Written questions by Gethins.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the meetings Ministers in his Department have had with Israeli officials since 7 December 2024.

FCDO Ministers meet with a wide range of officials, but there have been no official meetings with Israeli officials since 7 December 2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last had discussions with his Azerbaijani counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

The UK remains in close contact with the Azerbaijani Government on a wide range of issues, including the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. I spoke with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 31 October and discussed the situation in the region.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the conflict in Myanmar.

Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has provided more than £150 million for life-saving humanitarian assistance, healthcare, education and support for civil society and local communities in Myanmar. UK Ministers and officials work with many international partners to address the Myanmar crisis including the EU. G7 Foreign Ministers reiterated their commitment to addressing the Myanmar crisis in their November 2024 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. FCDO officials continue to coordinate with the EU on sanctions, including announcing a joint round of sanctions with Canada in October 2024 which targets the Myanmar military's access to military material, equipment and funds.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his department is taking to help countries disproportionately impacted by climate change implement (a) social and (b) economic adaptation measures.

Since 2011, the UK has supported over 110 million people to adapt to climate change.  We support countries to produce and implement whole-of-society national adaptation plans, have several regional programmes supporting climate-resilient economies, and fund research informing adaptation solutions. UK experts have developed financing models; after Hurricane Beryl this July, the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility paid over 76 million dollars to support their recovery. An initial investment in the Resilience and Adaptation Fund currently in development will enable vulnerable households to secure better incomes, assets, and access to food, water and productive land; building their resilience to climate change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September to Question 3985 on Palestinians: Fire and Rescue Services, if he will take steps to help ensure the delivery of that donation.

The UK continues to call on Israel to increase humanitarian and commercial access into the Occupied Palestinian Territories by ensuring all aid crossings are fully operational, including the port of Ashdod. The Foreign Secretary recently spoke to Israeli Officials and raised the urgent need for a rapid increase in aid for those most in need. FCDO officials have raised the matter of this donation directly with the Israeli authorities. At a UK-chaired meeting of the UN Security Council on 12 November, Lord Collins called on Israel to immediately make good on its commitment to flood Gaza with aid. The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed these messages and the urgent need for a resolution at the UN Security Council on 18 November.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help to low-income countries pursue green industrialisation pathways.

The UK Government is committed to helping low income countries pursue green industrialisation pathways by promoting inclusive and sustainable economic development, and supporting industrial decarbonisation.Examples include raising over £470 million of investment through Manufacturing Africa in Rwanda and Ethiopia, £7 million investment by British International Investment in Planet Solar, using solar power to increase Sierra Leone's power supply by 30%, and support to the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on global price fluctuations in heating oil resulting from conflict in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary and I have had no discussions with our international counterparts on global oil price fluctuations caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Home Office English Language Testing services on the British Council’s (a) finances and (b) ability to promote Scottish (i) further and (ii) higher education overseas.

My officials will follow up with the British Council on these points. The British Council is operationally independent from Government; its priorities, programmes and operations are approved by its Board of Trustees.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the British Council has adequate funding to effectively promote (a) Scottish and (b) wider UK (i) education and (ii) arts.

As an Arms Length Body, the British Council is operationally independent. They set out their plans in their Annual Corporate Plan. The Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. Our funding to the British Council underlines our support. FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports of the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan being shelled by Rapid Support Forces.

The UK is appalled by recent reports of the Rapid Support Forces' indiscriminate shelling of Zamzam camp, the largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Sudan. There are an estimated 500,000 people living in Zamzam camp, where famine was declared by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Committee in August. The warring parties must fulfil the commitments they made in Jeddah to prevent harm to civilians and abide by International Humanitarian Law. The UK is in touch with partners to ensure we support the response, including to those who may be displaced from the camp by the violence. The UK is one of the biggest supporters to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which provides support to local responders including the Emergency Response Rooms.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what events to mark St Andrew's day are taking place in UK embassies.

