Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, what funding will be provided for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in this spending review period.

The UK has long been a strong supporter of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We have committed £1.65 billion to the current strategic period covering 2021-2025. The outcomes of the Spending Review are being used to inform how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used. We look forward to Gavi's replenishment summit on 25 June.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much funding will be available to support the UK’s global health security objectives in this spending review period; and what programmes this will be spent on.

We will publish Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) final 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA 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. We continue to work across Government and with our international partners to strengthen health security. The UK's role in helping secure the recent adoption of the Pandemic Agreement is a good example of that collective effort.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 36405 on International Day of Education, how much funding his Department will provide for global education in 2025-26 and subsequent financial years in the spending review period.

The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) demands significant shifts in the scale and shape of our ODA spending, in line with the shifts underway as we modernise our approach to development. Our 2025/26 ODA allocations will play an important role in laying the foundations for the pivot in our approach to development and sharpening of our priorities to help smooth the transition to 0.3 per cent.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, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 28555 on Nutrition for Growth Summit, how much funding his Department has allocated in relation to the Nutrition For Growth Summit 2025 following the Spending Review 2025.

At the 2025 Nutrition for Growth summit, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) launched the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration. 86 organisations and countries have endorsed the Compact. This commits us to integrating nutrition actions and objectives into the policies, programmes and investments of other sectors, including health, agriculture, humanitarian, and climate, to improve nutrition outcomes. Over the coming months, the FCDO will work through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance 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, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 35281 on British Council: Finance, what plans he has to introduce a longer-term funding model for the British Council following the Spending Review.

While the British Council's Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the British Council's financial sustainability, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and British Council's shared objective is for the British Council to be financially sustainable for the long term. The FCDO is supporting the British Council to deliver a financial turnaround plan to ensure the British Council's finances are returned to a stable footing.The British Council's Grant-in-Aid funding for the next three years will be decided through the FCDO allocations process. This was not settled in the Spending Review and will be determined in the round, alongside the FCDO's other Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Non-ODA allocations, in the autumn.

Whether she has considered reviewing the national funding formula for police forces.

To support the delivery of the Safer Streets Mission, broader policing reform is necessary to address the challenges faced by policing and help the system to deliver effective and efficient policing to the public.The allocation of funding to police forces remains an important consideration.This Government is committed to ensuring that police forces have the resources they need. As with previous years, decisions on police force funding allocations will be made via the annual police funding settlement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) metrics and (b) assessments he uses to determine whether official development assistance programmes constitute value for money.

Value for money is embedded into all our Official Development Assistance (ODA) programming. We use a mix of quantitative data and qualitative information to assess value for money and inform decision-making throughout the programme lifecycle. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office uses experts, technical advisors, programme managers, and procurement professionals with experience of working in low-income environments and knowledge of global research of what works.The Foreign Secretary led a cross-Departmental ODA review as part of the Spending Review. This ensures that all UK ODA spend, across a range of government departments, is strategically coherent and provides the best value for money for the British taxpayer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 51381 on Development Aid: Women, whether his discussions with stakeholders included representatives from (a) women's rights and (b) women-led organisations.

We are engaging with partners and stakeholders as we transition the Official Development Assistance budget to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ministers and officials continue to meet stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including representatives from women's rights, and women-led organisations, both in the course of their duties and as part of a commitment to harnessing a wide range of perspectives to inform the FCDO's policy and strategy.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent trends in levels of small boat crossings on (a) the immigration system and (b) local authorities in the West Midlands.

The Home Office carefully monitors overall irregular migration and has regular engagement directly with local authorities and via Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships to discuss any specific impacts on local communities and regions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory cap on levels of migration.

The Immigration White paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues to reduce net migration, further details of which will be set out in due course.

Whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers participated at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum event between 20 and 22 May 2025.

The Minister for Investment and officials from the Department for Business and Trade have participated at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) event that took place between 20 and 22 May 2025.

What recent discussions she has had with (a) West Midlands Police and (b) the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner on (i) maintaining and (ii) increasing community policing levels in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, following the closure of (A) Aldridge Police Station and (B) police stations across the West Midlands.

