Written questions by Morton.

Pursuant to her oral contribution of 12 December 2024, Official Report, column 1045, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (b) the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (c) other Cabinet colleagues on the west midlands pension fund.

As the Hon. Member will know from my correspondence with her, following the Business Question on the 12th December 2024, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the 20th December 2024 and asked that this matter be looked into.I understand that the Hon. Member has now received an update from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on this matter.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) engagement and (b) consultation he (i) has had and (ii) plans to have with parliamentarians on the treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

As well as responding to numerous parliamentary and urgent questions regarding negotiations with Mauritius around the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) treaty. In December 2024 I met with the Chagos All party Parliamentary Group (APPG) where I briefed members of both houses on the deal. That month Baroness Chapman briefed Liberal Democrat Peers and Harriet Matthews, deputy chief negotiator for the BIOT treaty, briefed the Foreign Affairs Committee. In November 2024 the Foreign Secretary also appeared before the commons select committee on Foreign Affairs.Later this month I will be briefing the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories APPG where I will further answer questions around the treaty.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

I have had regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on issues related to a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory. HM Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mauritius in the best interests of both parties.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the treaty on the British Indian Ocean Territory of his recent discussions with his counterpart in Mauritius.

Discussions between the UK and Mauritius on the future exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory remain ongoing. It is not appropriate to provide a running commentary on those discussions. We will continue to work closely with Mauritius to conclude a deal that is in both sides' shared interests.

What estimate she has made of the number of small boat crossings of the Channel each day in December 2024.

The Home Office publishes information about Channel crossings on a daily basis. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 January 2025 to Question 18873 on Sudan: Humanitarian Aid, what potential alternative cross-border routes beyond Adré for humanitarian aid delivery into Sudan he has identified.

The UK continues to push for additional aid routes into Sudan, including through Aweil, Renk and Panakuach, as well as Adré, to facilitate aid deliveries, particularly into areas held by the Rapid Support Forces, and for routes to be free of bureaucratic and administrative impediments. In addition, the UK continues to press for improved cross-line routes, including into Khartoum.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 December 2024 to Question 19307 on Syria: Humanitarian Aid, what assessment he has made of (a) the impact of the situation on civilians in Syria, (b) the need for humanitarian aid in Syria and (c) the best way to respond to the humanitarian situation.

Fourteen years of conflict in Syria has significantly impacted civilians, with over 16 million people needing urgent humanitarian assistance and 13 million people displaced. In response to recent events, humanitarian agencies have rapidly scaled up the ongoing international aid effort in Syria. The UK announced an additional £61 million to support this.Flexible humanitarian funding, strengthened co-ordination, and an updated assessment of needs are key for responding effectively. Unimpeded access, free from political interference or targeting of humanitarian workers, is essential to deliver assistance to those in need across Syria. We continue to advocate for this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 19318 on British Nationals Abroad: Detainees, whether he has made changes to his Department's (a) processes and (b) services in respect of supporting British nationals abroad since July 2024.

The government is committed to strengthening consular services, including through introduction of a right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations and the appointment of an envoy. My department is considering a package of measures to achieve this, which we will announce in due course. The FCDO continuously reviews its processes to provide better service for those who require consular assistance, including through feedback, insight and lessons learned. Recently we have introduced an improved service to book appointments and a new FCDO digital triage AI tool which provides British nationals quick, efficient responses to their questions online.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with (a) the Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) other Cabinet colleagues to reduce the amount of Overseas Development Assistance spent on asylum hotels.

The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring asylum costs fall and has already taken measures to reduce the backlog and will end the use of expensive hotel accommodation. We expect these plans to create more space in the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to spend on our international development priorities overseas. In-donor refugee costs will be published in the provisional Statistics on International Development publication in Spring 2025. The first meeting of the re-established ODA Board, chaired by me and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will focus on in-donor refugee costs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 January 2025 to Question 18873 on Sudan: Humanitarian Aid, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Sierra Leone following the Russian veto of the UN Security Council Resolution on protecting civilians.

The Foreign Secretary spoke with his Sierra Leonean counterpart on 9 January. During their discussion, the UK and Sierra Leone agreed on the urgent need for a political solution to the conflict in Sudan to prevent more needless civilian deaths and a further spread of famine. We continue to work closely with the UN, regional stakeholders, and Council members, including Sierra Leone, to ensure the Council continues to support efforts towards peace in Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 January 2025 to Question 18873 on Sudan: Humanitarian Aid, what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of civilians.

