Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities in Syria.

The UK has consistently underlined the importance of protecting all civilians in Syria, including religious and ethnic minorities, publicly and in its engagement with regional and international partners. We are closely monitoring the treatment of religious minorities.The UK continues to champion Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all in Syria, and beyond. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. Promoting FoRB is critical to building a sustainable future for all Syrians, advancing the recognition of cultural and religious diversity, while ensuring equality and human dignity for all.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects Baroness Shafik’s strategic review of international development to be (a) completed and (b) published.

The Development Review has been submitted to the Foreign Secretary alongside the Global Impact and Economic Diplomacy reviews. The Development review is being considered by the Foreign Secretary and Minister for International Development. Consideration will then also be given to how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings which will be in the new year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support (a) public institutions and (b) the civil service in Syria.

The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the fast moving events in Syria, speaking regularly to regional and other partners about the situation. These early discussions have focused on protecting civilians, including minorities, and moving quickly to a political transition. The UK stands ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance that ensures respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, the protection of all Syrians, transparency and accountability. We are urging all those seeking a role in governing Syria to prevent the collapse of state institutions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK sanctions on Belarus.

Sanctions are carefully targeted to increase pressure over time. We regularly review our sanctions in order to maintain effectiveness. 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. The UK will continue to work closely with our partners in holding Lukashenko to account.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a strategy to tackle the detention of UK dual-nationals by foreign countries.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) assesses all requests for consular assistance in line with our public consular charter and broader consular and crisis strategy. This includes our assistance to British dual nationals, including those who are detained overseas. The FCDO seeks continuously to improve our processes and services to strengthen our support for British nationals abroad.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Middle East on the situation in Syria.

The UK has been at the forefront of the response to fast moving events in Syria, speaking regularly to regional and other partners about the situation. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria and a number of regional counterparts. I have also discussed the developments in Syria with regional partners and Syrian civil society actors.The focus of discussions has been on protecting civilians, including minorities, and moving quickly to a political transition. It is essential that this transition is inclusive, comprehensive and most importantly determined by the Syrian people themselves. The UK will continue to engage closely with Syrian contacts, international and regional partners to support a peaceful political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Kosovo and (b) countries neighbouring Kosovo.

The Foreign Secretary and I have engaged with counterparts in Kosovo and neighbouring states in the Western Balkans several times in recent months. With Kosovo, the Foreign Secretary messaged President Osmani on 30 November, and I spoke to Prime Minister Kurti on 1 December, following the 29 November attack on critical infrastructure in northern Kosovo. I spoke to Serbian Foreign Minister Djuric on 1 December on the same subject. On 3 December I met Albanian Foreign Minister Hasani, Montenegrin Foreign Minister Ibrahimović and Macedonian Foreign Minister Mucunski at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, covering a range of bilateral and regional issues including security, growth and aspirations for Euro-Atlantic alignment. In October I also had substantive meetings with Foreign Minister Djuric and Foreign Minister Ibrahimović during the Berlin Process Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help secure a peaceful political process in Syria.

The UK has been at the forefront of the response to fast moving events in Syria, speaking regularly to regional and other partners about the situation. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria and a number of regional counterparts. I have also discussed the developments in Syria with regional partners and Syrian civil society actors.The focus of discussions has been on protecting civilians, including minorities, and moving quickly to a political transition. It is essential that this transition is inclusive, comprehensive and most importantly determined by the Syrian people themselves. The UK will continue to engage closely with Syrian contacts, international and regional partners to support a peaceful political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure access to education for women and girls in Syria.

Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria, including through active engagement with women's rights activists, women-led organisations and women involved in the political process. Over the 2023-24 financial year, 53 percent of UK humanitarian programming in Syria was spent supporting women and girls. The UK will continue to engage closely with Syrian contacts, international and regional partners to support an inclusive political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help safeguard the rights of women and girls in Syria.

Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria, including through active engagement with women's rights activists, women-led organisations and women involved in the political process. Over the 2023-24 financial year, 53 percent of UK humanitarian programming in Syria was spent supporting women and girls. The UK will continue to engage closely with Syrian contacts, international and regional partners to support an inclusive political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to ensure access of humanitarian aid into Syria.

The UK is calling on all parties to support humanitarian access, including access and protection for humanitarian workers in all regions of Syria. We are working closely with humanitarian and international partners to monitor the situation, assess impacts and needs, and determine how best to respond.The UK continues to support those in need across Syria, where it is safe to do so. Through NGOs and UN organisations, we are providing food, healthcare and other life-saving assistance. The UK has announced an additional £61 million in funding since November 2024 to support vulnerable Syrians, in Syria and the region.In addition, I announced in early December an additional £300,000 in funding to the White Helmets after meeting them to discuss their vital work across Syria. The funding will support search and rescue operations, facilitate humanitarian access, allow the expansion of their existing ambulance system and enable the safe removal of unexploded weapons.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his planned timetable is for laying the agreement with Mauritius before Parliament for ratification.

