Written questions by Akehurst.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK supports Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the 78th World Health Assembly.

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization on global (a) health co-operation and (b) pandemic preparedness.

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the World Health Organization on Taiwan’s participation in WHO meetings, activities and mechanisms.

Awaiting answer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the human rights situation in Nicaragua.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 September 2025 in response to Question 74711.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK objected to the recent election of Abbas Tajik of Iran as a Vice-Chair to the Bureau for the sixty-fifth session of the UN's Commission for Social Development.

Iran put forward the only candidate so there was no vote.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK will join France in calling for the resignation of UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Ms. Francesca Albanese.

Along with several other countries, we have raised concerns about a series of comments made by the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Ministers have raised these concerns directly with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UK has asked that the comments of the Special Rapporteur be urgently investigated against the Code of Conduct for her post, and for action to be taken to restore the confidence of the international community in the independence and objectivity of this important role.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer to Question 104985, whether the Government is aware of which independent audit firm the Palestinian Authority has contracted to complete the review of curriculum reform.

I currently have nothing further to add to the previous answer to which the Hon Member refers in his question. As and when there is further information to report on this matter, I will update him and other Members accordingly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 98592, what independent audit firm the Palestinian Authority has contracted to complete the review of curriculum reform; and which grades that audit will cover.

It will be for the Palestinian Authority to publish the full details of their audit, including the firm hired to conduct it, and we will assess the reliability of that audit based on the information published.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review elements of UK support for the Palestinian Authority in the context of textbooks for the 2025–26 school year.

We welcome the Palestinian Authority (PA) contracting an independent audit firm to complete a review of curriculum reform in early 2026, and we would expect the results of that audit to be made public. The UK will continue to press for implementation of the PA's reform commitments, and will assess progress in the education area based on the audit results.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 79968, whether she plans to publish the findings of the independent audit of Palestinian Authority curriculum reform.

We welcome the Palestinian Authority (PA) contracting an independent audit firm to complete a review of curriculum reform in early 2026, and we would expect the results of that audit to be made public. The UK will continue to press for implementation of the PA's reform commitments, and will assess progress in the education area based on the audit results.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October to Question 79968 on Palestine: Education, what discussions his Department has had with the Palestinian Authority on seeking an independent audit into the implementation of the curriculum reform.

The Foreign Secretary met with the Palestinian Foreign Minister on 1 November. As part of their conversation they discussed educational reforms. The UK continues to monitor and advance the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation through an annual strategic dialogue. In the meantime, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, through the British Consulate in Jerusalem, engage regularly with the Palestinian Authority on many areas, including education reform.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of whether the Palestinian Authority's decision to end the martyr payment system, announced in February 2025, has been implemented.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 17 September to question 74029.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled UK-Occupied Palestinian Territories development partnership summary July 2023, published on 17 July 2023, whether the Palestinian Authority has informed her that it has (a) completed textbook reforms for grade 12 and (b) introduced revised textbooks for grades 1 to 4; and what mechanisms are in place to verify that these materials meet UNESCO standards.

In President Abbas' letter to President Macron, dated 9 June 2025, he set out his commitment to the principles of non-violence, the organisation of elections, the development of a school curriculum that is free from incitement, and the implementation of a new social security system, which will revoke so-called prisoner payments, and ensure that any future welfare payments are needs-based and delinked from violent actions. The Palestinian Authority must now ensure that an independent audit is conducted to verify that these reforms have been completed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterparts on the right of the Tibetan Buddhist authorities to select the successor to the Dalai Lama without interference.

This Government stands firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all in the UK and abroad, and work to uphold the right to FoRB through the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement. For example, On July 2 the UK convened an event in Geneva to reaffirm the right to FoRB for all, including Tibetan Buddhists and the right to choose their own religious leaders.The UK views the Dalai Lama as a respected spiritual leader and strong human rights advocate. It is our longstanding position that the appointment of the next Dalai Lama is a matter for the Tibetan Buddhist community across the world, in line with FoRB.We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and I all raised human rights recently with our Chinese counterparts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken with international partners to encourage international humanitarian access to Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The UK has called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be granted unfettered and immediate access to the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence, and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. As the Prime Minister said on 21 July, the UK demands an immediate ceasefire to stop the slaughter, that the UN be allowed to send humanitarian assistance into Gaza on a continuing basis to prevent starvation, and the immediate release of the hostages.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether the Myanmar military is violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 in (a) Rakhine State and (b) other places.