On 11 October 2023, the Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to ensure the credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses by all sides are investigated impartially. The UK led lobbying for the renewal of the FFM mandate in October, which passed with an increased vote margin and support from two African states. The UK strongly supports the International Criminal Court's active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023. This support has included the secondment of expert investigators to support the ICC's work in several countries.The UK is also funding the Sudan Witness project delivered by the Centre for Information Resilience, which gathers open-source evidence on harms against civilians and civilian infrastructure, with a view to future accountability efforts. As penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council, the UK co-led a protection of civilians resolution on Sudan with Sierra Leone in November, which was cynically vetoed by Russia. We continue to work with the UN, key regional stakeholders and Council members to ensure the Council continues to act in support of peace in Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 December 2024 to Question 19309 on Syria: Women, what plans he has to support education for women and girls in Syria.

Education in Syria, especially for girls, has been a continuing priority for the UK. The UK is a leading donor to the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait, providing critical support to children across Syria. Since 2017, our Syria Education Programme has supported over 625,000 children, 50 percent of which are girls. The programme prioritises inclusion and enhanced access to education for girls, including through building girls' confidence and reducing dropout risks. We remain committed to supporting education and are considering how changes in Syria present opportunities and risks.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 16959 on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Finance, whether he plans to announce a commitment in relation to the Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance’s replenishment campaign for the 2026-2030 strategic period ahead of the High Level Pledging Summit in Brussels in 2025.

The United Kingdom is one of the largest contributors to Gavi and aims to see a successful replenishment in 2025. Funding decisions will be made as part of the ongoing Spending Review and announced upon its conclusion.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the most recent quarterly Gross Domestic Product growth figures published by the Office of National Statistics on levels of available Overseas Development Aid spending for 2025.

At Phase One of the 2025 Spending Review, departmental allocations for Official Development Assistance (ODA) were reset for 2024-25 and provided for 2025-26. As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, this settlement provides departments with £13.3 billion of ODA in Financial Year 2024-25 and £13.7 billion in Financial Year 2025-26, enabling the UK to spend 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA in Calendar Years 2024 and 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing funding for the Nutrition for Growth replenishment campaign before the pledging event in Paris in 2025.

The UK is looking forward to the upcoming 2025 Nutrition for Growth summit and FCDO officials have been working closely with French counterparts to build momentum ahead of the summit. The FCDO has published an assessment of progress with the commitments that the previous government made at the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit in 2021. We will review this as we finalise our approach to N4G 2025. Despite the challenges posed by the current fiscal situation, which the spending review will address, the UK is committed to protecting the world's most vulnerable, including through the use of lifesaving nutrition interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Defence to progress the AUKUS agreement since July 2024.

The Foreign Secretary works closely with the Defence Secretary to progress AUKUS. Since July 2024, this government has signed a trilateral agreement to enable the sharing of critical submarine technology and information, secured a landmark exemption to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and appointed Sir Stephen Lovegrove as the UK's AUKUS Adviser, whose report will help maximise the benefits and opportunities of the partnership.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Defence, (b) his Australian counterpart and (c) his US counterpart on the AUKUS agreement.

The Foreign Secretary engages regularly on AUKUS with the Defence Secretary, and his Australian and US counterparts. Most recently, the Foreign and Defence Secretaries hosted the Australian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in December 2024, where they reaffirmed their enduring commitment to the partnership and welcomed strong progress made across both Pillars.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans an audit of the UK’s relationship with China.

Work on the audit is underway, due to conclude in spring 2025. The China audit will examine the UK's interests with respect to China. This will improve our ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. Parliament will be informed of the findings once the audit has concluded.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 19310 on Syria: Religious Freedom, what recent discussions he has had with his Syrian counterparts on protecting freedom of religion or belief in that country.

The Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of an inclusive political process with interim Foreign Minister Al Shaybani during a meeting in Riyadh on 12 January. In December, senior Foreign Office officials met with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the interim Foreign Minister. They highlighted the need to protect the rights of all civilians, including religious minorities. We are closely monitoring the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will continue to advocate for the right of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Syria and for an inclusive political transition.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure UK humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Syria.

The UK continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in Syria. Most border crossings remain open for humanitarian aid, enabling assistance to be delivered throughout Syria, except where active conflict is constraining this. We continue to call for unhindered access for and facilitation of humanitarian operations.The UK has announced a further £61 million in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable Syrians inside Syria and across the region. Through NGO and UN organisations, we are providing food, healthcare, protection and other life-saving assistance. We remain in regular contact with those organisations to assess aid access and how they are managing delivery risks.