Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 47686 on Humanitarian Aid, how much of the allocation has been (a) spent and (b) allocated.

The Humanitarian Crisis Reserve (HCR) value is £100 million for financial year 2025/26.At the time of asking, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has so far provided £15 million from the HCR this financial year to support the humanitarian response, following the severe earthquake in Myanmar.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 48940 on European Political Community, whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers from his Department attended.

The Prime Minister attended the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania on 16 May. No Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers attended. A small number of FCDO officials attended to support the Prime Minister's attendance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 49372 on Development Aid, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on achieving planned reductions for the next multi-year Spending Review.

The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog and reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review period to ensure more of our Official Development Assistance budget is spent on our development priorities overseas.The Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his Cabinet colleagues.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role the UK plans to play in building on Treaty of Jeddah processes.

The UK has consistently condemned abuses and atrocities committed by the warring parties to the conflict in Sudan. We will continue to use all levers at our disposal to promote the protection of civilians in accordance with the Jeddah Declaration. The co-chairs' statement issued at the London Sudan Conference on 15 April noted the important commitments articulated by the Jeddah Declaration. In June, the UK will for the first time join key international partners in the Sudan Consultative Group in Brussels and continue to uphold our calls for the belligerents to comply with the Jeddah Declaration.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking following the London-Sudan Conference on 15 April 2025 to help secure UN Security Council consensus on Sudan.

The UK continues to use its position as penholder on Sudan at the United Nations Security Council to take action to improve humanitarian access, to promote the protection of civilians and to secure an end to the fighting. We will work constructively with Council members in pursuit of these aims.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to ringfence education funding in Sudan following the planned reductions in UK ODA spending.

The UK is a major humanitarian donor to Sudan with £226.5 million provided in financial year (FY) 2024/25 and a further £120 million in support this current FY which the Foreign Secretary announced at the London Sudan Conference on 15 April. Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, millions of Sudanese civilians have benefitted from UK funded humanitarian programmes including education funding; around 90 per cent of children are out of school across Sudan. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are now determining how funding for FY 2025/26 will be allocated and further information will be provided in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what further multilateral steps he plans to take following the London-Sudan Conference on 15 April 2025 to support a political solution in Sudan.

The Foreign Secretary will continue to use all levers at his disposal to address Sudan's brutal conflict. As part of these efforts, the Foreign Secretary will engage with a range of multilateral partners to improve humanitarian access, to promote the protection of civilians and to secure an end to the fighting. Next month, the UK will, for the first time, join a meeting of the Consultative Group, which comprises representatives from the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States and the United Nations, to discuss joint efforts for peace and efforts to bring both parties to the conflict to the negotiating table.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 47226 on Sudan: Food Aid, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-funded humanitarian assistance in Sudan directly reaches (a) protection services, (b) maternal healthcare, (c) access to food aid and (d) other services for women and girls.

The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on civilians throughout the country, particularly women and girls. At the recent London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a package of support budgeted at £120 million which will deliver life-saving services to more than 650,000 people. The majority of this funding will be delivered through key UN agencies, including UNICEF and the World Food Programme which will provide life-saving food and nutrition supplies as well as vital water, sanitation, maternal and hygiene programmes. Through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation programme, this funding will also support work on protection, prevention and care services in response to the increasing rates of gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence across Sudan and provide emergency support to survivors of these atrocities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of adequacy of levels of access granted to UN agencies to Sudan for the provision of humanitarian support.

Impediments to aid delivery imposed by the warring parties in Sudan are having a devastating impact on civilians. Our Ministers and diplomats are doing all they can to improve humanitarian access. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urge them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel. At the conference the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 48426 on Sudan: Humanitarian Aid, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK aid is reaching the people that need it in Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian access into and within Sudan. We will continue to use all levers at our disposal to address Sudan's brutal conflict and to improve humanitarian access. At the April London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the importance of humanitarian access and the co-chairs' statement from the Conference called on the warring parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in accordance with the commitments made in the Jeddah Declaration, and in adherence with their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Humanitarian Action on the situation in Sudan.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Ministers and officials are in frequent contact with Humanitarian Action for Sudan (HAS) as part of UK efforts to address Sudan's brutal conflict. Officials recently attended the HAS launch event and updated attendees on the London Sudan Conference. Officials have also met with the HAS representatives as part of consultations about future UK-funded humanitarian programmes in Sudan. Prior to the London Conference, the Minister for Africa hosted a roundtable with members of HAS, led by Zeinab Badawi, as part of our pre-Sudan Conference engagement with members of the Sudanese diaspora. This private event provided an opportunity to share ambitions and potential outcomes for the April 15 Sudan Conference and obtain and discuss thinking from HAS. The FCDO greatly values the knowledge and experience that HAS and other diaspora groups bring and we look forward to further engagements with them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to help tackle sexual violence in conflict in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of conflict in Sudan on women and girls.

