Written questions by Arthur.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he holds evidence on the use of F-35 jets to breach international law in Gaza.

No, we don't. We have carefully collated, reviewed and assessed relevant evidence concerning the Gaza conflict. The action we have taken, as announced to Parliament, is consistent with our legal obligations and we remain wholly committed to international law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether international allies have raised concerns with him on the use of UK made F-35 parts in Gaza.

Conversations with F-35 Partners occur regularly and cover a range of issues, however we are unable to disclose details of confidential conversations held within an international programme.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to maintain the level of UK funding for GAVI.

The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa and we look forward to the Gavi replenishment on 25 June. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to maintain the level of UK funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa and we look forward to the Gavi replenishment on 25 June. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with UK regional allies on alternative aid routes into Gaza.

All routes to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza must be approved by the Government of Israel. The UK has previously collaborated with regional partners on alternative routes, including air drops and a maritime corridor. However, these cannot substitute delivery by land, which remains the best way to get aid in at the scale required. On 19 May, the UK signed a joint donor statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza calling for a full resumption of aid and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently. The Government of Israel must abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

On 28 April, the UK announced a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including £101 million for humanitarian aid, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform. As part of this package, on 21 May the Minister for Development announced a £4 million contribution to the British Red Cross to deliver humanitarian relief in Gaza through their partner the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. On 19 May we issued a statement, with France and Canada, calling on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter. We also issued a joint donor statement with 26 other signatories calling for a full resumption of aid into Gaza and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently. We continue to call on Israel to allow for a full resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether RAF surveillance flights over Gaza have uncovered evidence of breaches of international law.

The operational mandate for these flights, have been narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only. These Royal Air Force surveillance flights are unarmed and do not have a combat role. We will not comment further on detailed intelligence matters to protect operational security.Our International Humanitarian Law (IHL) assessments include information from a wide range of sources, including a third-party contractor specialising in geolocation verification and consider analysis from a wide range of sources including the United Nations, Non-Governmental Organisations, media and organisations on the ground.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what economic steps he is taking to encourage Israel to allow aid into Gaza.

On 20 May, the Foreign Secretary announced that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli Government on a new free trade agreement. We will be reviewing cooperation with them under the 2030 Bilateral Roadmap. On 19 May we issued a statement, with France and Canada, calling on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter. We continue to call on Israel to allow for a full resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with international partners on the Israeli government's proposals to permanently (a) occupy Gaza and (b) displace its population.

The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK strongly opposes the expansion of Israel's operations in Gaza. We have repeatedly stated that Palestinian territory must not be reduced in the conduct of this war or subjected to demographic change, and that there must be no forced displacement of people from Gaza. Ministers have made these views clear in their contacts with Israeli counterparts. We have worked closely with international partners to set out our concerns in joint statements, including the Prime Minister's joint statement with his Canadian and French counterparts on 19 May. We have also clearly set out our concerns at the UN Security Council. On 20 May, the Foreign Secretary set out the Government's latest steps in response to the situation in Gaza, including suspending negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement. He also made clear that if Israel pursues this military offensive as it has threatened, failing to ensure the unhindered provision of aid, we will take further actions in response.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with NGOs on alternative aid routes into Gaza.

All routes to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza must be approved by the Government of Israel. The UK regularly engages with the United Nations, humanitarian partners and Non-Governmental Organisations, who provide insights into the challenges facing the humanitarian response in Gaza, informing UK policy. The UK has previously collaborated with regional partners on alternative routes, including air drops and a maritime corridor. However these cannot substitute delivery by land, which remains the best way to get aid in at the scale required. On 19 May, the UK signed a joint donor statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza calling for a full resumption of aid and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently. The Government of Israel must abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help restrict the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

We are clear that settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the prospects for peace. I have condemned the 22 new settlements announced by Israel on 29 May and we regularly urge Israel to halt settlement expansion in our diplomatic engagements. As I said to the House on 4 June, the viability of a two-state solution, and of the two states living side by side, is being undermined, and we will continue to take action to avert that.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK exports are not used to help facilitate potential human rights abuses.

