theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support park home residents. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government provides park home residents with free independent advice about their rights through the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service.

We are also supporting park home residents with their household bills. The government has extended the Household Support Fund in England until 31 March 2026 with an extra £742 million in support, with additional funding for the Devolved Governments. Park home residents are also eligible for a one-off £150 discount off electricity bills under the Warm Home Discount scheme. The payment is in addition to other payments such as the Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment. Any park home resident who is struggling with their energy bills contracts can contact their local authority to see what support they can receive.

The park homes sector is an important part of the housing market. The government recognises that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions The Gardens Trust has (a) not provided a timely response to a request for feedback and (b) provided feedback that was in conflict with matters settled in the relevant local plan as a statutory planning consultee in the last three years. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Garden Trust publish data on their work as a statutory consultee as part of their annual general meeting reports. Their 2023/24 Conservation Committee Report, which can be found here, makes clear that in the year to April 2024, they received 1733 statutory consultations. The Department does not collect data on whether feedback from the Garden Trust is in conflict with matters settled in the local plan.
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Zöe Franklin:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rental prices remain affordable; and whether she has considered mechanisms to stabilise rents. \p Matthew Pennycook: Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will empower private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable within-tenancy rent increases.

The government has been clear it does not support the introduction of rent controls, including rent stabilisation measures. We believe they could make life more difficult for private renters, both in terms of incentivising landlords to increase rents routinely up to a cap where they might otherwise not have done, and in pushing many landlords out of the market, thereby making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23351 on Regulator of Social Housing: Translation Services, if she will issue updated guidance to the regulator on translation services to councils and social housing providers to reflect the guidance outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement of 12 March 2013 entitled Translation into Foreign Languages, Official Report, Column 5WS. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government has no plans to issue guidance or a direction to the Regulator of Social Housing on changes to their standards or codes of practice in relation to translation into foreign languages.

The regulator’s consumer standards Code of Practice is designed to amplify some of the requirements in the standards and provides examples of how requirements might be achieved.

It states that providers should make tenants aware of the different ways in which services are tailored to meet their needs. Informing tenants that information can be supplied in different languages on request is one of the examples given for how providers might seek to deliver the outcomes of the standard, but providers are not required to take a particular approach.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Part III of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, what steps her Department plans to take to consult with stakeholders on the implementation of the nature restoration levy. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government will continue to work with relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the nature restoration levy.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, whether her Department (a) has commissioned or (b) plans to commission pilot studies to assess the effectiveness of Environmental Delivery Plans. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government will work with Natural England to put the first Environmental Delivery Plans in place as soon as possible following Royal Assent of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to determine the best places to implement the new approach.
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Mohammad Yasin:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that rent review tribunals have access to sector-specific data on market rents in retirement communities. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Renters’ Rights Bill will enable tenants to challenge above-market rent increases through the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

The Tribunal has the relevant expertise to determine what the market rent should be and will be able to take into account the special characteristics of Integrated Retirement Communities in doing so.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the housing strategy will include measures to help tackle (a) poor quality and (b) unsafe housing stock. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government intends to publish a long-term housing strategy later this year.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) her Department and (b) Homes England award affordable housing funding based on the Affordable Rent model. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Department delegates delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England outside London and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London. The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional affordable homes.

Homes England has a published Capital Funding Guide which sets out the procedures and conditions which must be followed by providers progressing schemes for rent, including Affordable Rent and Social Rent. Detail on this can be found on gov.uk here.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda, published on 10 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing Sport England as a statutory consultee on grassroots sport. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her planned timetable is for commencing (a) environmental delivery plans and (b) developments affected by nutrient neutrality rules. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 38624 on 25 March 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the guidance entitled Green Belt, published on 27 February 2025, whether an environmental principles assessment was prepared in relation to the new guidance. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 26508 on 5 February 2025 and Question UIN 37174 on 11 March 2025.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Part III of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the delivery timescales for large (a) infrastructure and (b) housing developments. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 38624 on 25 March 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much (a) capital and (b) resource funding was allocated to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26 financial year. \p Alex Norris: In the 2024-25 Financial Year, £1.3 billion resource and £0.2 billion capital funding was allocated to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This includes the Department for Education managed allocation for the Multiply programme in England. This allocation can be found in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 publication here: Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 (HTML) - GOV.UK.

