Wendy Morton

This government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. Over the next five years, we expect over 12 million pensioners will see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock. Protecting the Triple Lock even in the current economic climate shows our steadfast commitment to pensioners.

We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them.

The government will work with external partners and local authorities to boost the uptake of Pension Credit and to target additional support to the poorest pensioners. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.  An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.

Our other steps include cutting waiting times in the NHS which will help many pensioners currently waiting in pain and discomfort for treatment, and delivering the economic stability which is so crucial for pensioners.

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

Over the next five years, we expect over 12 million pensioners will see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock. Protecting the Triple Lock even in the current economic climate shows our steadfast commitment to pensioners.

We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

In making her decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Secretary of State had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.

The Department has secured funding for increased staffing and our communications strategy which will support our programme of activity to drive up Pension Credit claims.

The Government is determined to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need. As part of the Pension Credit Week of Action, we joined forces with national charities, broadcasters and local authorities to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim.

From 16 September, we will be running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.

Our future campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.

We will work with external partners, local authorities and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.

We welcome the agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. It is the first step in ensuring long-term peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the wider region, bringing much-needed stability, but we have always been clear that an immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to this crisis. The UK is ready to play a leading role with international and regional partners, in securing a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, based on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. Palestinians must be given a credible route to a Palestinian state, which is the right of the Palestinian people. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January and stressed the UK's eagerness to support the negotiation process. I raised this matter when I spoke with Varsen Aghabekian, the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Foreign Affairs. We will continue working with partners to support a path to long term peace and stability with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

Our partnerships with African countries are a core component of our approach to tackling terrorism across the continent, drawing on our domestic counter-terrorism experience while learning from our African partners' unique perspectives to enhance this work. The UK works to strengthen partnerships with key African partners through bilateral cooperation, such as our Security and Defence partnerships with Nigeria and Ghana, and our Security Compact with Kenya. The UK is also proactively engaged in supporting regional initiatives such as the African Union and multilateral institutions, including the Global Coalition Against Daesh and the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF).

Through the UK's Integrated Security Fund, we are directly supporting capacity and resilience building, complementary to conflict prevention, stabilisation, and development approaches. For example, the Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia Borderlands Project integrates preventing violent extremism activity with development and peacebuilding approaches to improve stability and counter the regional threat posed by Al-Shabaab.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi and the largest contributor to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). The UK has committed £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025 via direct contributions and IFFIm proceeds. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR. The UK's total contribution to Gavi's third strategic period covering 2011-2015 was $2.27 billion of which $1.42bn was provided directly and $474 million through IFFIm.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi contributing £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR.

The UK condemns the sham presidential election in Belarus on 26 January. In a joint statement alongside Australia, Canada, the EU and New Zealand, the UK denounced the election and called for fresh elections which meet international standards.

The UK will continue to work with likeminded partners to call out the regime's violations of fundamental human rights and hold those responsible to account.

We, alongside our partners, will continue to support civil society and human rights in the face of ongoing political pressure and support the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a free, democratic, and independent Belarus.

Despite the pardoning of over 250 political prisoners since July 2024, arrests and political repression continue and more than 1,200 political prisoners remain unjustly detained.

We continue to take every opportunity, both publicly and privately, to urge the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and protect the human rights of its citizens. This includes actively raising the issue of political prisoners at the UN and the OSCE.

Sanctions are carefully targeted to increase pressure over time, and we regularly review our sanctions to maintain effectiveness and apply increasing pressure. We therefore reserve the right to introduce further measures so that the Lukashenko regime continues to feel the consequences for its lack of respect for human rights and support for Putin's war.

Although the UK nexus with the Belarusian economy is limited, the signalling impact of our sanctions on Belarus is and will remain important.

I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.

The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.

The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.

The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.

I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.

The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.

The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.

The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.

I spoke at a reception in Parliament on the 28th January to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) day. The meeting included a speech by Noma survivor and advocate Mulikat Okanlawon and I separately met with her to hear about her experiences.

The UK is committed to combating NTDs and towards working with global partners towards achieving the global goal target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, including for Noma. The UK is a signatory to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and supports the World Health Organization (WHO's) roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030.

