Written questions by Morton.

Communities and Local Government, what steps is she taking to encourage the development of affordable homes on brownfield sites.

The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes and other identified needs – such as affordable housing – and support development that makes efficient use of land.The government has also committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure that new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure, including on suitable brownfield sites. Further details will be set out in due course.At the Spending Review, the Chancellor announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36.This new Social and Affordable Homes Programme will give Registered Providers a decade of certainty over the capital funding they will have available to build new, more ambitious housing development projects.Outside of London, Homes England will be able to use this funding to support the development of affordable homes, including on suitable brownfield land across the country.The programme will not have numerical targets or ringfenced budgets for particular regions or types of home beyond the GLA’s portion, but we will ensure that established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (EMSAs), including the Mayor of the West Midlands, can set its strategic direction in their areas and indicative upfront spend subject to suitable projects.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to monitor the delivery of UK-funded aid in Afghanistan.

The Assurance and Learning Programme was established by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2022 to strengthen oversight of the delivery of UK-funded aid in Afghanistan by providing independent third-party monitoring and portfolio monitoring, evaluation and learning. In addition, officials visit Kabul regularly and meet partners there. FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes in Afghanistan have been subject to regular Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) oversight. FCDO facilitated a visit to Kabul by the ICAI Commissioner Sir Hugh Bayley in May 2024, where he met UN agencies and local and international NGOs supported by the UK to support the completion of an Information Note.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the potential impact of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan on women and girls.

Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of this humanitarian crisis due to systematic Taliban oppression. As I set out in my statement of 17 June, our independent monitoring shows that our assistance continues to reach vulnerable people, including women and girls. The UK government remains committed that at least 50% of people reached by UK aid are women and girls. We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's abhorrent policies towards women and girls and remain united with the international community in our firm opposition to continued restrictions. Upholding human rights and gender equality is not only a moral imperative but also essential for building a stable, inclusive, and prosperous country for all Afghans.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving the the UK Mission to Afghanistan from Doha to a UK-based Afghanistan department.

The UK Mission to Afghanistan in Doha closed on 30 June 2025. Mr Richard Lindsay was appointed as Special Envoy to Afghanistan on 17 June. He will lead a new Afghanistan department from the UK, taking on the duties of the current Chargé d'Affaires. These changes will not affect our resolve to support the people of Afghanistan, which is unwavering.This new approach will allow the UK to engage with a broader range of Afghans. The Special Envoy will engage the Taliban on UK priorities including counter terrorism, human rights, and humanitarian access; support intra-Afghan dialogue; engage women, religious and ethnic minorities who suffer at the hands of the Taliban; and work with regional countries on shared priorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) climate adaptation and (b) food resilience programmes in Afghanistan in 2024–25.

In financial year 2024-25, we allocated £171 million to provide vital support for vulnerable people in Afghanistan, including £65 million to the World Food Programme to help more than one million people with emergency food, resilience and nutrition assistance. In line with our international obligations the details of our annual International Climate Finance (ICF) spend are published through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including by recipient country or region. As I set out in my written statement of 17 June, we are launching new programming supporting Afghans to grow their own food, strengthen their resilience to climate shocks and water stress, improve their livelihoods, and reduce dependence on emergency aid.

Communities and Local Government, how many meetings Ministers in her Department have had with (a) Birmingham City Council and (b) Unite since the start of the waste collection industrial dispute in Birmingham.

Since Birmingham City Council’s declaration of a ‘major incident’ on 31 March, Ministers have been in regular contact with the Council to tackle the backlog of waste on the city’s streets.Ministers have not met with Unite.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it remains his policy to help ensure that at least 50% of recipients of UK aid in Afghanistan are women and girls.

The UK remains committed that at least 50 per cent of people reached by UK aid are women and girls - a commitment we have met every year since the Taliban takeover in 2021. We ensure UK aid reaches women and meets their needs. Over 750,000 women received emergency food assistance and over 1 million received health support through UK funding in 2023 to 2024. We look forward to publishing the results of our aid delivered in 2024/25 later this year, including to women and girls.

What assessment has she made of the adequacy of police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments.

The Government keeps police powers under regular review to ensure they remain effective.

What steps is she taking to support West Midlands Police to tackle unauthorised encampments.

The Government keeps police powers under regular review to ensure they remain effective.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the proportion of official development assistance that is being delivered through grassroots women-led delivery partners.

