Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) accountability and (b) reporting arrangements his Department has put in place to monitor progress against the Global Nutrition Integration Compact.

The Global Compact on Nutrition Integration relies on existing accountability and reporting mechanisms with regards to the integration commitments of its members, notably the Global Nutrition Report's (GNR) Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF). Accountability for nutrition integration therefore rests with each individual organisation. Compact members, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), are responsible for reporting progress against their commitments listed in the NAF, with the GNR monitoring overall progress.In addition, FCDO reports information on nutrition integration across its programmes in the annual Nutrition Accountability Report, this is published on the GNR website.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help open new humanitarian aid routes into Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian access. The UK continues to push for additional cross-border aid routes into Sudan, including through Aweil, Renk and Panakuach, as well as Adré. In addition, the UK continues to press for improved cross-line routes within Sudan. During last month's London Sudan Conference, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, attendees agreed to use their influence with the parties, and urged them to lift all impediments, and guarantee safe, rapid, and unimpeded access throughout Sudan for humanitarian supplies and personnel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the policy paper entitled International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change, a white paper on international development, published in 20 November 2023.

The White Paper entitled International Development in a Contested World published by the previous government provided a diagnosis of global challenges, and examples of how the UK can respond to these. The Foreign Secretary's Development Review went further, considering areas of focus for the UK's development effort in a constrained resource environment, based on the UK's specific strengths and the strengths of our partners, and building on the wide-ranging development consultations conducted in 2023.

Communities and Local Government, which Departmental budget will cover the cost of the use of armed forces personnel to support waste collection in Birmingham.

This is a local issue and it is right that the response is led by the key public sector partners in Birmingham. We have been clear that if the local leaders on the ground in Birmingham feel tackling these issues goes beyond the resources available to them and they request national support, then we stand ready to consider any such ask. The Department is working with the Council on options to address further costs arising from industrial action. To date, additional support has included the three office-based military personnel with logistical expertise that were made available to the council to assist with planning. They have now returned to normal duties. We are grateful to our colleagues in the MOD for their support. More widely, the government is under no illusions about the scale of the wider financial challenge facing councils following more than a decade of cuts by successive Conservative governments. The government is therefore supporting the Leader and his team in Birmingham, directly and through the Commissioners, to move the council on from its historic issues. This includes providing an increase in Core Spending Power in Birmingham of up to 9.8%, or £131m for 2025-26, and £39.3 million of the new one-off Recovery Grant that illustrates this Government’s commitment to correcting unfairness in the funding system.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the he is taking to help ensure aid reaches 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. During last month's London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million towards the crisis which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of humanitarian need in Ethiopia.

Official needs figures for Ethiopia have not yet been finalised for this year, but the level of humanitarian need remains high. Last year an estimated 21 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. We continue to work closely with the Government of Ethiopia and other partners to support those most in need of humanitarian assistance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid reaches (a) those who need it most and (b) women and girls in Sudan.

The crisis in Sudan is the largest and most severe globally. Civilians, notably women and girls, are bearing the brunt of the violence. 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 target over 650,000 people with life-saving aid including support for women and girls which will be delivered through networks of Sudanese responders. 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 gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence across Sudan and provide emergency support to survivors of these atrocities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the recent changes to the ODA's budget on nutrition-related spend.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review to determine how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used. The FCDO remains committed to integrating nutrition, delivering nutrition objectives alongside successes in other sectors.The FCDO's nutrition-related spend is reported as part of the Nutrition Accountability Report. The 2022 Report was published in August 2024 with nutrition-related spend for 2022 totalling £366.4 million. The FCDO is currently reviewing nutrition-related spend for calendar year 2023.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Independent Development Review in the context of changes changes to Official Development Assistance.

The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), including how the FCDO approaches the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Eritrea on releasing prisoners of conscience detained without trial.

We consistently raise the human rights situation with the Eritrean Government, most recently by way of a statement at the 58th Human Rights Council in February and also during a senior Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) official visit to Asmara in April. We continue to advocate for the end of arbitrary detentions, including detentions based on religion or belief. Eritrea is a priority country in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report and we support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2024. As we have stated at the Human Rights Council, all those who have been unjustly incarcerated must be released.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he plans to publish (a) the conclusions of the Independent Development Review and (b) his response.

