theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has issued a response to BBC Panorama’s reports that the Drax powerplant has burned wood from primary forest sites. \p Michael Shanks: Following the Panorama reports, Ofgem, as the independent regulator, conducted a comprehensive investigation into Drax’s sustainability arrangements and concluded that, whilst no subsidies were issued for unsustainable biomass, there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls. We are confident in Ofgem’s conclusion, and Drax accepted the findings of the investigation and made a voluntary redress payment of £25m.

Further to this, we have tightened the sustainability criteria under the new Contract for Difference, including strict provisions to exclude material sourced from primary and old growth forests under the contract.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the trees burnt at the Drax power station are imported and transported on diesel freighters. \p Michael Shanks: Drax sources the vast majority of its supply of biomass pellets from the US, with a small percentage from Canada, and elsewhere. It transports pellets to the UK by shipping them on bulk carriers, unloading at ports including Immingham, Liverpool and Port of Tyne before final transport to the Drax site by rail. Bulk transport of biomass pellets can be a highly carbon-efficient way of moving material across large distances.

Under the new arrangements agreed with Drax we have strengthened the supply chain emissions threshold in line with European standards.
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Mike Tapp:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using disused mine shafts for clean energy creation using heat pump technology in Dover and Deal constituency. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: To achieve net zero at lowest cost, we must look at how to accelerate all low carbon technologies including geothermal. The mine water from coal mines shows good potential as a renewable source for heat networks.

The government is therefore supporting mine water schemes at Gateshead and Seaham Garden Village through the Heat Network Investment Project and the Green Heat Network Fund. No specific assessment has been made in Dover and Deal and although the Mining Remediation Authority has released opportunity maps for Wales and ten UK cities these do not cover this area.
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Mike Tapp:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will take steps to ensure the Port of Dover has sufficient energy supply to the Port to implement electric ferry charging points. \p Michael Shanks: The Government published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy on 25 March, which outlines domestic goals and commitments to decarbonise maritime transport, and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports was launched to assess future energy demand at ports like Dover.

More broadly, the Government is working with Ofgem to ensure their price controls support necessary investment in the electricity network for the clean energy and growth missions, including maritime transport electrification. The next distribution price control, RIIO-ED3 covering 2028 to 2033, which will be informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans to support strategic network investments.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many partnerships with Great British Energy are currently in place; and what the total value is of those partnerships. \p Michael Shanks: Great British Energy (GBE) has partnerships with The Crown Estate, the Scottish Government, and the National Wealth Fund. GBE is also developing partnerships with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.

We have not quantified the total value of these partnerships, but these partnerships are important to support GBE’s early delivery and to ensure that it is working in alignment with the wider clean energy institutional landscape.

GBE is also working closely with the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care to deliver solar panels for schools and hospitals in FY2025/26, as announced on 21 March.
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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help accommodate excess domestic renewable power within local power networks. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is working to accelerate network infrastructure build, which will reduce constraints on the network by allowing low-cost renewables onto the system more quickly.

We are also taking steps outlined in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan to support deployment of electricity storage technologies, including domestic and grid-scale batteries, which allow excess renewable generation to be saved up for when the system most needs it.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his proposed extension of subsidies for the Drax power station would raise the guaranteed strike price for the company from £100 MW/h to £113 MW/h. \p Michael Shanks: The new CfD arrangement caps the volume of supported generation to an annual load factor of 27% compared to Drax’s current 65%. This incentivises dispatchable biomass generation only when the system needs it, ensuring consumers can benefit from cheaper wind and solar power at other times.

The new arrangement is estimated to halve subsidies to Drax, saving around £6 per household per year compared to current arrangements. The strike price for the new CfD is £113 (2012 prices) compared to £100 MWh currently. This modest increase reflects that Drax’s fixed operating costs will be spread over fewer units of generation, but consumers get more valuable power for lower overall subsidy.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has held discussions with representatives of Heathrow Airport on energy infrastructure for the airport in the last three years. \p Michael Shanks: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Drax power station on his net zero policies. \p Michael Shanks: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognises that bioenergy can play a significant role in decarbonising economies provided policies mitigate the use of unsustainable biomass. The low carbon dispatchable CfD mechanism will result in Drax generating more flexibly, displacing higher-emissions unabated gas plants, helping to reduce power system carbon emissions.