Following signature, the Treaty will be laid before Parliament in the usual way, consistent with the Constitutional Reform and Governance (CraG) Act 2010. The Government also intends to bring forward a Bill to implement the Treaty in domestic law, as soon as Parliamentary schedule allows.We will keep the House updated.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the Rt hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills during the Oral Statement of 28 November 2024 on UK Leadership on Sudan, Official Report, column 945, with which countries in the African Union he has had bilateral engagements on the situation in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those engagements in securing access to humanitarian aid within Sudan.

I have raised the issue of humanitarian access with key regional actors, including during my visit to South Sudan and Ethiopia in August, as well as in bilateral engagements with Egypt at the Humanitarian Forum in Cairo in December. The Foreign Secretary also engaged with the African Union and African Security Council members during his visit to New York in November, including at a roundtable he hosted where he urged states to use their influence with the warring parties to push for improved humanitarian access in Sudan. In December, Lord Collins also spoke to the Ugandan Foreign Minister on Sudan to seek views on how we can work more closely to support region-led mediation efforts, particularly with the African Union. He also hosted an open briefing at the UN Security Council (UNSC), during the UK's presidency in November, with a focus on the protection of civilians' recommendations. The UK also co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians, which failed to pass due to a Russian veto. We welcome the recent diplomatic efforts including by the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) members such as Egypt to pressure the Sudanese authorities to keep the Adré border open. We will continue to use our engagements with African partners to push for Adré to remain open permanently, for alternative cross-border routes beyond Adré, and for greater crossline access.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK sanctions on Chinese (a) people and (b) businesses.

UK sanctions are designed and targeted to deter and disrupt malign behaviour, and to demonstrate our defence of fundamental principles, including democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The FCDO regularly reviews the effectiveness and impact of our sanctions regimes. Any assessment will depend on the intended purposes of each individual regime, which are set out in the regulations for that regime. The FCDO keeps all evidence and potential designations under close review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Russian interference in the upcoming Ghanaian general election.

Foreign actors, including Russia, attempt to use information manipulation and interference to manipulate social discourse, skew national and international debates on subjects of critical importance, and try to undermine democratic institutions and national security. In Africa, Russia-linked media and influence organisations are using disinformation to garner support for Russian activity and discredit others.We are working with our African partners to strengthen resilience to malign activity through strategic security and defence relationships alongside humanitarian, development and stabilisation programmes. The UK and Ghana are strong partners and we support the integrity of its elections and strength of its democracy. The UK's approach to supporting Ghana's resilience, including during its elections period, is focused on partnering with civil society, which has an essential role in ensuring a credible and transparent process. The UK's £5 million Ghana Governance Programme is working to support democracy and strong governance. This includes delivering communication and media relations training to counter and tackle mis/disinformation during the election.During his visit to Ghana in September, Lord Collins met with the President and the two main Presidential candidates and welcomed Ghana's commitment to democracy, highlighting the importance of credible, transparent and inclusive elections.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to facilitate an inward visit to the UK from former President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen.

The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong unofficial relationship based on deep and growing ties in a wide range of areas and underpinned by shared democratic values. There is a longstanding pattern of senior visits between the UK and Taiwan, including many conducted independently of HMG.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the incoming US Administration on securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Whilst we have not had any official discussions with the incoming US administration regarding the release of hostages, our position remains clear. It is appalling that hostages taken by Hamas terrorists on 7 October are still being held captive, including one British national, Emily Damari, and three hostages with strong British links. We have supported hostage talks throughout, and continue to work alongside our allies and partners in the region, exercising every possible diplomatic lever to see the hostages immediately and unconditionally released. We thank the US, Qatar, Egypt, and all international partners, for their coordinating efforts. Ensuring the release of all hostages remains a top priority for this government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the (a) expulsion of a UK diplomat by Russia and (b) travel bans issued by Russia on UK officials and Ministers.

The UK condemns harassment of diplomats in the strongest terms including the malicious and completely baseless accusations made against FCDO staff in Russia. We do not comment on specific Russian travel bans. No Minister will be visiting Russia in the current circumstances of their egregious actions not least their continued barbarous and illegal war against Ukraine.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam in Mauritius.

After his recent election, the UK sent congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Ramgoolam. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Jonathan Powell, then visited Mauritius and met Prime Minister Ramgoolam on 25 November. We look forward to developing our shared priorities with the new Government of Mauritius.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in ensuring free and fair elections in Romania.

The UK is a strong supporter of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). While ODIHR did not send an election observation mission to Romania on this occasion, the UK will continue to work closely with the OSCE to support democratic values in the region.On 6 December the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the Presidential election. On 7 December the Foreign Secretary set out UK concerns following reports from the Romanian authorities of Russian interference in their Presidential elections and reiterated the importance of elections being decided by the Romanian people, freely and fairly, he further stated that the UK remains a resolute Ally to Romania and is confident in its democracy.On 4 December the Foreign Secretary met Romanian FM Odobescu in the margins of NATO Foreign Ministers, and on 12 November I hosted FM Odobescu in London. In both of these meetings we reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening our bilateral relationship and our shared concerns regarding Russian hybrid threats in the region.