The review's reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department will be taking to integrate improved nutrition outcomes in the (a) health, (b) agriculture and (c) humanitarian sectors.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) continues to implement its Nutrition for Growth (N4G) commitment to integrate nutrition across its programme portfolio, including in health, agriculture, and humanitarian sectors. This includes measures to further increase the proportion of programmes that include nutrition objectives, related activities and indicators: 1) application of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Nutrition Policy Marker (NPM), 2) internal assurance processes to ensure adoption and accurate application of the NPM, and 3) the provision of advice and assistance to colleagues to integrate nutrition objectives. Health, agriculture, and humanitarian sectors have been key areas where nutrition advice has been given.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of using forecasts of Gross National Income to determine future levels of official development assistance on actual future levels of official development assistance.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) budgets from 2025/26 onwards are set in cash terms based on Gross National Income (GNI) forecasts. This change means that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's ODA budgets will no longer be exposed to the volatility of ODA spending by other departments, including asylum costs.As the Minister of State for International Development set out in her 27 March letter to the International Development Committee, this is a significant and positive change to the way the FCDO manages its ODA budget, increasing the predictability of our budgets and allowing us to plan with more certainty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the level of funding for official development assistance on the potential implementation of recommendations within the review of international development undertaken by Baroness Minouche Shafik.

The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), including how the FCDO approaches the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using UK microbiology expertise to build capacity in Ukraine for countering antimicrobial resistance.

In February, the Defence Secretary announced that we would double our funding to £40 million for Project Renovator, which draws on the UK's leading defence medical expertise to expand Ukraine's military rehabilitation and medical services. Through a partnership with the Unbroken Rehabilitation Centre, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust have launched an infection control programme which aims to strengthen capacity and capability of medical personnel in both the UK and Ukraine to manage the healthcare burden created by anti-microbial resistance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of using the International Finance Facility for immunisation on delivering development projects.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We have committed £1.65 billion to the current strategic period covering 2021-2025, including £590 million through the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). The UK is working to ensure a successful replenishment of Gavi's 2026-2030 programme through our diplomatic and development network. Following the difficult decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.3 per cent by 2027 we are taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money and we are considering all financial instruments available. Announcements on individual investments will be made following the completion of the Spending Review process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support community-driven development initiatives in overseas aid projects.

Partnering with local actors with roots in their communities is crucial to deliver aid that is culturally relevant, contextually appropriate, and impactful. Local partners offer insights into communities' culture and needs and understand local coordination structures and challenges. The evidence shows that local organisations are particularly effective at driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups, including women and girls. By focusing on capacity building, acting as conveners to amplify local voices, and investing in the long-term sustainability of local partners, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and its delivery partners, such as international non-governmental organisations, can provide substantial value beyond mere financial support.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 39002 on Sudan: Children, what steps he is taking to help support children back to school in Sudan.

In late 2024, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) assessed that nearly 90 per cent of Sudan's school age children (17 million against a population of 19 million) were no longer in school with armed violence a key driver. UK funding to UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education, and Education Cannot Wait is helping to provide schooling and psychosocial support to Sudanese children affected by the conflict including Sudanese refugees in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and Uganda. In addition, UK funding to Emergency Response Rooms and a consortium of international non-governmental organisations is helping to deliver education services across Sudan.Whilst the conflict continues the provision of schooling remains incredibly challenging. The UK is using all levers at its disposal to bring the fighting to an end.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of conflict moving from Sudan to South Sudan on stability in that region.

The Sudan conflict continues to pose increased risks to South Sudan and the wider region which we are closely monitoring. We will support regional peace and mediation efforts undertaken by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the UN and the African Union in both countries.South Sudan is majorly impacted by the conflict in Sudan with the influx of refugees exacerbating an already challenging humanitarian context. We welcome South Sudan's generosity in hosting significant numbers of refugees. The UK's humanitarian support of £69 million to South Sudan is helping to assist those who have fled violence from Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 41877 on Ukraine: Drug Resistance, which (a) projects and (b) work streams are focusing on tackling AMR.

We are funding the Ukrainian Red Cross (URCS) who are treating people, including some which have these infections. However, our humanitarian support does not specifically involve or target the particular issue of anti-microbial resistance (AMR). The URCS have funded UK-based surgeons and nurses to provide expertise to the burns unit in Kyiv. This unit supports people who have been injured through shelling, attacks, and debris, as well as household accidents. The medical staff coming to Kyiv help with best practice sharing; improving current procedures including infection prevention and control to help prevent infection which result in AMR. Through a partnership with the Unbroken Rehabilitation Centre, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust have launched an infection control programme which aims to strengthen capacity and capability of medical personnel in both the UK and Ukraine to manage the healthcare burden created by AMR.