To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has been made of the level of resilience of military infrastructure to climate change and natural disasters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has been made of the level of resilience of military infrastructure to climate change and natural disasters.

On 8 July 2025, the government published our Resilience Action Plan, committing to update Parliament with an annual overview of the UK’s resilience. Today I will fulfill this commitment alongside publishing an annual update on the implementation of both the Resilience Action Plan and Biological Security Strategy.

This resilience work is...

On 8 July 2025, the government published our Resilience Action Plan, committing to update Parliament with an annual overview of the UK’s resilience. Today I will fulfill this commitment alongside publishing an annual update on the implementation of both the Resilience Action Plan and Biological Security Strategy.

This resilience work is...

My honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (The Rt Hon. Darren Jones MP) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

On 8 July 2025, the government published our Resilience Action Plan, committing to update Parliament with an annual overview of the UK’s resilience. Today I will fulfill...

My honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (The Rt Hon. Darren Jones MP) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

On 8 July 2025, the government published our Resilience Action Plan, committing to update Parliament with an annual overview of the UK’s resilience. Today I will fulfill...

I thank the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) for introducing the debate so well. He makes many excellent points, including that we face a wide range of threats to our security and resilience. Clearly, we face threats from hostile actors and not just through conventional means: he...

I thank the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) for introducing the debate so well. He makes many excellent points, including that we face a wide range of threats to our security and resilience. Clearly, we face threats from hostile actors and not just through conventional means: he...

Statement on the Government's revised approach to international development and official development assistance allocations.

Statement on the Government's revised approach to international development and official development assistance allocations.

As a former shadow International Development Minister, I know that one issue our nation has not grappled with is that 90% of the usurious levels of debt repayments for the poorest nations across our planet are governed by English law through the City of London. We could raise millions out...

As a former shadow International Development Minister, I know that one issue our nation has not grappled with is that 90% of the usurious levels of debt repayments for the poorest nations across our planet are governed by English law through the City of London. We could raise millions out...

My hon. Friend will know that the UK—certainly under previous Labour Governments—has a strong history of looking at debt relief, which was championed by Gordon Brown as Chancellor and Prime Minister. I recognise the strong work that my hon. Friend has done in this area and in championing these arguments....

My hon. Friend will know that the UK—certainly under previous Labour Governments—has a strong history of looking at debt relief, which was championed by Gordon Brown as Chancellor and Prime Minister. I recognise the strong work that my hon. Friend has done in this area and in championing these arguments....

I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s decision that the UK will once again co-chair the global Media Freedom Coalition, but will she match that with financial support for independent media organisations and journalists in the growing number of countries where media freedom is under attack and US support has...

I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s decision that the UK will once again co-chair the global Media Freedom Coalition, but will she match that with financial support for independent media organisations and journalists in the growing number of countries where media freedom is under attack and US support has...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a really important point, and we do champion media freedom worldwide. That is why we have become a co-chair of that organisation, and the partnerships in different countries can look at these issues. It is also why we are increasing the funding for the BBC...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a really important point, and we do champion media freedom worldwide. That is why we have become a co-chair of that organisation, and the partnerships in different countries can look at these issues. It is also why we are increasing the funding for the BBC...

The Foreign Secretary is aware of the impact of humanitarian aid and how it saves lives in the midst of the most horrific situations that humans experience on this earth. She will also be aware of the vital role that UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, play in co-ordinating...

The Foreign Secretary is aware of the impact of humanitarian aid and how it saves lives in the midst of the most horrific situations that humans experience on this earth. She will also be aware of the vital role that UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, play in co-ordinating...

I 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 suffering. She is right to highlight the importance of the UN and, more broadly, multilateral aid institutions. There...

I 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 suffering. She is right to highlight the importance of the UN and, more broadly, multilateral aid institutions. There...

I support prioritising hard power over soft power to protect our national security. In her statement, the Secretary of State drew a direct link between additional defence spending and reducing the development budget, but that was the exact opposite of the position put forward by the Prime Minister when he...

I support prioritising hard power over soft power to protect our national security. In her statement, the Secretary of State drew a direct link between additional defence spending and reducing the development budget, but that was the exact opposite of the position put forward by the Prime Minister when he...

Again, 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 government. We have had to deal with that, as well as the difficult fiscal circumstances they left us with....

Again, 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 government. We have had to deal with that, as well as the difficult fiscal circumstances they left us with....

I welcome this development reset. I support the Government’s decision to invest in our country’s security now and our ambition to support development more in future. On Yemen, given the conflict and the overall fragility in the region, how do the Government ensure that UK aid spent there does not...

I welcome this development reset. I support the Government’s decision to invest in our country’s security now and our ambition to support development more in future. On Yemen, given the conflict and the overall fragility in the region, how do the Government ensure that UK aid spent there does not...

I 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 risks around security, as well as that humanitarian crisis. That is why we have been working to ensure...

I 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 risks around security, as well as that humanitarian crisis. That is why we have been working to ensure...

Yesterday, I and my colleagues on the International Development Committee met staff from Action Against Hunger, who had just returned from Lebanon, to hear about the horrors they have seen on the ground there. I am grateful for the added support that has been talked about, but when we and...

Yesterday, I and my colleagues on the International Development Committee met staff from Action Against Hunger, who had just returned from Lebanon, to hear about the horrors they have seen on the ground there. I am grateful for the added support that has been talked about, but when we and...

The 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 year, particularly for Lebanon but also for some of the nearby areas, to provide urgent additional humanitarian and crisis...

The 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 year, particularly for Lebanon but also for some of the nearby areas, to provide urgent additional humanitarian and crisis...

Over 220 million children worldwide are not in education. The UN sustainable development goal 4 is unlikely to be met by 2030. What investment is the UK making to support global efforts to help those children?

Over 220 million children worldwide are not in education. The UN sustainable development goal 4 is unlikely to be met by 2030. What investment is the UK making to support global efforts to help those children?

I 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 Ukraine, where children’s education has been held back. That is why we are continuing the funding for...

I 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 Ukraine, where children’s education has been held back. That is why we are continuing the funding for...