Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding’ published on 28 April 2025, what steps he is taking to discuss (a) freedom of expression, (b) media freedom and (c) civil liberties with the Palestinian Authority.

The UK supports the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform'. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding (UK-PA MoU), the PA underlined the importance of democratic renewal, and committed to advancing this through widening freedom of expression, media freedom and civil liberties. As part of the UK-PA MoU, the PA committed to delivering its reforms as a matter of priority, and we continue to engage the PA on the delivery of these reforms.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhill of 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, if he will publish the bilateral humanitarian aid spend allocation to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the 2025-26 financial year.

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. Once the remainder of the funding has been allocated, we will publish the information.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, what information his Department holds on the timescale for the Palestinian Authority to hold (a) presidential and (b) parliamentary elections.

The UK supports and commends the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform', based on its seven strategic development initiatives and four institutional performance and service delivery reform pillars. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding, the PA committed to convening Presidential and Parliamentary elections within the shortest feasible timeframe. President Abbas has publicly outlined his commitment to holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections within a year. We continue to encourage the PA to work towards genuine and democratic elections within the shortest feasible timeframe.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with his international counterparts to provide security to humanitarian agencies in Sudan.

The UK condemns in the strongest terms attacks on aid workers in Sudan. The warring parties are required to uphold international humanitarian and human rights obligations and to implement relevant UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), including UNSCR 2736 (2024) on El Fasher, Darfur. In our recent public statements, we have reiterated the importance of the warring parties acting in accordance with such commitments. In June, the UK signed a joint statement with 30 other donors condemning an attack on a UN aid convoy, calling for the warring parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement following renewed attacks in El Fasher, calling for the warring parties to give humanitarian actors the security guarantees needed to deliver aid rapidly and safely, including through a 72-hour pause in fighting. The UK is also providing financial support to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to enable their human rights monitoring and reporting. In October 2024, we led the renewal of the UN Fact Finding Mission for Sudan's mandate as part of the Sudan 'Core Group' in the Human Rights Council to hold those harming humanitarian agencies to account.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK and Palestinian strategic cooperation: memorandum of understanding, published on 28 April 2025, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help build capacity in the Palestinian Authority to hold free and fair elections.

The UK supports the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to delivering its ambitious and necessary 'National Program for Development and Reform'. As part of the UK-PA Memorandum of Understanding, the PA committed to convening Presidential and Parliamentary elections within the shortest feasible timeframe. The UK is spending £101 million this financial year in Official Development Assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories directed at humanitarian relief, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening PA governance and reform. We continue to encourage the PA to work towards genuine and democratic elections within the shortest feasible timeframe.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt Hon Member for Aldridge-Brownhills on 2 July 2025 on West Bank: Forced Displacement, Official Report, column 770, what steps he is taking to get (a) new aid routes into the Occupied Palestinian Territories opened and (b) more aid where it is needed most.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. Not enough aid is getting in and vital services such as water supplies, ambulances and hospitals are at risk of shutting down due to fuel shortages. On 12 July, the UN stated that fuel shortages in Gaza had reached a critical level. The small amounts that have been allowed to enter in recent days are nowhere near enough. We continue to call on Israel to allow for a full and unhindered resurgence in the flow of aid into Gaza and to allow the UN and humanitarian partners to operate in line with humanitarian principles. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 12 July, where he reiterated our concerns about the situation on the ground and pressed for a return to a ceasefire. We called on Israel to open all access routes and allow fuel into Gaza at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 30 June.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63636 on BBC World Service, which projects were not settled in the Spending Review and will be determined under separate consideration in the autumn.

We now have our departmental allocation in the Spending Review. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA allocations and the impact on programmes, including the BBC World Service, are being worked through between now and the autumn.The World Service's Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years will be decided through this process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what budget was allocated for his Department's involvement at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville and how many (a) officials,(b) ministers and (c) special advisers attended.

The Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean, led the UK's delegation at the Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) in Seville. Alongside the Minister, fourteen Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials supported and represented the UK at a range of events, including two UK-led initiatives, across the four days of the conference. No Special Advisors attended. The UK contributed £250,000 to the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs FfD4 Fund to support participation from accredited civil society organisations and academia primarily from developing countries.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's news story entitled Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office summons Georgian Chargé d'Affaires, published on 30 June 2025, what response his Department has received from the Government of Georgia following his summoning of their Charge d'Affaires.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not received any formal response from the Georgian Dream Government to its summons of the Georgian Chargé d'Affaires on 30 June 2025. The UK, alongside European partners, remains deeply concerned by the Georgian authorities' continued repression of civil society and political opposition, as stated in our joint statement of 11 July. We continue to urge the Georgian Dream Government to reverse repressive measures, release unjustly detained individuals, and engage in meaningful national dialogue to restore democratic norms and uphold human rights.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his new development financing strategy will prioritise the most vulnerable countries.

Reducing poverty in the world's poorest, most fragile and unstable environments remains central to our Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK will remain a leading humanitarian actor, in a world where 300 million people require humanitarian assistance. That includes our continued bilateral support to Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan.Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. We need to focus on greater impact, ensuring every pound delivers for the UK taxpayer and the people we support. We will sharpen our focus on three priorities that align with the needs of our partners, UK interests, and where we can drive real change: humanitarian, health, and climate and nature, underpinned by economic development.We expect to publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts on the 21 July. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of 16 June 2025, how the £200 million uplift in non-ODA spending in 2025-26 will be allocated across the priorities he identifies.

