Written questions by Reynolds.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to meet the UK's commitments under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in the context of revisions to the Official Development Assistance funding allocated to that programme.

Global health remains one of the key priorities of our development work. The UK will continue supporting polio eradication through our flexible core funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). Our £248 million contribution will help sustain essential global health functions, including surveillance and outbreak response, which are vital in the fight against polio. We will also continue contributing to routine polio immunisation through our investment in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The UK is Gavi's largest sovereign donor, supporting routine immunisation worldwide. We will invest £1.25 billion in Gavi between 2026 and 2030 to help immunise up to 500 million children, including against polio.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Official Development Assistance funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on (a) progress towards global polio eradication and (b) international public health preparedness.

Global health remains one of the key priorities of our development work. The UK will continue supporting polio eradication through our flexible core funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). Our £248 million contribution will help sustain essential global health functions, including surveillance and outbreak response, which are vital in the fight against polio. We will also continue contributing to routine polio immunisation through our investment in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The UK is Gavi's largest sovereign donor, supporting routine immunisation worldwide. We will invest £1.25 billion in Gavi between 2026 and 2030 to help immunise up to 500 million children, including against polio.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across her Department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.

Information on which directors within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and its executive agencies hold professional HR qualifications, including CIPD or equivalent, is not held centrally. Identifying this would require requests across numerous overseas posts and agencies and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department will reimburse the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for the £350,000 in costs incurred supporting the delivery of three state visits in 2025 in line with the new burdens doctrine.

The costs of State Visits have historically been shared across a number of departments and agencies. The allocation of costs for visits hosted at Windsor Castle is currently under review, and we will keep the Hon Member informed on the outcome.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the British Council’s capacity to meet its Covid-era loan repayments on staffing levels and the closure of overseas offices.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 13 October in response to question 906060, and to the oral evidence provided to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9 December by the Permanent Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and on 16 December by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, where these issues were addressed at length.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made a value-for-money assessment of the British Council loan issued during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 13 October in response to question 906060, and to the oral evidence provided to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9 December by the Permanent Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and on 16 December by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, where these issues were addressed at length.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the Covid-era loan repayment obligations on the British Council’s ability to maintain its global network and cultural programmes.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I provided on 13 October in response to question 906060, and to the oral evidence provided to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9 December by the Permanent Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and on 16 December by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, where these issues were addressed at length.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the overseas development assistance budget was allocated to rapid disaster response in developing countries in 2024-25.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 26 November in response to Question 92339.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with the (a) World Bank, (b) International Monetary Fund and (c) Asian Development Bank on financial support for Sri Lanka's post-Cyclone Ditwah recovery.

The level of UK humanitarian assistance provided in response to a natural disaster will be based on a number of factors, including the vulnerability of the affected population, capacity of the affected country's government to respond, the number of people affected or in need, and contributions from other donors towards the crisis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much UK humanitarian assistance was provided to Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025.

The level of UK humanitarian assistance provided in response to a natural disaster will be based on a number of factors, including the vulnerability of the affected population, capacity of the affected country's government to respond, the number of people affected or in need, and contributions from other donors towards the crisis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria her Department uses to determine the level of UK humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters in developing countries.

The level of UK humanitarian assistance provided in response to a natural disaster will be based on a number of factors, including the vulnerability of the affected population, capacity of the affected country's government to respond, the number of people affected or in need, and contributions from other donors towards the crisis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to Sri Lanka beyond the initial humanitarian assistance announced in response to Cyclone Ditwah.

The level of UK humanitarian assistance provided in response to a natural disaster will be based on a number of factors, including the vulnerability of the affected population, capacity of the affected country's government to respond, the number of people affected or in need, and contributions from other donors towards the crisis.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a diplomatic humanitarian convoy to facilitate the delivery of aid through the Rafah Crossing; and what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on diplomatic escorts for humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The political and security conditions in Gaza are not currently suitable for the deployment of diplomatic convoys and escorts. Israel must allow the full range of humanitarian relief supplies to enter and be distributed within Gaza via all crossings and routes, and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) must ensure their safe passage.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) EU member states and (b) (i) VFS Global and (ii) other third-party visa service providers on improving the (A) accessibility, (B) transparency and (C) efficiency of the Schengen visa application process for UK residents; and whether his Department is taking steps with relevant stakeholders to help ensure that applicants receive (1) timely communication and (2) clear recourse when experiencing (a) delays and (b) lack of response.

The Government regularly uses its diplomatic channels to facilitate conversations between the UK, the EU and EU Member States on issues impacting British Citizens overseas.Non-British Citizens experiencing difficulties applying for EU entry visas should approach the relevant Embassy or High Commission for advice on what assistance their governments can provide.More information on Schengen visa processes can be found on the website of the country to which an application is being made.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to take steps to intervene in the case of Iranian citizens Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani; and whether he plans to have discussions with his Iranian counterpart on the use of the death penalty in Iran.

The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We have repeatedly called on the Islamic Republic to establish a moratorium on executions, including through a Human Rights Ambassadors joint statement at the Human Rights Council in October 2024. The UK also helped deliver a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran at the UN Third Committee in November 2024. In January, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights directly with his Iranian counterpart. We will continue to raise human rights issues directly with the regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his definition is of progressive realism; and what steps he is taking to implement a progressive realist foreign policy.

In his article in Foreign Affairs (April 2024), the Foreign Secretary defined progressive realism as "using realist means to pursue progressive ends". He is clear that this approach will underpin FCDO policies and will require using all the tools at our disposal: economic, diplomatic and societal. In his Kew speech (September 2024), he set out what this means in the specific context of the climate crisis - engaging collaboratively to deliver an ambitious COP29 agreement as we did ensuring genuine partnerships are at the cornerstone of our foreign policy.