We continue to call on the Myanmar military to allow full, unrestricted humanitarian access in Myanmar and to respect fundamental humanitarian principles, including in Rakhine state. One in four households in Myanmar are in acute food insecurity. The UK has reached over 650,000 people with humanitarian food support in 2024, through our humanitarian programme. We will continue to maintain a spotlight on the humanitarian situation in Myanmar and will continue to provide vital humanitarian assistance and support.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a proportion of UK aid to Myanmar will be ringfenced for healthcare provision.

Since the coup, the UK has provided over £170 million to Myanmar in lifesaving humanitarian assistance, including healthcare provision through the Access to Health (A2H) Fund. The UK is the largest donor to A2H, which has supported vulnerable populations with critical nutrition services, maternal and child health interventions, and immunisation services since 2021. In 2024, UK-funded support provided essential health services to approximately 1.2 million people.The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar, including £2 million to the (A2H) Fund. So far, UK funding has reached over 48,000 people with healthcare services following the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure UK aid to Myanmar (a) reaches people impacted by the recent earthquake and (b) is not intercepted by the military regime.

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for those affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar, including up to £5 million to match public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. So far this support has provided food, water, healthcare, and shelter supplies to over 300,000 people. The UK funds local actors who can directly access affected populations, overcoming humanitarian access restrictions to support the most vulnerable communities.The UK does not fund the military regime in Myanmar, and the regime has no involvement in directing our programmes. To manage the increased risk of aid diversion due to security and access constraints, we contract a third party to monitor our humanitarian programmes, verifying activities have taken place and flagging any allegations of aid diversion or other malpractice.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the nuclear weapon capabilities of the People’s Republic of China in (a) 2015 and (b) 2025.

This Government takes a consistent, long-term, and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of this government. This underpins not just our relationship with China, but all our international relationships. In recent years we have seen China rapidly expand and diversify its nuclear arsenal with more warheads and a larger number of sophisticated delivery systems. We regularly engage China on these issues, including as part of discussions among recognised Nuclear Weapons States (the 'P5 'process'), and continue to urge China to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions and promote stability through transparency.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s policy paper entitled UK-Occupied Palestinian Territories development partnership summary July 2023, published on 17 July 2023, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of educational content that (a) incites violence, (b) glorifies terrorism and (c) contains antisemitism in (i) textbooks and (ii) other curriculum materials provided to children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Education is an essential component of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and critical to building the foundations for a sustainable and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people, grounded in a two-state solution. It is therefore essential that partners delivering education services across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) uphold the highest standards of neutrality. The majority of education services across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are delivered by the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or the Palestinian Authority. Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality notes the most recent UNRWA Rapid Review of textbooks from the Palestinian Authority (2022/2023) "found that 3.85 per cent of all textbook pages contain "issues of concern to UN values, guidance, or position on the conflict," either because they are deemed "educationally inappropriate" or because they are not in line with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) standards." The UK supports the Colonna review's conclusion that "the presence of even a small fraction of problematic content in textbooks, supplemental material and teaching content remains a serious issue." We welcome the initiatives launched by UNRWA to ensure neutrality of its educational material and teaching, in addition to its longstanding work with UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority to reform curricula and educational materials. £1 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year has been earmarked for the implementation of the Colonna review's recommendations. We also welcome the Palestinian Authority's commitment to enriching curricula and supporting development of educational material in its Education Sector Strategic Plan (2024-2027), with the support of UNESCO. On January 22nd, I met Marcus Sheff, CEO of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), to discuss opportunities for further educational development.