The £200 million non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending uplift is from 2026/27 onwards as was agreed in the latest Spending Review. There is no £200 million uplift in 2025/26. Decisions on the allocation of non-ODA programme will be agreed during the multi-year allocations process, expected to conclude in the Autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department will take steps to support (a) the freedom of expression and (b) civil society in Georgia.

I remain deeply concerned by the Georgian Dream government's increasing repression of opposition voices, civil society, and independent media. On 11 July in coordination with European partners, the Foreign Secretary condemned politically motivated detentions of opposition politicians. I have repeatedly called out repressive legislation targeting Civil society and peaceful protesters. We have downgraded our bilateral cooperation and are considering all other options available to us. We urge Georgian Dream to reverse course and engage in inclusive national dialogue with all stakeholders in Georgia's future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, dated 16 June 2025, what changes he plans to make in the context of his comments on (a) working as an investor rather than only a donor and (b) moving from service delivery to system support.

We have been clear that we must transform what development means to respond to the global context. For too long it has been the Global North telling the Global South how to work - we will work in partnership, not paternalism.When moving from donor to investor, we will partner with countries to unlock growth, jobs and trade through innovative finance and private sector investment - scaling up our instruments and public-private partnership to channel greater investment. And when moving from service delivery to system support, we will prioritise helping countries build their own education, health, and economic systems so they can thrive without aid, including by expanding the way that UK expertise works alongside countries. We must modernise our approach, make choices and focus on greater impact - ensuring every pound delivers for the UK taxpayer and the people we support.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s contribution to the Pandemic Fund.

The UK has committed £25 million to the Pandemic Fund. We remain committed to building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacity and capability in developing countries, including through our other multilateral investments and diplomatic engagement.We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of decision to close the Fleming Fund.

To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027. This reflects the world we live in and the threats our country faces and to maintain economic stability - the foundation of this Government's Plan for Change.Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a top priority for the UK Government and is vital also for protecting our NHS. The UK played a key role in securing an action-oriented Political Declaration from the UN High Level Meeting on AMR last September, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance.The UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration. Regarding specific UK funding in light of the upcoming conclusion of the work of the Fleming Fund in its current form we are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide transitional funding to help prevent the closure of surveillance laboratories.

The UK recognises the role that surveillance laboratories play in early detection and response to infectious disease threats. We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, dated 16 June 2025, what multilateral organisations he plans to prioritise.

We will prioritise multilaterals in the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget, while driving reform of the multilateral system to strengthen its most important parts - humanitarian, health, climate, and the global financial system - to help lower-income countries sustain their progress and become self-sufficient.We will support the most effective multilateral organisations, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (as demonstrated by our recent commitment of £1.25 billion between 2026 and 2030), the Global Fund, and the World Bank's International Development Association.We will publish our support to some multilateral organisations throughout the year as commitments are made and report on all ODA spending in the Statistics on International Development publication.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his expected outcomes are of the UK-Kenya strategic partnership on (a) trade and (b) economic cooperation.

The new Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership 2025-2030 provides a comprehensive framework to progress our shared objectives, strengthening the bilateral relationship and delivering growth for the UK and Kenya. This new partnership will potentially deliver £1 billion through exports, engineering jobs and defence manufacturing jobs in Northampton and County Durham. We have also agreed with Kenya to explore a new Digital Trading Agreement, and to aim to double trade by 2030 in areas including financial services, digital and technology, and defence and security. The Partnership has also seen Lloyd's of London enter the Nairobi insurance market, which will be a gateway to the East Africa Market, valued up to £0.5 billion (Kshs.88billion).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the FCDO Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership: Joint Statement, published on 2 July 2025, what budget has been allocated for the Nairobi Railway City project; in which financial years the cost will be incurred; and whether this will be current or capital expenditure.

The Nairobi Railway City Project is a Government of Kenya funded project. The UK government has allocated £2 million to provide Kenya with technical assistance to help it structure, phase, manage and deliver the series of infrastructure projects that will make up the 438-acre Nairobi Railway City Project. The first of these projects involves the construction of a new Central Railway Station and public realm. For this first project on top of our technical assistance the Government of Kenya is considering raising financing to construct the station with the support of potentially £150 million in funding through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK's Export Credit Agency. As this project is in its early stages, the financial years in which the costs will be incurred, and the type of expenditure are to be yet confirmed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support Kenya’s security priorities as part of the newly announced strategic partnership.

The Strategic Partnership will strengthen our joint response to regional terrorism, illicit finance, cyber attacks and organised crime, to keep Kenyans and British Nationals safe. This is underpinned by the UK-Kenya Security Compact which was also signed during the recent Presidential visit to the UK. The renewed Compact is designed to address both traditional and emerging security threats. Priorities include tackling risks from digital spaces and new technologies, reducing irregular migration, and countering illicit finance. The partnership will continue to build on its strong foundation, ensuring that previous achievements are sustained and that new challenges are met with a coordinated, forward-looking approach.