In the 2025-26 financial year, £668 million resource and £234 million capital funding has been allocated to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. There are no separate Multiply allocations for 2025-26. Local allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2025-26 can be found here.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to provide an Answer to Question 35806 on Resettlement: Afghanistan, tabled on 5 March 2025. \p Alex Norris: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 35806 on 20 March 2025.
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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has plans to introduce a private parking code of practice. \p Alex Norris: The Government recognises the need for high standards in the private parking industry and is committed to delivering a Code of Practice, in accordance with The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.

Our code will contain guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.

We are currently reviewing all options and will announce our plans for the code in due course.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2026-27. \p Alex Norris: At the autumn budget we announced that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue for a further year; this is a transitional arrangement to provide as much stability as possible for 2025-26 in advance of wider local growth funding reforms thereafter. We will set out our long-term vision for local growth at the multi-year spending review.
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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes based on religion in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) Birmingham Edgbaston constituency. \p Alex Norris: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37961 on 20 March 2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much (a) capital and (b) resource funding was allocated to Investment Zones in the 2024-25 financial year; and how much funding has been allocated for the 2025-26 financial year. \p Alex Norris: The allocation of Investment Zone programme funding is published in the Technical Document on gov.uk: Investment Zones: technical document - GOV.UK. Actual amounts paid out to places are based on local requirements and subject to annual delivery planning.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Tamar Crossing tolls on economic growth in (a) South East Cornwall constituency and (b) Plymouth. \p Alex Norris: The government recognises the importance of the Tamar crossings to South East Cornwall, Plymouth and also to the wider area, providing a vital link between Cornwall and Devon for local residents and businesses.

The tolls for the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry are set locally by the Tamar Joint Committee, a local government committee made up of elected representatives from Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council. It is for this local committee to determine the right level of toll to meet the day-to-day running costs and ongoing maintenance of the Torpoint Ferry and Tamar Bridge.

The government has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of the Tamar crossing tolls on economic growth but does recognise the importance of the crossings and that is why the Cornwall Level 2 devolution deal, that this government committed to progressing in September 2024, committed to work together with Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council to consider options for future legislation to enable a more efficient toll revision process.

Looking ahead, the government recommends local authorities from both sides of the Tamar consider the opportunities that devolution would bring for increased transport powers and supporting local growth.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) capital and (b) resource funding was allocated to freeports (i) in 2024-25 and (ii) as of 20 March 2025. \p Alex Norris: At the Supplementary Estimate, £68.3m Capital DEL (Departmental Expenditure Limits) funding for 2024-25 has been agreed via the Reserve for the Freeports programmes. The department funded £4.3m Resource DEL for the Freeports programme for 2024-25.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment with local authorities of the potential merits of introducing a unified regime for the (a) licences, (b) permits and (c) certificates needed to operate (i) restaurants and (ii) pubs. \p Gareth Thomas: Pubs and hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.

We are constantly testing our planning, regulatory and licensing regimes to ensure they remain proportionate and don’t unnecessarily burden hospitality businesses.

Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will set out our plan for further supporting small businesses on the high street and beyond.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce stricter limits on the number of businesses that an individual can (a) incorporate and (b) manage after multiple company liquidations within a defined period. \p Justin Madders: Company and insolvency law already provides relevant authorities with the ability to investigate the conduct of directors of liquidated companies and to act upon misconduct. Imposing prescriptive prohibitions risks penalising the innocent and we have no plans to introduce such measures. However, following the passage of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 we are taking additional steps to strengthen investigation and enforcement capabilities in this area and Companies House has been using new powers under the Act to assess company incorporations more stringently. Later this year we will introduce compulsory identity verification for directors, further improving transparency.
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Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including measures to require boards to report on cyber resilience in the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill. \p Justin Madders: All large and medium-sized companies are already required to report on their material risks within their annual strategic report, including on cyber risk where this is a material risk. Recognising the important strategic role that boards of directors play in risk management, the Government intends to launch a Cyber Governance Code of Practice, and cyber governance training, to support boards in governing cyber risks and building cyber resilience. We will bring forward the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill shortly, with which we intend to provide the audit and governance regulator with important new powers and objectives relating to the audit and reporting duties of directors.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Government's policy is on future use of the Critical Imports and Supply Chain Strategy. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy was a product of the previous government.