Following the Spending Review, detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of ongoing resource allocation processes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We remain focused on supporting and partnering with women's rights organisations and movements, recognising that there is strong evidence that grassroots women-led delivery partners play a significant role in securing and advancing women's rights as well as driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups. For example, the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme (2024-29) announced by the Prime Minister in December 2024 will strengthen local and national civil society organisations and movements to expand access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and counter rollback, within their own communities and countries. We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he taking is to encourage (a) large humanitarian aid donors, (b) multilateral organisations and (c) other partner nations to provide funding for women-led grassroots organisations in official development assistance-recipient countries.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is putting women and girls at the centre of our international work. We remain focused on supporting and partnering with women's rights organisations and movements, recognising that there is strong evidence that grassroots women-led delivery partners play a significant role in securing and advancing women's rights as well as driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups.We will use our convening power and diplomacy to maximise our impact in these areas. This includes by increasing the use of expertise to provide technical assistance to partner governments, and by using our voice to hold multilateral organisations to account on delivery for women and girls.

Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the funding announced for the 10‑year Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review 2025 will be spent in the West Midlands.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59018 on Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: Finance, what funding his Department has allocated for the financial year 2025/26.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) initial 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations aim to maximise the FCDO's flexibility ahead of setting final ODA allocations, while meeting legally binding commitments and existing live contracts and agreements. We will publish our final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) pregnant women and (b) young children have access to (i) malnutrition treatment and (ii) health services in Afghanistan.

We are gravely concerned about the health and nutrition situation in Afghanistan. Access to essential and nutrition services for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children is limited especially for those in rural areas and is exacerbated by Taliban restrictions on women's movement requiring male chaperones. We continue to urge the Taliban to reverse restrictions on women and girls and improve access to essential services. We have adapted our support to provide more flexible funding to help sustain essential and lifesaving health and malnutrition treatment and prevention services, including for reproductive, maternal and newborn services. We are working with other donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to protect health system capacity including routine immunisations for children and reproductive and maternal services for pregnant women. We are convening key partners and donors to strengthen our collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Afghanistan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of humanitarian funding to Afghanistan in response to warnings by the World Food Programme that it can only reach 10% of food-insecure Afghans.

The UK is taking a leading role to support the people of Afghanistan. The UK remains one of the most generous donors to the humanitarian response and we continue to engage with the UN and other donors to sustain support for aid organisations in country.Last financial year we provided £171 million to support Afghans affected by the ongoing crisis. This included £65 million to the World Food Programme who remain one of our primary partners in country. We continue to monitor the situation closely and expect to continue to be a key donor to the humanitarian response in Afghanistan going forward.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of (a) 298 nutrition centres and (b) 420 health facilities on humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan in 2025.

We remain gravely concerned about the declining health and nutrition status of the most vulnerable Afghans. We are monitoring the impact of the closures of health and nutrition facilities on the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, and estimate that services for more than 3 million people are impacted. We continue to urge the Taliban to reverse their deadly ban on girls and women receiving medical education. We have adapted our support to provide more flexible funding to help sustain essential and lifesaving health and malnutrition treatment and prevention services. We are working with other donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to safeguard health system capacity including routine immunisations for children and disease surveillance systems. We are convening key partners and donors to strengthen our collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Afghanistan.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many vehicles were seized in relation to waste crime offences in each of the last three years.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions, including vehicles seized, to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. We are conducting a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.

Food and Rural Affairs, when statutory fly‑tipping enforcement guidance for local authorities will be published; and what his planned timeline is for its implementation.

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. Following Royal Assent, we will carry out a consultation with relevant stakeholders including local authorities. Once the consultation has concluded and responses taken into account, we will look to publish the guidance as soon as is practical.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to launch the digital waste tracking service; and what steps are being taken to ensure industry readiness.

Defra plans to launch the digital waste tracking service from April 2026. Industry working groups are beginning next month and increased engagement is planned through webinars, information published on GitHub (an online platform where information and software code can be shared openly), and through inviting users to begin using the developing service from Autumn as part of our private beta phase of development.

What oversight mechanisms she has put in place to help ensure 100% recording of the (a) ethnicity, (b) nationality and (c) number of perpetrators in all group based child exploitation and abuse cases; and what steps she is taking to ensure compliance across all police forces.

On 16 June the Government accepted all 12 recommendations made to Government in Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in England and Wales. We will announce further details on implementation of these measures in due course.In January, the Government announced an additional £2.5 million funding for the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to bolster its efforts to provide practical, expert, on the ground support for all 43 police forces in England and Wales. We also asked all 43 police forces to work with the Taskforce to re-open grooming gangs cases where no further action was taken. Since January, more than 800 cases have been re-opened thanks to this work.