The Government is commissioning an independent review to consider how greenhouse gas removal technologies, including power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, can assist with UK Net Zero targets, whilst maintaining security of supply. Further details will be shared in due course.
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the energy price cap to park home owners. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Due to the physical set-up of these residences, the majority of consumers living on park home sites will continue to receive their energy via a non-domestic contract and will not have their own meter. This means that the energy price cap will not apply to them. However, park home residents who purchase their gas or electricity from their park home site owner are protected from excessive charges by the Maximum Resale Price provisions drafted by Ofgem.

The provisions prevent mobile park owners from reselling energy to the residents at a higher price than the price that they paid to the licensed energy supplier. Consumers are entitled to receive a breakdown of the park owner’s costs upon request. The breakdown should include details of the cost of electricity and/or gas, standing charges and VAT paid.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps (a) reduce and (b) remove policy costs on electricity bills. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. With this, the Government is also committed to ensuring a fair and affordable transition to Net Zero while considering the impact of policy costs on all energy consumers.

NESO’s advice in their Clean Power 2030 Report on the impact of clean power on energy bills finds that a 2030 clean power system can be cheaper for the consumer than the one we have today.

Policy costs, or levies, fund essential schemes that have delivered significant benefits, including increasing renewable generation capacity and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Department keeps the aggregate impact of these policies under review.

The Government’s main mechanism to invest in new renewables capacity are our Contracts for Difference. We have consulted on reforms to the Contracts for Difference, which are intended to ensure we secure the capacity needed to deliver Clean Power by 2030, whilst minimising the costs to consumers. The Government will publish a response with a view to implementing any changes in time for Allocation Round 7 to open in summer 2025.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support low-income households with the costs of installing (a) insulation and (b) heat pumps. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: 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.

Government energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, Great British Insulation Scheme, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant are targeted at low-income households to fund energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating for those eligible.

Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employers National Insurance Contributions on levels of employment. \p James Murray: The Office for Budget Responsibility published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2025, which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances, including their forecast on levels of employment https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/#:~:text=Real%20earnings%20grow%20by%201.4,%2D26%20to%202029%2D30.
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Mel Stride:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, how the policies scored at the Spring Statement differ from the policies announced by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 18 March 2025; and for what reason these policies were changed. \p Darren Jones: In response to feedback from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government made amendments to the policy parameters of two measures. Firstly, the Universal Credit standard allowance will reach £106 per week in 2029-30, an increase above inflation. This differs to the level of £107 per week in 2029-30, which was the latest policy assumption at the time of the statement to the House delivered by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 18 March 2025. Secondly, the government will freeze the reduced Universal Credit health element level for new claimants, in line with our objectives to rebalance the system, rather than uprating it by Consumer Price Index inflation, which was the policy assumption at the time of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’s statement to the House on 18 March 2025.

These updates were made after statement, once the Office for Budget Responsibility had given its final assessment of the costings and behavioural assumptions associated with the measures. The adjustments we have made ensure we continue to strike the right balance between setting strong work incentives and fiscal sustainability. This package remains consistent with the government’s Green Paper and the statement to the House made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 18 March 2025.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29188 on Agriculture and Business: Inheritance Tax, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing her Department's data collection methods to enable the collection of data on the number of estates containing woodlands impacted in the 2026-27 financial year. \p James Murray: HMRC guidance sets out that woodland is only agricultural property, and therefore qualifies for agricultural property relief, if it is occupied with, and that occupation is ancillary to, agricultural land or pasture. It will include woodland shelter belts, game coverts, fox coverts, coppices grown for fencing materials and clumps of amenity trees or spinneys. Woodlands occupied for purposes that are not agricultural, such as amenity woodland or woodland used for the production of commercial timber, are not agricultural property. However, they may be eligible for woodlands relief or business property relief.

Executors must include the value of any timber and woodland owned by the deceased that is not part of a farm in box 69 of the IHT400 form, alongside the value of the deceased’s other interests in any business or partnership (which may or may not be related to woodlands). Some farms may also include coppices, small woods and belts of trees that shelter the land, and the value of these should be included in the value of any farm, farmhouses and farmland owned by the deceased in box 68 of the IHT400 form.

However, as stated in our answer to UIN 29188, while estates include supporting documentation about the type of assets on which they claim agricultural and business property reliefs when submitting their claims, only the value of eligible assets is digitally captured in a format available for further analysis. It is also combined with the value of other assets in the boxes mentioned above, and these may or may not be related to woodlands. As such, any further level of detail is not readily available from historic claims to estimate how many future estates might contain woodland. It would be disproportionately costly for HMRC to manually review historic claims to digitally capture this information.