As part of our Growth Mission, this government is committed to assessing where supply chains critical to the UK's economic security and growth could be vulnerable to disruption and is working to build resilience. Our upcoming Industrial and Trade Strategies will set out further detail on the steps we are taking to ensure the UK’s growth is secure and resilient.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Q95 of the oral evidence given by the Chief of Policy of the Confederation of British Business to the Business and Trade Select Committee on 11 February 2025. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The EU is a significant trading partner for both goods and services. In the 12 months ending September 2024, the UK’s total trade with the EU was 5% below the level seen in 2018, after removing the effect of inflation and excluding precious metals. We will tackle barriers to trade to help drive investment, jobs and growth for both UK and EU economies, but we have been clear there will be no return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the Government's environmental policies of Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK is party to 80 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).

ISDS provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove the government’s right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Frontier Economics' report entitled Modelling the effects of closer UK-EU cooperation and of US tariffs, published on 10 February 2025. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: We welcome the publication of the report and the contribution to the evidence base used to inform our trade policy. Our number one priority is growing the UK economy, and a positive trading relationship with both the US and with our European partners are part of that approach.
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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 361-364, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing Official Development Assistance funding as a proportion of Gross National Income on UK businesses. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and official development assistance.

Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments.
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Tracy Gilbert:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the number of employees who will benefit from the increase in national minimum wage rates in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency. \p Justin Madders: Approximately 200,000 employees in Scotland are expected to benefit from a direct pay rise due to the increases in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025, according to the Government’s Impact Assessment. Constituency-level estimates are not available due to greater data reliability issues arising from low survey response rates.
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Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Meta on preventing the sale of illegal e-bikes on their marketplace platform. \p Justin Madders: Product safety law requires that all consumer products placed on the UK market must be safe. The Office for Product Safety and Standards, in my Department, has a programme of work focused on making sure online platforms, including Meta, are aware of their responsibilities for preventing the supply of unsafe products to UK consumers, and requires them to remove unsafe or non-compliant products made available on their sites.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his speech to the British Chamber of Commerce on 20 March 2025, with which firms he has discussed seconding diplomats to; and for how long a diplomat will be seconded to BAE Systems. \p Catherine West: The FCDO's approach to driving growth is focusing on the EU, the US and China, and a range of other economically important markets, such as India and Japan. Our Heads of Mission have begun producing Strategic Economic Growth Plans, identifying top opportunities and key deliverables across the Industrial Strategy's growth-driving sectors. Given trade and commercial sensitivities, these plans will not be published. The programme of domestic roadshows, the Lancaster House Business Engagement Series, and the Diplomatic Placement Programme are currently under development. The FCDO is finalising a workforce strategy for the next Spending Review period. This will ensure that resource and capability prioritises the Government's Missions with a clearer focus on accountability and delivery.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the administrative cost to her Department is of preparing an emergency travel document. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The full recovery cost to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for an Emergency Travel Document is £135.
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Iqbal Mohamed:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure that Israel uphold its obligations under international law. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK strongly opposes Israel's recent resumption of hostilities. The Foreign Secretary has been engaged in intensive diplomacy since to restore a ceasefire, get hostages out and aid in. He has spoken to US Secretary Rubio, to EU High Representative Kallas, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar and will shortly speak to Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa. On international law the Foreign Secretary, with his French and German Counterparts, has publicly urged Israel to uphold its obligations and warned Israel that its block on aid to Gaza risks violating International Humanitarian Law.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to introduce (a) exemptions and (b) reduced fees for emergency travel documents for individuals in financial hardship. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We have consistently advised British people travelling overseas to make sure they have appropriate travel insurance, which will often cover the cost of services like an Emergency Travel Document (ETD). In exceptional circumstances, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be able to provide an emergency loan to help British nationals return to the UK, once all other avenues of financial support have been exhausted. Loans can cover the cost of an ETD where one is needed.
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Melanie Ward:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on restarting civil-military cooperation with UNRWA. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK has repeatedly set out our grave concern about the Government of Israel's legislation on the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and our support for UNRWA's vital work to provide essential services and humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On 31 January, together with France and Germany, we shared our grave concern regarding the Government of Israel's implementation of UNRWA legislation and called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise these issues with Israeli counterparts and discussed this with the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, on 14 March.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a legal right to consular assistance for British nationals. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government is committed to strengthening consular services, including the introduction of a right in cases of human rights violations. Ministers are currently considering options to achieve this, which we will announce in due course.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Israel and (b) regional partners on the future governance of Gaza. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign Secretary welcomed the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, alongside Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy on 8 March. Reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework that provides long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We are committed to working with the Arab initiative, Palestinians and Israel, including on security and governance, and are engaging international partners to support these efforts. We are clear there can be no role for Hamas. The UK supports a central role for the Palestinian Authority.
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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Yemen on the restriction of freedom of religion or belief for Baha’is in that country; and whether the John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief will be used to assist people facing persecution. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding, including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund (JBF), a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects.

