Written questions by Maguire.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department is providing to help decontaminate agricultural land in Gaza.

The UK is deeply concerned by the collapse of Gaza's agricultural sector and the impact the destruction has had on food security. Recent assessments by the UN indicate that 86 per cent of cropland in Northern Gaza has been damaged. In response, we have scaled up our support for the World Food Programme (WFP). On 13 October we announced a £20 million humanitarian aid package, including support to the WFP to deliver vital assistance to thousands of civilians across Gaza. We are also supporting the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) pooled fund, which has provided funding to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).The UK stands ready to take a leading role in support of Palestinian-led early recovery and reconstruction efforts from phase 2 of the ceasefire through to sustainable peace.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with (a) international partners and (b) UN agencies to help tackle the (i) humanitarian and (ii) protection needs of internally displaced people in Yemen.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential risks of (a) cholera and (b) other waterborne diseases among internally displaced populations in Yemen; and what steps she is taking with international partners to help mitigate those risks.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support internally displaced people in Yemen living in (a) overcrowded and (b) flood-prone settlements with limited access to (i) water, (ii) sanitation and (iii) health services.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department is giving to Ukraine to help tackle Russia's increasing use of drones.

The UK has invested £600 million this year to accelerate drone delivery to Ukraine. At the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 15 October, the Defence Secretary announced that the UK had delivered over 85,000 drones to Ukraine in the past six months. These drones are being used for precision strikes, reconnaissance and disrupting Russian activity behind the frontlines, countering Russia's own attempts at massed drone tactics. A £42 million energy support package announced on 12 September by the Foreign Secretary will deliver further physical protection support, as well as funding repairs to damaged energy infrastructure hit by drones and other Russian attacks.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on increasing US arms support to Ukraine.

The UK fully supports President Trump's efforts to end this war and we are in regular contact with the US, Ukraine and our other partners to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary most recently discussed our efforts in Ukraine with Secretary Rubio on 7 October, and before that on 18 September during President Trump's State Visit.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to (a) help stop executions and (b) promote the democratic movement in Iran.

The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstance as a matter of principle. We have repeatedly called on Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions, including at the UN Third Committee on 9 October. We continue to play an integral role in the delivery of the Committee's annual Iran human rights resolution, and will do so again this November. In November 2024, the resolution condemned Iran's application of the death penalty, which was in violation of its international obligations, including executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions and without fair trial and due process. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its continued human rights violations. We believe it is for the Iranian people to decide the future of Iran.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of President Trump’s State visit in September 2025.

Costs related to the State Visit will be published on GOV.UK in the usual way. President Trump's State Visit heralded a new era of the special relationship - securing a record £150 billion of inward investment from US companies and saw the signature of the first ever UK-US tech agreement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote democracy in Russia.

The UK has consistently called on Russia to cease repression, release political prisoners and to safeguard space for independent media and civil society, most recently at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 6 October, and will continue to do so. The UK supported the renewal of the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia this September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of placing further sanctions on people attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children.

As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure aid air drops are carried out safely to avoid unintentional harm.

In the last few years, the UK has been involved in a limited number of aid air drops operations, specifically into Gaza. The latest effort in July 2025 was led by Jordan where up to £500,000 of humanitarian aid was procured by the UK and placed onto Royal Jordanian Air Force aircrafts. In line with humanitarian principles, we assess all delivery methods to minimise unintended consequences and ensure aid does not exacerbate existing vulnerabilities or tensions. We have been clear from the start that whilst airdrops into Gaza would have helped to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid at scale.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the level of funding for (a) conflict prevention, (b) mediation and (c) peacebuilding building efforts on levels of migration to the UK.

We take a comprehensive and integrated approach to tackling conflict using all our diplomatic, development and security levers and working closely with our international partners. This approach recognises that addressing conflict effectively is not only about how much we spend. This enables us to prioritise our resources where they have most impact, and take the broader action needed to address the drivers of conflict, and effect lasting change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the release of the Ukrainian children held in Russia and its occupied territories.

As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on market systems strengthening by country in the most recent period for which data is available.

Market system strengthening has been a core part of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) approach to development for over two decades. Roughly 50 different country programmes, and at least 15 centrally managed, multi-country programmes have been identified that broadly deliver impact through this approach, and many more contain elements of the approach. The following table shows spend estimates for the top ten countries, for calendar year 2024, through projects which are primarily Market System Strengthening. A comprehensive estimate is not possible due to definitional issues, and there may be additional programmes containing elements of the approach.Estimated market system strengthening spend by country in 2024 (£millions)Country2024 FCDO ODA spendZambia26.7Kenya12.4Uganda9.2Nigeria8.0Sierra Leone6.1Pakistan5.7Ethiopia5.4Ghana4.1Bangladesh3.8Zimbabwe2.4Additional non-country specific programmingCountry2024 FCDO ODA spendAfrica Regional31.9Middle East regional8.6Other Multi country programming [Note 1]77.4Source: Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024.Note 1. Programmes that benefit several developing countries, across regions, cannot be tagged to a specific country or region and are tagged as benefitting "Developing countries, unspecified".

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with European counterparts on joint sanctions for people attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children.

As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of further sanctions on Russia that target the network of camps being used for indoctrinating Ukrainian children.

As the Foreign Secretary said in her statement to the House on 15 October: "The forcible deportation - and kidnapping - of almost 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia is one of the most disturbing aspects of this war. We have been supporting organisations such as Bring Kids Back UA and Save Ukraine, which are supporting efforts to return Ukrainian children. Just two weeks ago, Baroness Harman attended the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children event at the UN General Assembly. We will continue to do all we can to support the return of those children."Last month, the UK announced sanctions against those supporting the forcible deportation, indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children, a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. Our sanctions aim to hold those responsible to account and shed light on those crimes. UK sanctions are strategically coordinated with allies to impose severe costs on Putin and his regime. We work closely with EU partners, and where appropriate, we seek to align our approaches to sanctions, including against those involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implication for her policies of the the IMF report, the Urgency of Conflict Prevention – A Macroeconomic Perspective, published in 2024.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions (IFIs) bring valuable expertise and investment to address key drivers of fragility and conflict, improving employment and livelihoods, natural resource management, access to essential services and governance.The UK is working closely with IFIs to prioritise early engagement in conflict prevention. This includes enhancing the use of analytics to anticipate potential conflict, increasing funding in at-risk areas before violence breaks out, and guiding timely interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on increasing the number of evacuation days for (a) recipients of the Chevening Scholarship and their dependents and (b) medically vulnerable children and their dependents to the UK.

We continue to work with international partners to facilitate departures from Gaza where possible, and the Foreign Secretary most recently spoke to her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on 18 October about the importance of opening more crossings.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on (a) shipping and (b) insuring Russian liquified natural gas by UK companies.

The UK has taken extensive action to limit energy revenues that fund Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. This includes Russian revenues from Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Importing Russian LNG into the UK has been prohibited since January 2023. On 15 October the UK sanctioned 90 targets across Russia's energy, financial and military sectors. This includes targeting two of Russia's largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil and seven specialised LNG tankers. We continue to explore all options for constraining Russian revenue further and we do not comment on future potential actions as to do so could undermine their effectiveness.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on importing Russian-derived oil products processed in third countries.

To further restrict the flow of funds to the Kremlin on 15 October the UK announced that it will ban imports of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil. We note the EU's announcement of a ban on the import of refined oil products containing oil of Russian origin. We will continue to work closely with partners to explore options to bear down on Russia's energy revenues.