The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence in Sudan. On 8 May 2025, the Minister for Development visited the Sudan-Chad border to raise awareness of the conflict and speak directly with Sudanese refugees, including survivors of sexual violence and torture. This followed a visit by the Foreign Secretary in January 2025, where he announced £20 million to support to lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services. At the London Sudan Conference on 15 April, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding for this financial year. Through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation programme, UK funding will also support work on protection, prevention and care services in response to the increasing rates of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) across Sudan. On 13 March, the Minister for Africa chaired a UN Security Council Briefing on CRSV in Sudan, highlighting the worsening trends and emphasising the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what budget his Department has allocated to the HAVEN programme for 2025-2026; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the budget for the rest of the Parliament.

By the end of the last financial year, the UK had provided over £477 million in humanitarian support to Ukraine and the region since the start of the full-scale invasion. This support included funding for the Humanitarian Action through Volunteers, Enablers and Networks (HAVEN) vital work in frontline areas. During a visit to Lviv on 9 May, the Foreign Secretary announced almost £25 million of new humanitarian funding for Ukraine which includes an additional £10 million for the HAVEN consortium, enabling them to continue providing essential frontline assistance this financial year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent earthquake in Myanmar on the balance his Department is striking between working with localised grassroots organisations and multilateral humanitarian agencies.

The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. The UK diversifies aid delivery through multilateral agencies, and local organisations, with almost 65 per cent of the UK's funding directed to local organisations on the ground in Myanmar.Through our flag-ship humanitarian programme, UK support through local organisations has reached over 201,000 people since the earthquake with essential humanitarian support. Overall, since the earthquake, UK-funded food, water, healthcare, and shelter has supported over 360,000 people so far.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) science, (b) technology, and (c) research sectors on using his Department's expertise on conflict prevention abroad.

Working closely with the science, technology and research sectors is an integral part of our approach to conflict prevention. Since 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has partnered with open-source investigation (OSINT) organisations that use remote technology to identify conflict risks and enable us to act earlier to help protect civilians. In regions where there are risks of violence, the FCDO has funded projects such as the Centre for Information Resilience's (CIR) Witness Project, which uses remote sensing technology to verify events in Sudan for the purposes of early warning of atrocities and to de-bunk denial and disinformation. We regularly engage with academic and research institutions to discuss the challenges and opportunities that technology poses to conflict prevention efforts. Most recently, we discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI) in conflict risk forecasting at a roundtable meeting with researchers from University College London and several other institutions at Chatham House in March 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund on lives saved from (a) malaria, (b) tuberculosis and (c) HIV/AIDS.

The Global Fund is a high performing partnership that has saved 65 million lives and reduced combined deaths across HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria by 63 per cent since 2002. The UK is a founding member and committed partner of the Global Fund, investing over £5.5 billion to date. Our current £1bn pledge to the 7th replenishment (2023-25) is expected to save approximately 1.3 million lives and avert 28 million new infections across the three diseases. Amongst other things, this funding is expected to provide antiretroviral therapy for 1.8 million people, provide TB treatment and care for 1.1 million people and distribute 86 million mosquito nets to protect children and families from malaria.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure (a) the International Committee of the Red Cross and (b) other agencies can operate safely in Gaza.

The UK reaffirms our support for the International Red Cross/Crescent Movement (ICRC) as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities in Gaza. Last year, we provided £5 million to support the International Red Cross/Crescent Movement's vital work in Gaza.In May, in an oral intervention at the International Court of Justice the UK called Israel's block on aid "unjustifiable" and urged ICRC access to detainees. In a written submission, the UK emphasised the ICRC's "special position" to be "recognised and protected at all times".At least 430 aid workers have been killed in Gaza. In April with France and Germany we called on Israel to protect humanitarians. We also called for full and transparent investigations into the attacks on the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and we expect those responsible to be meaningfully held accountable. On 13 May at the United Nations Security Council, the UK called a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and expressed outrage at the killing of Palestinian Red Crescent workers and the strikes on a United Nations Office for Project Services compound in March. I spoke with the Israeli Ambassador on 20 May to make clear that the UK stands firmly against Israel's resumption of military action in Gaza, its wholly inadequate plan for aid delivery and to demand that a full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza takes place immediately.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of security arrangements for humanitarian workers in Sudan.

Sudan remains an extremely perilous context for humanitarian personnel. Nearly 100 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the conflict started in April 2023. To protect civilians including aid workers, the UK continues to advocate that parties to the conflict uphold international humanitarian and human rights obligations as applicable, whilst calling for the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 2736 (2024) on El Fasher, Darfur. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary also issued a statement following renewed attacks in El Fasher, calling for security guarantees in order to deliver aid rapidly and safely.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of aid blocking by the warring parties in Sudan.

Impediments to aid delivery imposed by the warring parties in Sudan are having a devastating impact on civilians. UK Ministers and diplomats are doing all they can to improve access. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urge them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel. At the conference the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in UK funding which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect humanitarian workers in Sudan.

Sudan remains an extremely perilous context for humanitarian personnel. Nearly 100 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the conflict started in April 2023. To protect civilians including aid workers, the UK continues to advocate that parties to the conflict uphold international humanitarian and human rights obligations as applicable, whilst calling for the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 2736 (2024) on El Fasher, Darfur. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary also issued a statement following renewed attacks in El Fasher, calling for security guarantees in order to deliver aid rapidly and safely.