As detailed in my recent letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Inheritance Tax is currently operated by HMRC using a predominantly paper-based system. As part of my work to modernise HMRC, we plan to move to a digital system.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 42193 on Digital Technology: Taxation, what recent discussions she has had with her G20 counterparts on the taxation of the digital economy. \p James Murray: G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met in February 2025. International taxation was among the topics discussed, including OECD/G20 work on addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy through ‘Pillar 1 and 2’ reforms to international corporate taxation. South Africa subsequently published a Chair’s summary of these meetings which is indicative of G20 members’ views.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) local authorities, (b) state schools, (c) universities and (d) NHS Trusts subject to the business rates surcharge for properties with a rateable value over £500,000 from April 2026 onwards will receive compensation for those business rates. \p James Murray: We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, from 2026-27.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so from 2026-27 we intend to introduce a higher rate on those properties with Rateable Values of £500,000 and above. This will apply to the most valuable properties, including large distribution warehouses such as those used by online giants, so that they can help support the viability of high streets.

The Spring Statement confirmed the spending envelope for phase 2 of the spending review. We will consider the full range of priorities and pressures facing departments in the round, including any impact of the higher multiplier, when setting these budgets.

Final details on the large business multiplier will be set out at Budget 2025, in light of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Secretary of State for Transport's Oral Statement of 24 March 2025 on Road Maintenance, whether she has made an estimate of the Barnett consequential funding for Wales of the additional £500 million highway maintenance funding. \p Darren Jones: At Phase 1 of the 2025 Spending Review, an additional £500 million was allocated to the Department for Transport to fund local highways maintenance in 2025-26. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way to changes in the Department for Transport’s Delegated Expenditure Limit (DEL) budget.

At Spending Reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes to each UK Government department’s overall DEL budget, rather than to individual programmes.

The Welsh Government’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any Welsh Government settlement since devolution.  The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26 and includes £1.7 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula.

The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023. An update to Block Grant Transparency to include Autumn Budget 2024 changes will be published in due course:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her oral statement on Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, Official Report, Column 952, what the evidential basis is that households will be on average more than £500 a year better off under this Government; and if she will publish the comparison of RHDI for each financial year of this parliament. \p Darren Jones: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) March 2025 forecast is for people to be on average over £500 a year better off, relative to the March 2024 forecast. This refers to Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per person, a commonly used measure of living standards.

This statistic is based on publicly available OBR forecast data. Specifically, the difference in RHDI per person between the March 2025 forecast and the March 2024 forecast for each financial year over 2024/25 to 2028/29. To make consistent comparisons, both forecasts are adjusted for inflation using the consumer expenditure deflator to convert to 2022 prices. The average difference in RHDI per person across the five years is over £500.

The two relevant OBR forecasts are available at the links below.

The OBR’s March 2024 forecast data is available here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2024 - Office for Budget Responsibility

The OBR’s March 2025 forecast data is available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, which Departments will be impacted by the £150 million for Government employee exit schemes. \p Darren Jones: As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.
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Mel Stride:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the net impact of (a) Government policies since 4 July 2024, (b) the Autumn Budget 2024 and (c) the Spring Statement 2025 has been on the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts for real household disposable income per person in each financial year between 2024-25 and 2029-30. \p Darren Jones: HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasts, including for real household disposable income per person, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). These forecasts are published by the OBR as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO).

The OBR’s assessment of policy decisions at the 2024 Autumn Budget can be found in their October 2024 EFO, available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/

The OBR’s assessment of policy decisions at the 2025 Spring Statement can be found in their March 2025 EFO, available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/

In their March forecast, after accounting for the effects of policy at both events, the OBR forecast was for RHDI per capita to rise by an annual average of 0.5% over this parliament (Q3 2024 – Q2 2029).
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Mel Stride:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the additional defence expenditure she announced at the Spring Statement falls under capital departmental expenditure limits; what proportion falls under resource departmental expenditure limits; and for what reason these allocations were arrived at. \p Darren Jones: The Chancellor’s Spring Statement document, published on 26 March, set out the Resource DEL and Capital DEL uplifts to defence spending over the scorecard period.

A greater proportion of the uplift will be Capital DEL funding. This reflects the needs of defence, and will enable the accelerated the adoption of cutting-edge capabilities, and rebuild stockpiles, munitions, and other essentials depleted after a period focussed on international terrorism and global crises. This Capital DEL focus also supports the Chancellor’s mission to boost growth, enabling greater spending on novel and innovative technologies.

