call on the Israeli authorities to investigate these urgently and to ensure any perpetrators are held to account. Children must only be detained in line with internationally agreed juvenile justice standards or other applicable international law, and we call for an end to the military detention of Palestinian children where this is incompatible with those principles. We continue to call on Israel to immediately facilitate urgent, unhindered access to all child detainees from the West Bank and Gaza to persons providing legal assistance, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and appropriate experts for the purposes of monitoring and reporting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the situation in Nepal.

The UK and Nepal share a deep historic relationship. We were appalled at the violence that transpired in Kathmandu and across Nepal following protests that were triggered by the Government of Nepal banning a number of social media platforms, as well as public frustrations about levels of corruption and nepotism. The UK supports fundamental freedoms and respect for human rights in Nepal and elsewhere, including the right to protest and peaceful assembly. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) made public statements condemning the violence and calling for accountability and peaceful dialogue.On 12 September, our Embassy in Nepal welcomed the appointment of Rt Hon Sushila Karki's as interim Prime Minister. As Nepal's oldest friend, we recognise the challenges ahead and affirm our commitment to support Nepali aspirations for accountability and inclusive governance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners on greater protections for journalists in Gaza.

The UK is appalled by the extremely high number of fatalities, arrests and detentions of media workers in the State of Palestine. We have called on all parties to fully uphold International Humanitarian Law and ensure protection of civilians including journalists. In a recent joint statement with 28 other members of the Media Freedom Coalition, we called on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem can conduct their work freely and safely. The statement also called for all attacks against media workers to be investigated and for those responsible to be prosecuted in compliance with national and international law. Earlier this year the UK provided funds to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Special Fund for Gaza, supporting locally based journalists and providing vital equipment.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners on greater protections for humanitarian workers in Gaza.

The UK has repeatedly made both public and private representations to Israel to ensure that humanitarian workers are protected and medical and aid workers can do their jobs safely.At the UN, the UK has worked to enhance the safety of aid workers by co-sponsoring United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2730 on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel in 2024. Working with our Australian counterparts, we developed the political Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel which launched at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 and secured endorsement from 105 states. We will continue our engagement to drive forward implementation.