The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

We track the treatment of the Bahá'ís in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to condemn the continued persecution of the Bahá'ís and other religious minorities in Yemen.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his international counterparts on the accessibility of Gaza for the distribution of humanitarian aid. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: On 21 March, the Foreign Secretary issued a joint statement with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany, making clear that Israel should fully respect international law and allow the flow of aid immediately. He called on Israel to restore humanitarian access, including water and electricity, and ensure access to medical care and temporary medical evacuations in accordance with international humanitarian law. The Foreign Secretary called Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar and Minister for Strategic Affairs Dermer on 20 and 21 March to press Israel to restore humanitarian access, raise serious concerns about civilian deaths and the safety of the hostages, and the importance of restoring a ceasefire and negotiated path forward. He also spoke to the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, about the humanitarian situation in Gaza on 14 March.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Nesil Caliskan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the amount of UK aid that has reached Gaza since 15 January 2025. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not have a breakdown of the specific amount of UK aid that has reached Gaza since 15 January 2025, but the UN reports that over 4,000 trucks of aid entered Gaza per week during the ceasefire, reaching over 2 million people. In the first days of the ceasefire, we released £17 million in additional emergency humanitarian funding for the promised surge in aid, bringing our total support this financial year for Palestinians across the region to £129 million. The UK remains strongly opposed to Israel's halt of the flow of aid into Gaza since 2 March, which risks undoing the vital progress made during the ceasefire. Since 7 October 2023, UK support has meant over half a million people have received essential healthcare, over 647,000 have received food, and over 284,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-27 conversation_213

Blair McDougall:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the approach taken by the Bahrain Government to (a) pro-democracy protests and (b) social media content critical of the government. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Our close and long-standing relationship with Bahrain continues to allow for a genuine and open dialogue in a range of areas, including human rights, on which we also recognise a number of positive steps taken by the Government of Bahrain over recent years. We continue to work with Bahrain to encourage greater media freedoms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Blair McDougall:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Bahrain on allegations relating to the detention of minors in relation to peaceful protests. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign Secretary last visited Bahrain in October 2024 where he met the Foreign Minister. The focus for that visit was de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, and to meet UK personnel working in the region, underscoring our commitment to regional security and stability.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office encourages all countries, including Bahrain, to uphold international human rights obligations. Our close and long-standing relationship with Bahrain continues to allow for a genuine and open dialogue by Ministers and officials in a range of areas, including human rights, on which we also recognise a number of positive steps taken by the Government of Bahrain over recent years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with international organizations to help improve access to HIV prevention tools in Africa. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK's funding and political support of global health institutions such as WHO, Unitaid, UNAIDS, CHAI, Medaccess, the Global Fund, and the Robert Carr Fund helps to ensure that people at high risk of HIV, including in Africa, can access HIV prevention and treatment when needed. This includes accelerating affordable access to new innovations. For example, our funding to Unitaid has helped expand affordable HIV self-testing for less than US$2 in 135 low-and middle-income countries and allowed for over 4.8 million kits to be distributed in Africa. Wider market shaping initiatives support generic production, increasing access to innovative medical countermeasures for HIV prevention, like Lenacapavir.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) marginalized and (b) high-risk populations in (i) low and (ii) medium-income countries receive adequate HIV prevention support. \p Stephen Doughty: Addressing stigma, discrimination and barriers to access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment is vital for the global HIV response. The UK is a champion of human rights globally, and our funding to the Robert Carr Fund and UNAIDS has helped to combat stigma and improve access to services for those most marginalised, including LGBT+ people, in low- and middle-income countries.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UN Commission on the Status of Women's decision to (a) change its climate change commitments from the declaration and (b) remove sexual and reproductive health rights from the declaration on levels of international support for women and girls. \p Stephen Doughty: Member states successfully adopted a consensus Political Declaration at the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women. In our assessment, new language on the right of all women and girls to enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health, including maternal and neonatal health, menstrual health and hygiene management, shows progress made. The text on climate change remains unchanged from the 2020 Political Declaration. Our focus is now on embedding women and girls in all our work, including defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights as a fundamental element of gender equality, global health, democracy and economic development.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-27 conversation_218

