Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide humanitarian support to Northwest Nigeria.

The UK's Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP) provides support to those in urgent need of assistance in the North-East of Nigeria, one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. Through HARP, we have reached approximately one million people, reducing mortality and increasing resilience for people with the most severe humanitarian needs in the North-East, including those displaced by conflict and violence. We are also working closely and regularly engage the Government of Nigeria on the best ways to meet the challenge of rising displacement and growing humanitarian need.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international partners on increasing humanitarian aid to Sudan and its neighbouring countries.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan. Through a commitment of £226.5 million, we are delivering lifesaving aid to over one million people. Next month, the Foreign Secretary will convene Foreign Ministers in London to host an event marking the two year anniversary of the conflict. The event aims to increase international attention to the human cost of the conflict and to help deliver a more effective and scaled-up humanitarian response. The UK is doing all it can, in concert with our international partners, to address the crisis and its toll on the people of Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with multilateral development banks to better support small agrifood businesses in developing countries.

The UK works closely with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to influence policy discussions and investments in food and agriculture, including in support of small agrifood businesses and producer organisations, which are critical to building resilient local food systems and for inclusive growth. This includes engagement through initiatives like the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme, which involves all relevant MDBs, and the Private Sector Financing Programme at the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to collaborate with African nations on the Kampala Declaration.

Through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Africa Food Trade and Resilience programme, we have been working with the Africa Union Commission on the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process that led to the Kampala Declaration, including supporting the delivery of the Summit itself in January.This collaboration has been through our engagement in the Development Partners Coordination Group (DPCG) as well as working with African institutions to support the continent's food systems transformation. We will continue to strengthen our long term partnerships by working with African nations and institutions to progress their implementation of the Kampala Declaration and its objective to unlock growth through a stronger and more resilient African food and agriculture sector, that is also critical for our own and global supply chain security.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase funding for food security and nutrition programmes in conflict-affected regions in Nigeria.

The UK is committed to tackling the important issue of food insecurity in Nigeria. Firstly, we are supporting the World Bank provide assistance to deliver essential nutrition services through health facilities. Secondly, the UK is supporting a nutritious and resilient food system by scaling the production and consumption of biofortified crops in Nigeria. Thirdly, the UK is incentivising domestic resource allocation for nutrition via investment in the Child Nutrition Fund which several states as well as the federal government have accessed matched funding through for key nutrition commodities. The UK recently contributed £7.4 million towards a wider $30 million match by the federal government for the scale up of essential services to prevent and treat malnutrition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to integrate nutrition initiatives with climate adaptation in its international development programs.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office reports annually in its Nutrition Accountability Report on the level of International Climate Finance (ICF) that is nutrition sensitive. Data is published two years in arrears and on most recent figures 3 per cent of UK ICF is nutrition sensitive. The UK continues to champion the integration of improved nutrition outcomes alongside policy objectives in other sectors including health, agriculture, humanitarian, and climate adaptation. The UK government is looking forward to the upcoming 2025 Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris and is working closely with the French government to call for the integration of nutrition into climate programming at the summit.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to collaborate with (a) Médecins Sans Frontières and (b) other organisations to enhance healthcare access and resources for noma-affected regions.

The UK is committed to combating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.The UK supports the WHO's work, including on NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure stable long-term funding for international nutrition programmes.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.The UK worked in close partnership with France to make the recent Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris a success. The Minister for Development was pleased to lead the UK delegation, and alongside the Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and other partners, to launch the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration.Partners have welcomed the Compact as a new initiative to drive change and a positive signal of the UK's continued leadership on the global stage. Over 80 countries and organisations have already expressed support for the Compact, signalling their commitment to embed nutrition objectives into investments across other sectors, such as economic growth, climate and health, to boost impact and leverage existing financing for nutrition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide an official readout of the recent meeting of the UK Soft Power Council.

A summary of each meeting will be published on gov.uk. Officials and ministers from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Culture Media and Sport have in addition provided proactive briefings to parliamentarians and will consider further such briefings if there is sufficient demand.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the criteria were for appointing members of the Soft Power Council; and whether those members will provide declarations of interests for publication.

Members were identified based on their expertise and real-world experience in soft power and foreign policy domains. As is standard in appointment processes, due diligence and conflicts of interest declarations checks were carried out. These will not be published.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to review the classification of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organisation.

The Government does not routinely comment on whether a group is being considered for proscription or de-proscription.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international partners on the enforcement of ceasefire agreements in Gaza.

We welcome the agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. It is the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability, but we have always been clear that an immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The UK is ready to play a leading role with international and regional partners, in securing a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, based on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. Palestinians must be given a credible route to a Palestinian state, which is the right of the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January and stressed the UK's eagerness to support the negotiation process. I raised this matter when I spoke with Varsen Aghabekian, the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Foreign Affairs. We will continue working with partners to support a path to long term peace and stability with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure a sustained ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

We welcome the agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. It is the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability, but we have always been clear that an immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The UK is ready to play a leading role with international and regional partners, in securing a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, based on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. Palestinians must be given a credible route to a Palestinian state, which is the right of the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January and stressed the UK's eagerness to support the negotiation process. I raised this matter when I spoke with Varsen Aghabekian, the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Foreign Affairs. We will continue working with partners to support a path to long term peace and stability with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what performance indicators his Department uses to assess the impact of the UK Soft Power Council.

The Soft Power Council is just beginning its work. It has so far had one introductory meeting. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Culture Media and Sport will explore metrics to assess the impact of soft power as part of work on a new Soft Power Strategy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what documents he plans to publish on the work of the Soft Power Council.

The membership list and abridged terms of reference have already been published on gov.uk. Key points from the minutes will be published in the same way.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support global health initiatives for the (a) prevention, (b) early detection and (c) treatment of noma.

I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on the review of funding for Gavi under the spending review; and whether he has made a decision on future contributions.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi contributing £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK foreign policy of potential irregularities in the recent elections in Belarus.

The UK condemns the sham presidential election in Belarus on 26 January. In a joint statement alongside Australia, Canada, the EU and New Zealand, the UK denounced the election and called for fresh elections which meet international standards.The UK will continue to work with likeminded partners to call out the regime's violations of fundamental human rights and hold those responsible to account.We, alongside our partners, will continue to support civil society and human rights in the face of ongoing political pressure and support the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a free, democratic, and independent Belarus.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Belarusian counterpart on the release of political prisoners.

Despite the pardoning of over 250 political prisoners since July 2024, arrests and political repression continue and more than 1,200 political prisoners remain unjustly detained.We continue to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens. This includes actively raising the issue of political prisoners at the UN and the OSCE.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions relating to (a) finance, (b) trade, (c) aircraft, (d) shipping and (e) immigration on Belarus.

Sanctions are carefully targeted to increase pressure over time, and we regularly review our sanctions to maintain effectiveness and apply increasing pressure. We therefore reserve the right to introduce further measures so that the Lukashenko regime continues to feel the consequences for its lack of respect for human rights and support for Putin's war.Although the UK nexus with the Belarusian economy is limited, the signalling impact of our sanctions on Belarus is and will remain important.