The allocation of this uplift and the MOD budget will be confirmed as part of the Spending Review 2025, which will conclude on 11 June 2025.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 41608 on Civil Service: Redundancy, which Departments will contribute additional funding for employee exit schemes; and how much each Department plans to contribute. \p Darren Jones: Departments will bid for funding from a central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how much each will therefore contribute are not yet known.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered reallocating Child Tax Credit payments previously claimed by a child’s parents prior to their entering foster care to that child while in care. \p Darren Jones: Child Tax Credit has been fully replaced by Universal Credit and Pension Credit since 6 April 2025. The Department for Work and Pensions has invited all eligible customers to claim. There are consequently no plans to review past Child Tax Credit rules or arrangements.
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Andy McDonald:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to provide hon. Members with an economic and fiscal outlook assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the measures in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, before bringing forward legislative proposals on the measures. \p Darren Jones: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 26 March 2025 alongside Spring Statement 2025. This included an assessment of some of the changes in the Pathways to Work Green Paper which the Government is legislating on, with the relevant legislation being introduced in due course. In their March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR stated they “plan to work with the Treasury and DWP to further scrutinise both the direct and indirect effects of these welfare and employment support policies ahead of our next forecast, alongside the effects of any further measures from the Green Paper that have been sufficiently developed”.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Oral Statement of 26 March 2025 on the Spring Statement, Official Report, column 945, what proportion of the £150 million included in the transformation fund will be spent on the abolition of NHS England. \p Darren Jones: As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Secret Intelligence Service is a paid member of Stonewall. \p Stephen Doughty: The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is a paid member of Stonewall.
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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Ministerial roundtable on water security, 13 March 2025: outcome statement, published on 14 March 2025, what steps his Department is taking to fulfil those outcomes in the next 12 months. \p Stephen Doughty: On 13 March 2025, the Minister for Development chaired a high-level roundtable, bringing together international Ministers and senior representatives from countries and multilateral institutions to discuss how to drive progress tackling the global water security crisis.

The UK is active in this sector, driving systems transformation to protect freshwater ecosystems and global water supplies, and build resilience for the most vulnerable. Through our Just Transitions for Water Security programme, we are bringing governments, private sector, and civil society together to shape policy, strengthen governance and accountability mechanisms, and shift markets to leverage critically needed investments in water. The UK is also working with international partners to ensure climate-resilient and sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in up to 10 countries.

Alongside this we are working to strengthen the integration of water across the three Rio Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and desertification, as well as within G7, G20 and the UN system.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what formal response he has received from the US on the proposed treaty with Mauritius. \p Stephen Doughty: We have received confirmation from the White House that the United States supports the UK proceeding with the deal. This follows a rigorous U.S. interagency process. We welcome the U.S. endorsement of the deal, as well as the President's recognition of the strength of the deal.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to publish legal advice on the licensing of arms sales to Israel. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government has published a summary of the international humanitarian law (IHL) process used to assess and review Israel's compliance with IHL. This summary, informed by legal advice, alongside the Foreign Secretary's Oral Statement outlined the decision and where we have deemed there are risks that UK arms might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL. This is more transparent than any government has previously been about a decision of this nature.

[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-the-international-humanitarian-law-ihl-process-decision-and-the-factors-taken-into-account#:~:text=The%20government%20has%20conducted%20a%20thorough%20review%20of%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20compliance].
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any marine areas will be covered within the lease of the base on Diego Garcia. \p Stephen Doughty: Under the agreement the UK will continue to have full control over, and unrestricted access to, Diego Garcia, including the waters and airspace. This will ensure the long term secure and effective operation of the base well into the next century.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_174

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of military (a) operations and (b) drills conducted by China near Taiwan. \p Catherine West: The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by people on both sides of the Strait without threat or use of force or coercion. The UK opposes any activity that risks destabilising the status quo, including escalatory activities by China.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued a statement in response to China's latest military drills on 2 April, and we subsequently joined G7 partners to reemphasise the importance of peace and stability in the Strait in a joint statement on 6 April.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_175

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on that country's military (a) operations and (b) drills near Taiwan since July 2024. \p Catherine West: The UK has been clear on the continued need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, including in our recent statement alongside G7 partners following China's military drills last week. The Foreign Secretary has raised this with Wang Yi several times, including at the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in February.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_176

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a formal request to the US to support the costs of the proposed lease for the military base at Diego Garcia. \p Stephen Doughty: The treaty will be between the UK and Mauritius. The base is an essential part of the UK-US defence relationship, and the US contributes a great deal to the operating cost of the base.  Once the treaty is signed it will be put before both Houses for scrutiny before ratification in the usual way. This will include costs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_177

Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the Chagossian people of transferring sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius; and whether the Government has made an assessment of the feasibility of establishing a protected reservation or similar arrangement on the islands to enable the return and settlement of the native Chagossian population. \p Stephen Doughty: We have worked hard to ensure this agreement reflects the importance of the islands to Chagossians.  We will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will also work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. Mauritius will be able to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_178

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to support the creation of an additional protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime to help tackle wildlife trafficking. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK remains committed to tackling the illegal wildlife trade and supporting efforts to strengthen legal frameworks, including through the United Nations. The Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime met in Vienna from 14-18 October 2024. The UK played an active role in the Conference, which agreed to convene an expert group on environmental crimes that will identify any gaps in the international legal framework and consider how these can be addressed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_179

Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the Official Development Assistance budget is allocated to initiatives tackling antimicrobial resistance. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK is a global leader in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and supports action though its multilateral, bilateral and research investments. It is not possible to identify the AMR element of all such spending.

Direct AMR spend includes, but is not limited to: i) the UK's Fleming Fund programme which strengthens drug-resistance surveillance systems across low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean (£57.5 million in 2023-24); ii) the UK Global Antimicrobial Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) which supports Research & Development into products and solutions that reduce the threat of AMR in low and middle income countries (£16.4 million in 2023-24); iii) FCDO's funding to product development partnerships in 2024/25 included over £32 million to the Medicines for Malaria Venture, TB Alliance and the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit's DeTACT project to develop new antimalarials and treatments for drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis and to protect the effectiveness of existing medicines.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations and the impact on programmes are being worked through following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the spending review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_180

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will seize the interest that has accrued on Roman Abramovich’s assets associated with the sale of Chelsea Football Club. \p Stephen Doughty: In a statement announcing the sale of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich stated the proceeds would be used to establish a foundation for the benefit of all the victims of the war in Ukraine. The Government is determined to see the proceeds reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, and we are exploring all options to bring that about.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_181

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. \p Stephen Doughty: We continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. In line with standard practice, the UK conducts an Annual Review of UK funding to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to assess performance in key areas including service delivery and reforms. All annual reviews are published on DevTracker.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_182

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the humanitarian response capability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. \p Stephen Doughty: As the Prime Minister stated, the UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role in Gaza. We cannot yet confirm funding allocations for financial year 2025-26, but continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. The UK provided £41 million in financial year 2024/25 for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This supports delivery of UNRWA's vital work, ensuring that Palestinians have access to humanitarian assistance, education and healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the region.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_183

Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department plan to visit the official memorial in Girne in Northern Cyprus. \p Stephen Doughty: The Government reaffirms its highest respect for the memory and sacrifice of British and Cypriot service personnel and employees of the Crown who gave their lives, who lost family members or loved ones, and whose lives suffered permanent disruption as a result of the Cyprus Emergency. We recognise the significance of the British Cyprus memorial in Kyrenia to commemorate the sacrifices made by British soldiers in Cyprus. There are currently no plans for Ministers to visit the memorial but the British High Commission in Nicosia regularly honours those who bravely sacrificed their lives in Cyprus, including the annual laying of a wreath at the official Remembrance Day Service at the Nicosia War Cemetery where British soldiers are buried.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_184

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UK strategic interests in the Middle East. \p Stephen Doughty: Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance 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. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Middle East remains vital to achieving our priorities which include preventing further conflict, supporting stability, and lifting vulnerable people out of crisis, and the UK continues to be a trusted and reliable partner across the region.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_185

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to the World Food Programme in each of the last five financial years. \p Stephen Doughty: Headline Measure of ODA to WFP:

Year

ODA (£1,000s)

2019

512,497

2020

484,031

2021

205,729

2022

207,877

2023

172,325

The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. Final UK ODA figures for 2024 will be published in Autumn 2025, via Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_186

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to UNICEF in each of the last five financial years. \p Stephen Doughty: Based on the most recent "Statistics on International Development" publications, the total amount of UK Official Development Assistance allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund is as follows:

Year

Amount

2023

£351,078,000

2022

£210,240,000

2021

£225,541,000

2020

£460,739,000

2019

£477,217,000
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-11 conversation_187

Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the operations of the World Food Programme. \p Stephen Doughty: The Minister for Development met Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), during her recent trip to Paris, and recognises the important work of the WFP. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.