Monica Harding:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to retain his Department's role overseeing (a) in-country migration costs and (b) other official development assistance. \p Stephen Doughty: The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog, reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review period and increase detention capacity to facilitate more asylum removals. Whilst there will always be volatility in asylum forecasts, we expect these decisions to drive down overall in-donor refugee costs over the next Spending Review.

Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments. The ODA Board's first meeting in February 2025 focused on in-donor refugee costs. The co-chairs, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and former Minister for Development, were joined by the Minister for Border Security and Asylum.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27541 on Neglected Tropical Diseases, how much financial support his Department is providing for UK research into neglected tropical diseases. \p Stephen Doughty: During the last funding phase between 2017 and 2024, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has invested £73.3 million into the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), which collaborates closely with a range of UK academic and industry partners to develop medicines for Neglected Tropical Diseases. Following our last call for applications for funding Product Development Partnerships, DNDi applied successfully and has received an investment of £10 million in this financial year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will convene a meeting of his international development minister counterparts to discuss the situation in Chad. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign Secretary is looking to convene Foreign Ministers in London this spring to galvanise international efforts to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan and get aid to those who need it most, including in eastern Chad. Attendees include regional countries such as Chad, major donors, and multilaterals. The UK's former development Minister also convened a meeting of Development Ministers in February alongside the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, to explore how we can accelerate the UN-led international humanitarian response and better coordinate donor advocacy and engagement in response to the situation in Sudan and the wider region, including Chad.

In January this year, the Foreign Secretary became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Chad. He met with the President and Foreign Minister to discuss the situation in Chad, a country that has received almost one million refugees from Sudan since the conflict started. These refugees live alongside Chadian host communities who themselves need humanitarian assistance. That is why the £40 million we have provided to Eastern Chad this year supports both refugees and host communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-27 conversation_221

Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to introduce (a) exemptions and (b) reduced fees for emergency travel documents for people in financial hardship. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We do not plan to introduce exemptions or reduce the fees for Emergency Travel Documents. In exceptional circumstances, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be able to provide an emergency loan to help British nationals return to the UK, once all other avenues of support have been exhausted. We have long advised British nationals travelling overseas to make sure they have appropriate travel insurance, which will often cover the cost of services like an Emergency Travel Document.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what costs contribute to the fee for an emergency travel document. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The following costs contribute to the fee for an Emergency Travel Document: staff costs, consumables, couriering and digital services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-27)

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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on the killing of Hossam Shabat by Israeli forces; what steps he is taking to help increase the safety of journalists in conflict zones. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians, including journalists in Gaza, who are afforded protection under international humanitarian law. As international media are not permitted to work in Gaza, Palestinian journalists have been playing a crucial role in covering the impact of the conflict. This Government has been repeatedly clear that all civilians must be protected in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this again in a joint statement with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany on 21 March, which called on Israel to fully respect international law.