UK missions facilitate St Andrews's Day celebrations in a range of innovative ways, tailoring their support to both host-nation and Scottish diaspora interests. 2024 examples include: the Paris Embassy hosting a Reception, attended by the Deputy First Minister of Scotland; the Ottawa High Commission jointly hosting a reception with Scottish Government colleagues; and in Kyiv, activities highlighting Ukraine-Scotland connections - including their sharing St Andrew as the national patron saint. In Singapore, FCDO officials will support the Secretary of State for Scotland's attendance as guest of honour at an event attended by 450 guests from the business and Scottish diaspora community.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's publication entitled Georgia, Parliamentary Elections, 26 October 2024: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, published on 25 October 2024.

I fully endorse the findings of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights report. I made this clear in my statement of 27 October, and our Embassy in Tbilisi reiterated our concerns regarding the need to transparently and thoroughly investigate allegations of electoral violations in a further public statement on 25 November. The new Georgian Government must ensure that these concerns are addressed, and return to a trajectory inline with the democratic values expected of an aspirant NATO member.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help counter disinformation in Moldova.

As the Foreign Secretary made clear during his visit to Moldova on 20 November, the UK is committed to supporting Moldova's democratic resilience in the face of Russian hybrid aggression. During my visit to Chisinau on 16-17 September, I met President Sandu, Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi and Defence Minister Nosatii to reaffirm the UK's steadfast support. This year alone, the UK is providing £34 million of humanitarian, development and defence support to Moldova, including £6.3 million through the Good Governance Fund to strengthen Moldova's capacity to respond to internal and external threats including information threats.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Colombian counterpart on the UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The UK has consistently been one of the leading international investors in Colombia. UK investors are protected by the Bilateral Investment Treaty and use it to inform their investment decisions. Since the formation of the new government, FCDO and DBT officials have discussed the content and provisions of the Treaty with the Colombian Government, including impact on various sectors. The Colombian Government has committed to working with us to ensure the agreement can continue to deliver benefits for UK businesses and Colombia.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Alongside our European allies, we continue to urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to utilise upcoming multilateral meetings to maintain momentum on the peace process to finalise a lasting peace agreement. Officials in London, Baku and Yerevan remain in regular close contact with European counterparts on peace negotiations. We regularly discuss these issues with our European counterparts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to disburse the £89 million pledged to Sudan in March 2024.

As of the end of September 2024, £70 million had been disbursed. The rest of the UK's funding to Sudan this year - which now stands at £97 million following further UK support since March - will be distributed by the end of the financial year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to implement the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Strategy beyond 2025.

Preventing conflict and empowering women and girls is critical to the delivery of the government's missions, and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) remains a priority for the UK. We are working to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, including as vice chair of the International Alliance on PSVI and by supporting thousands of survivors around the world. Decisions on exact future strategies will be taken by ministers in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take with his US counterpart to promote expanded humanitarian access to Sudan; and what steps he has taken to remove barriers to humanitarian assistance in that country.

The conflict in Sudan has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with famine now declared in Zamzam IDP camp in Darfur. 25.6 million people are facing crisis, emergency and famine levels of food insecurity across Sudan. The UK continues to put pressure on the Sudanese authorities to keep the Adre border open and allow for humanitarian assistance to reach those most in need. The UK works closely with key international partners, including the US, to bring an end to the conflict, protect civilians and press for improved humanitarian access. The UK welcomes the formation and work of the newly formed ALPS (Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan) group. The UK will continue to work with the US to put pressure on the warring parties to open up humanitarian access to ensure life-saving assistance can reach people in need. In August, I visited the region where I saw the impact of the conflict in Sudan on South Sudan - a country already facing its own humanitarian emergency. Here, I met with those who had fled both violence and hunger, re-iterating the true cost of this conflict and also met with bilateral partners including the US Ambassador to South Sudan. Lord Collins also co-hosted a side event at UNGA focused on tackling conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. This event spotlighted the situation for women and girls on the ground, explored the gaps in the ongoing response to CRSV, including the role of the international community in supporting and facilitating local and women-led efforts, and highlighted the urgent need for accountability.