Contributions
2,121 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD International DevelopmentThe soft power strategy is being worked on with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as we speak. Both the BBC World Service and the British Council—both areas where we are…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI would point out to the hon. Lady that the 2010-15 coalition Government cut our defence budget by £12 billion, which is what has placed us in the difficult situation we are in…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI can confirm that we are increasing the investment for the BBC World Service by £11 million. That comes on top of the increase that we have already made this year to support the…19 Mar 2026HANSARDOfficial Development Assistance Programme Allocations 2026 to 2029In recent years, the world has been reshaped by global instability. Faced with growing global security threats the Government last year took the decision to increase spending on…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentThe hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I have discussed with Foreign Ministers across the world the importance of combining opportunities for young people with strong…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentWe will continue to work with international organisations on this; in fact, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentThe investment that I set out in the statement includes £6 billion of climate finance for climate change and nature, and a further £6 billion in UK-backed investment, including…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI thank my hon. Friend for the points she has made and for being such a strong champion for international development and its wider purposes. I also thank her for the extensive…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI welcome my hon. Friend raising the issue of education. There is a particular issue with girls not being in education. It is also an issue in conflict areas, such as Sudan or…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI thank my hon. Friend for his question and for raising Yemen. This is a complex situation. We know there is immense humanitarian need, but there are also malign actors and huge…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI welcome the hon. Lady’s point about aid match and how we can ensure that we help to use UK Government funding to lever in additional donations and support from huge numbers of…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI welcome the work my hon. Friend has done over many years, and continues to do, on development and support for those in conflict and crisis who face the greatest poverty and…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentAgain, I would gently point out to the right hon. Gentleman that this Government have had to deal with a defence investment programme that was hollowed out by his party in…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI welcome my hon. Friend’s focus on debt relief and the World Bank’s IDA programme, which we are increasing by 40% because it is such an important programme. I can confirm that…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentI welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support for global health and the impact of the commitment. However, we are not continuing the direct funding around polio. That is a difficult…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentAlongside the written ministerial statement published this morning, I want to update the House on the Government’s revised approach to international development and official…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentThe hon. Member rightly mentions Lebanon, where as we speak there is a huge humanitarian crisis. That is why in the past two weeks we announced an additional £15 million this…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentWe have to both increase our defence spending and champion international development in order to maintain our security here at home. That means focusing in particular on the areas…19 Mar 2026HANSARD International DevelopmentThe right hon. Lady obviously has a set of questions, but it would have been better if she had also taken some responsibility for the situation we are in, because it was the…19 Mar 2026HANSARDMiddle EastThis Government take decisions according to UK values and the UK’s interests. I know that there are different perspectives on foreign policy. There are some who believe that we…17 Mar 2026