Each export licence application is assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which provides a thorough risk assessment framework. The Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria for a controlled item. The Criteria require us to carefully consider the impact of the export of items and their capabilities. Risks around human rights violations and abuses are a key part of our assessment. The Government will not grant a licence for items where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression which includes a serious violation of human rights.Legislation also expressly provides for these stringent processes and standards to be applied to non-controlled goods on a case-by-case basis, items intended for use by the military, paramilitary, security forces (including government intelligence organisations), or police forces of a destination, subject to an arms embargo.We can and do respond quickly and flexibly to changing or fluid international situations. All licences are kept under review as standard.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with (a) the Government of Pakistan and (b) other international partners on incidents of Ahmadiyya Muslims being barred from congregational Eid worship; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of such incidents on levels of human rights in Pakistan.

Promoting freedom of religion or belief is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement overseas. We are concerned by the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, including reports they were prevented from offering prayers over Ramadan and Eid. I discussed the right of Ahmadi Muslims to practice their faith in a meeting with Pakistan's Minister of State for the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, on 31 March. On 16 April, Lord Khan of Burnley raised Ahmadi rights in a meeting with Pakistan's Minster for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf. The UK Government regularly engages with members of the Ahmadi community, both in Pakistan and the UK, to inform our understanding of the issues they are facing. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in accordance with international standards.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned reduction to ODA spending on the UK's commitment to the Agenda 2030 leaving-no-one- behind principle.

Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. The UK remains committed to Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the underlying principle to leave no one behind. We will continue to work with partners at home and internationally to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he will consider reallocating proposed capital financing for British International Investment to aid spending.

All development funding, including for British International Investment, will be considered as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review and subsequent resource allocation round.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Foreign Secretary launches expert reviews to strengthen UK’s global impact and expertise, published on 9 September 2024, when he plans to publish the findings of the three reviews.

The reviews' reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made on the introduction of a publicly accessible register on beneficial ownership of businesses registered in their jurisdiction by each British Overseas Territory.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.I discussed progress on beneficial ownership transparency with Premier Wheatley (BVI) last month. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) senior official visited BVI earlier this month and met with government and the finance industry. Every Territory is making progress towards the JMC commitments and FCDO officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at the JMC. I have and will continue to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories.The Government is keeping this under close review and will carefully consider what further steps to take if the registers are not delivered as per JMC agreements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the British Virgin Islands and (b) the Cayman Islands on the introduction of public registers of beneficial ownership.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.I discussed progress on beneficial ownership transparency with Premier Wheatley (BVI) last month. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) senior official visited BVI earlier this month and met with government and the finance industry. Every Territory is making progress towards the JMC commitments and FCDO officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at the JMC. I have and will continue to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories.The Government is keeping this under close review and will carefully consider what further steps to take if the registers are not delivered as per JMC agreements.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the Official Development Assistance budget on (a) education and (b) health outcomes in Malawi.

The UK Government remains committed to working in partnership with Malawi, to support its development. Our current development assistance focuses on strengthening health systems, improving education outcomes, supporting economic development and climate resilience. As the UK transitions to an Official Development Assistance budget of 0.3 per cent of gross national income globally, we will continue to prioritise aid effectiveness and targeting assistance where it can have the greatest impact.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support African countries whose economies are affected by debt repayments.

Supporting all developing countries -including those in Africa - to tackle unsustainable debt is a key development priority of this government. We are working with all our partners to support sustainable debt and ensure all countries have the fiscal space to invest and grow. Where we are a creditor, we have fully engaged in multilateral negotiations with debtor countries via the Paris Club and G20 Common Framework mechanisms to put their debt back on a sustainable trajectory.We welcome the G20 Common Framework debt agreements with Zambia and Ghana achieved last year but recognise these treatments took too long. We are therefore calling for efforts to strengthen, speed up and expand the Common Framework to all low and middle-income countries, whilst also building the enabling environment for more sustainable and transparent lending and strengthened public financial management. The Chancellor has recently announced the London Coalition on Sustainable Debt to progress these objectives with the private creditors.