The UK is a leading provider of flexible funding to WHO, which can support the full range of WHO priorities, such as NTDs. Other wider work that will also support reducing the prevalence and impact of Noma includes the department's support to strengthening country health systems, including in Noma prevalent countries such as Nigeria, and work to address factors associated with Noma such as malnutrition, other infectious diseases, and extreme poverty.

The department has not made any assessment, separate to those made by the WHO, of the prevalence and mortality rates of Noma.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi contributing £1.65 billion to Gavi's current "5.1" strategic period covering 2021-2025. As part of the Spending Review (SR) the UK is looking at all global health investments in the round. Announcements will follow the completion of the SR. The UK is a strong supporter of Gavi and wants to see a successful replenishment. The UK is in regular contact with Gavi and Gavi donors to support the upcoming replenishment. The Foreign Secretary and I met with the Gavi CEO in February.

The UK is deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian impacts of the current situation in North Kivu. At the United Nations Security Council, the UK called on all parties not to obstruct the vital services that humanitarians are providing, and to cease hostilities and uphold the protection of humanitarian workers, as outlined in international humanitarian law. We also urged all parties to consider humanitarian corridors to restore essential services and ensure the safe passage of civilians and aid. The UK remains committed to supporting those most in need, providing £62 million this year in lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

The British Council plays a leading role in promoting UK values and interests through its work in arts and culture, education, and promotion of the English language.

The British Council's 2023 Global Perceptions report survey demonstrates that cultural relations initiatives are connected to higher levels of trust in the UK Government. The average score for trust in the UK Government given by young people surveyed across the G20 was 54%. However, for those who had participated in a UK cultural initiative, the score was 62%, and where this initiative was produced by the British Council, it was 69%.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stands ready to provide consular support to British nationals abroad 24 hours a day, seven days a week. British nationals requiring consular assistance can contact their nearest Embassy, High Commission or Consulate [https://www.gov.uk/world/embassies].

UK officials work closely with partners on the ground to ensure programmes delivered with UK funding are designed to focus on the most marginalised people, including women and girls. Implementing Partners provide the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) with data on the number of beneficiaries they have reached through UK funding, disaggregated by sex. The FCDO uses this to measure whether 50% of all beneficiaries reached are women and girls. We will continue to hold ourselves to account on this commitment.

Ministers are in regular touch about issues in the region. The FCDO-funded Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP) is the Government's main programme for reducing the threats posed to civilians by mines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance. It is currently active in ten countries, including Sudan (where it is funding education about the risks). As for implications on the safety of British Nationals, we regularly update travel advice to ensure British Nationals have the best advice possible, available at all times, for all countries bordering the Red Sea.

The FCDO continues to provide support to those British nationals and families affected by recent tragic incidents in the Red Sea, including the sinking of the Sea Story in November 2024 and the tragic fire on board the Hurricane in June 2023. We remain in contact with the relevant local authorities and our sincere condolences are with all the victims and their families.

The UK announced £80 million of funding to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) for their current strategic plan (2023-2026) on 16 February 2023. To date, £27,635,535 has been released over financial years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. The UK announced a further £14 million of funding to ECW specifically for education in Sudan and for Sudanese refugees on 17 November 2024. This funding was fully released this financial year. The UK announced £430 million for the Global Partnership for Education for their current strategic plan (2021-2025) on 11 June 2021. To date, £365 million has been released over financial years 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

The first meeting of the re-established Official Development Assistance (ODA) Board took place in February 2025. The Board will meet two times per year, and more frequently if needed. The ODA Board scrutinises ODA spend, driving value for money for the UK taxpayer and a stronger strategic focus for ODA spending across government. Its remit includes managing pressures on the ODA budget and overseeing and monitoring ODA spending across government. There are currently no plans to report on meetings.

Since the coup in 2021, the UK has been prioritising education support to marginalised and conflict affected children, particularly girls in Myanmar. We are working closely with other partners, including Finland and Australia, to ensure children can continue learning despite the ongoing conflict. In 2024 the UK, with our partners, reached over 347,000 children in Myanmar and trained over 22,000 teachers. We are a core donor to Education Cannot Wait and the Global Partnership for Education to improve coordination efforts and advocate for increased funding for education in Myanmar. We have consistently raised the importance of protecting schools from the conflict and airstrikes, including at the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council and through international statements. This includes calling out destruction of schools in a joint international statement on 1 February 2025.