The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that by July, every community will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities and local communities and businesses will also have ongoing opportunities to engage with neighbourhood teams and raise local concerns and priorities through regular local beat meetings.The Government has also committed to boosting neighbourhood policing by 13,000 more policing personnel by the end of the Parliament and the Government will provide £200 million to police forces in financial year 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering this commitment.West Midlands Police has been allocated £12,210,903 from the £200 million fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, the projected growth for West Midlands Police over 2025/26 will be 289 police officers (FTE) and 20 Police Community Support Officers (FTE).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Tanzania on the arrest of (a) opposition leader Tundu Lissu and (b) foreign nationals involved in supporting democratic activism.

Our High Commission in Dar es Salaam regularly discusses issues of governance with the Government of Tanzania and has raised the case of opposition leader Tundu Lissu at senior levels, as well as the recent case of foreign national activists in Tanzania. The UK Government supports due process and the rule of law in all legal cases.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed Aldridge railway station on the (a) economy, (b) transport links and (c) social mobility of that area.

The Government is providing a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement of over £1bn for West Midlands Combined Authority to invest in its local transport priorities.The Combined Authority is currently using this funding to develop an Outline Business Case, which will make a detailed assessment of the impacts of the proposed Aldridge railway station.

What steps his Department is taking to work with (a) international partners and (b) export credit agencies to develop (i) insurance solutions and (ii) support for UK businesses engaging in post-conflict (A) reconstruction and (B) commerce in Ukraine.

HMG continues to collaborate with G7+ partners, International Financial Institutions and the global insurance industry, to strengthen availability and access to insurance for Ukraine following delivery of the 2023 London Framework for War Risk Insurance. We assist UK businesses engaged in Ukraine's post conflict recovery by supporting inward and outward business delegations, delivering webinars, producing dedicated business guides, issuing regular newsletters and supporting business partnerships.UK Export Finance has financed a number of projects in Ukraine and is working with other ECAs to ensure a joined-up approach in meeting the immediate and post-conflict needs of Ukraine.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 48102 on Balkans: Politics and Government, when this year's UK-hosted Berlin Process will take place.

The 2025 Berlin Process Summit will take place in the UK this autumn. It will be preceded by meetings in the UK of Economic, Interior and Foreign Ministers from all members of the Berlin Process, and over ten events for government and non-government participants in the Western Balkans. We are consulting partners on potential outcomes, in line with the Prime Minister's focus on migration, security and economic growth. We are working closely with the new German Government and the EU institutions, including on implementation of outstanding commitments, to increase intra-regional cooperation and bring the region closer to its European partners.

Whether she has discussions with (a) financial services regulators and (b) the insurance sector on developing risk-mitigation frameworks to support companies operating in Ukraine.

Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations, including insurers and financial regulators, on an ongoing basis. The UK Government has played a leading role in developing solutions that have helped to reopen and rebuild insurance markets in Ukraine. The UK provided a £20 million contribution to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to extend the level of political risk and violence insurance it can provide to investors with projects in Ukraine. Additionally, the UK has also provided £5m to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to develop a complementary initiative that will make war related loss and damage cover available to firms already based in Ukraine.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) the level of funding for and (b) the number of police officers in the West Midlands.

The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to tackle crime effectively and protect the communities they serve. Visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police. West Midlands will receive up to £846.9 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £56.6 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement under the previous government. This represents a 7.2% cash increase and a 4.7% real terms increase in funding.This includes a total of £30.7m to support the maintenance of 8,086 police officers.The Government has also committed to boosting neighbourhood policing and is providing £200 million to police forces this financial year to support the first steps of delivering this commitment. West Midlands Police has been allocated £12,210,903 from the £200 million fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, the projected growth for West Midlands Police over 2025/26 will be 289 police officers (FTE) and 20 Police Community Support Officers (FTE) in neighbourhood policing roles.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in tackling fly-tipping in the West Midlands.

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights local communities and the environment. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping including fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are taking steps to develop new guidance to support them to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.  We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush the vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. We committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course. In the meantime, Defra continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of older housing stock in the West Midlands.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future, including those within the West Midlands. The Government will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to 2025/2026. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.