Written questions by Cleverly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in Overseas Development Assistance on the Commonwealth realms; and what steps he is taking to help mitigate that impact.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in Overseas Development Assistance on the Overseas Territories; and what steps he is taking to help mitigate that impact.

The UK Government remains committed to supporting the Overseas Territories, and is funding programmes to increase long term capacity and capability in the Overseas Territories in receipt of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and ODA. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will release a full impact assessment for the reduction in Official Development Assistance.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in overseas development assistance on the UK’s (a) shareholding and (b) board membership of the World Bank.

The UK's shareholding at the World Bank is based on our paid in capital. We do not anticipate any reduction in our shareholding or any changes to our board representation as a result of the decision to reduce UK aid spending.Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments. We will set out spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to restore Official Development Assistance to 0.7 percent of gross national income.

The Government remains committed to returning to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) when fiscal circumstances allow, in line with the International Development Act 2015. Reducing ODA now is a difficult but necessary decision to respond to the pressing security challenges.The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR's) latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will spend 80 percent of Official Development Assistance on women and girls.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. We continue to work towards our target of at least 80 percent of the FCDO's bilateral aid programmes having a focus on gender equality by 2030. This commitment is measured by the proportion of programmes, rather than by spend, since this reflects our ambition for gender to be mainstreamed across all FCDO programmes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the projected level of overseas development aid (ODA) expenditure on asylum accommodation is over the next three years; and whether he plans to ring-fence the amount of ODA available for that purpose.

The Government is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog, reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review (SR) period and increase detention capacity to facilitate more asylum removals.Whilst there will always be volatility in asylum forecasts, we expect these decisions to drive down overall in-donor refugee costs over the next SR.All UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending is consistent with the international rules agreed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD's) Development Assistance Committee. This includes ODA spent on in-donor refugee costs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering extremism in Iraq in each of the last five years..

We share with Iraq an ambition to combat terrorism and violent extremism, including Daesh and the threats it presents to our citizens. As members of the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh, we will continue to work with Iraq to ensure that Daesh cannot re-emerge. Since the 2020-2021 Financial Year, approximately £6million of Official Development Assistance has been utilised to support Countering Violent Extremism activities in Iraq. This includes approximately £70,000 in 2020-21, £1,288,808 in 2021-2022, £2,340,550 in 2022-2023 and just over £2,331,889 in 2023-2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering extremism in Lebanon in each of the last five years..

The UK plays a leading role in countering terrorism and violent extremism overseas. Lebanon is one of our key CT partners in the Middle East and over the last five years, HMG has spent over £12 million on countering violent extremism in Lebanon. This breaks down to £2,245,000 in FY 24/25; £1,782,421 in FY 23/24; £1,685,998 in FY 22/23; £2,864,343 in FY 21/22 and £4,074,261 in FY 20/21, across the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) and Counter Terrorism Programme Fund (CTPF).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering people smuggling in North Africa in each of the last five years.

The North Africa Cooperation on Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (NACSAT) project provided £3.1 million for a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) anti-people smuggling programme across Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the three years up to November 2021. Across fiscal years 2022 to 2025, the UK has provided a further £490,000 to UNODC programmes training North Africa law enforcement and border officials to identify and respond to cases of suspected people smuggling. The Foreign Secretary is clear that migration, including the disruption of people smuggling and organised immigration crime, is a top Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office priority.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering people smuggling in the Balkans in each of the last five years.

The UK Government takes a comprehensive approach towards tackling irregular migration through, and from, the Western Balkans, including through partnerships and cooperation in the region to strengthen border security, disrupt organised immigration crime and build partnerships on returns. Bilateral agreements are currently in place with Albania, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia. UK Overseas Development Assistance in the Western Balkans, focussed on Albania, complements these efforts through funding programme activities that help to address underlying causes of irregular migration. In financial year (FY) 2023/24 the spend on this was £2.89 million, and in FY 2024/25 £2.3m (to date). The UK Government will use the forthcoming European Political Community (EPC) in Albania, and our hosting of the Berlin Process to continue to develop the range of our co-operation with countries in the Western Balkans.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering extremism in Jordan in each of the last five years.

Jordan has allocated no funding to Countering extremism in the last five years from neither an Intergrated Security Fund, nor a Counter Terrorism Programme Fund perspective.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering extremism in Syria in each of the last five years.

The UK is committed to combatting all forms of terrorism emanating from Syria, including from Daesh and the threat they present to our citizens. As members of the Global Coalition against Daesh, we will continue to work with partners in order to ensure that Daesh's territorial defeat endures, and they can never resurge. Since Financial Year 2020-2021, approximately £18.7 million of Official Development Assistance has been used to support Countering Violent Extremism activities in Syria. This includes approximately £1.4 million in 2020-21, £2.5 million in 2021-22, £3.8 million in 2022-23, £5.1 million in 2023-24 and £5.7 million in 2024-25.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering disinformation in the Balkans in each of the last five years.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in the Western Balkans. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering disinformation in Moldova in each of the last five years.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in Central and Eastern Europe. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering disinformation in Georgia in each of the last five years.

Over the past five years, we have supported efforts to counter information threats, including disinformation, in Central and Eastern Europe. This includes, where appropriate, supporting projects through Official Development Assistance funding. Due to the risks posed to our partners and beneficiaries of these projects we do not publish detailed information about them.

Whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of raising the minimum income requirement for family visas.

The Family Immigration Rules, including the MIR, need to balance a respect for family life whilst also ensuring the economic wellbeing of the UK is maintained.Under the previous government net migration reached a record high. We have paused the current MIR threshold and commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. This will ensure we have a solid evidence base for any further changes. The previous government did not commission the MAC when increasing the MIR to £29,000 in April last year despite the Supreme Court referring to the MAC Review undertaken to support the introduction of the MIR when determining the MIR was lawful.

How much Vehicle Excise Duty was raised from vehicles registered to addresses in the municipal area of Essex County Council in the last two financial years.

The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost, as each relevant vehicle record would need to be manually interrogated to calculate the vehicle excise duty paid in the last two financial years.

Whether she plans to shut down the asylum reception centre at the former RAF Wethersfield.

Any decisions on the future use of Wethersfield will be made in due course and announced in the normal way.

Whether she plans to consult with the local community before any changes to the cap on the number of asylum seekers at the Asylum Reception Centre at the former RAF Wethersfield are made.

Occupancy at the Wethersfield site is currently capped at 580 as part of the Special Development Order. This means that during current operation of the site, the population will not exceed 580.Once the relevant Special Development Order conditions have been discharged, regular occupancy will be capped at 800. The number of residents on the site at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors, including individuals having moved to onward dispersed accommodation while their claims are being considered.In addition to verbal updates given at various engagement forums with key stakeholders and partners the Wethersfield: Factsheet is revised regularly and updated to provide relevant information to the community.