The capping of bus fares announced on 22 July 2026 will have no impact on financing or insurance support provided by UK Export Finance, including for its loan guarantee supporting Dints International’s contract to supply renewable energy and infrastructure work in Angola.

The Government is reprioritising £454 million from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s budget, including by switching £400 million of grant funding set aside for future international climate finance projects into loans. The remaining £54 million savings are expected from underspends in the Department’s budget.

This will provide more flexible ways to meet the Government’s international climate objectives.

The Government remains committed to spending 0.3% of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance.

Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Namibia are not in scope for the visa brake. These governments were threatened with the imposition of visa penalties last year specifically in order to improve co-operation in the return of individuals with no right to be in the UK, as provided for by sections 70-74 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. This is distinct from the visa brake.

Since these threats, returns co-operation with all three governments has rapidly and significantly improved and returns that previously would not have been possible are now taking place. Each government now complies with the UK’s standard. Statistics on returns will be published on gov.uk as usual.

The Home Office keeps the returns cooperation of all its international partners under close and regular review and will not hesitate to take further action where needed.

Violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is escalating, with both the March 23 group and Government forces claiming recent advances. The toll on civilians is devastating, with rising deaths, displacement, rape and gender-based violence. Can the Minister outline how the Government are supporting the Angolan-led Luanda process towards a ceasefire?

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the deeply concerning ongoing conflict in eastern DRC and its devastating consequences. Our humanitarian programme, which amounts to £114 million, is delivering lifesaving emergency assistance, and I can reassure her that Lord Collins has met with the leaders of DRC and Rwanda to urge them to engage in good faith in the Luanda process, to bring an end to the horrific fighting.

The UK regularly engages with the Government of Angola to encourage all political parties to play a positive role in the democratic development of Angola. This includes engagement from the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit and the International Anti-Corruption Co-ordination Centre who have provided assistance and training to Angolan authorities to support efforts to tackle corruption.

Regarding Global Anti-Corruption sanctions, we continue to explore future use and implementation of our autonomous sanctions powers. Imposing sanctions is one response among other tools and we will continue to use a range of approaches to combat corruption globally. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.

FCO, DFID and FCDO have had fewer than ten staff posted in Angola at the end of each financial year since 2013-14. Data is not held for financial years prior to 2013-14.

African countries are amongst the least responsible for causing climate change, yet it is having a devastating impact. The UK is committed to working with African partners to drive long-term climate action; I discussed climate change when I visited Egypt in May 2023 for meetings of the African Development Bank. We will continue to work closely with the African Union Commission and Government of Kenya as Africa Climate Action Summit co-hosts and engage other partners in the run-up to and at the Summit itself.

The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with international counterparts on these issues, however, different to many other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Angola does not use hunting licences as a source of income or as a method of conservation.

The UK regularly engages with the Government of Angola to promote modern and progressive politics and to encourage all political parties to play a positive role in the democratic development of Angola. The UK works closely with the Government of Angola on a range of issues including promoting media freedom and improving access to education.

The FCDO works to strengthen institutions and governance, promote and protect human rights, and support democracy globally. The UK has a proud record of global leadership on international development and Overseas Development Assistance is used to strengthen and support Open Societies and Human Rights in many countries including Angola.

The UK will continue to work closely with the Government of Angola to encourage modern and progressive legislation and to ensure that rights and freedoms are enjoyed by the whole of society. This includes promoting media freedom; improving access to education with the Global Partnership for Education; and raising awareness of the humanitarian conditions in Southern Angola.

The UK, along with like-minded partners, works closely with the Government of Angola and civil society organisations to encourage modern and progressive legislation and to ensure that rights and freedoms are enjoyed by the whole of society. This includes recent work in Angola promoting media freedom with female journalists; improving access to education with the Global Partnership for Education; and raising environmental awareness through the Youth for Climate summit.

An armed separatist movement, the Liberation Front for the Cabinda Enclave (FLEC), has been active in Angola's oil-rich northernmost province, Cabinda, since 1963. Angola demonstrated its ability to hold peaceful and democratic elections in 2017, however, and there is no evidence to suggest that this will not be repeated. HMG, along with other likeminded partners, is monitoring this and will continue to encourage the Government of Angola and its National Electoral Commission to implement strategies for an inclusive, fair and transparent election.

The Government of Angola is working to improve its human rights record. On 20 April 2020, the Government approved a National Human Rights Strategy which is part of the Universal Periodic Review response and recommendations from the last two sessions of 2014 and 2020 of the UN Human Rights Council. The country's most significant, recent advances on Human Rights include the approval of a religious freedom law (Jan 2019), ratification of the UN Conventions Against Torture (UNCAT) and Racial Discrimination (CERD) and of the Optional Protocol on the Abolition of the Death Penalty (all deposited in Oct 2019). In October 2020, the Government approved a new Penal Code, which came into effect February 2021. The new Penal Code prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, granting to homosexual individuals the same liberties as any other Angolan citizen.

The British Ambassador joined like-minded partners in seeking clarification over the incident in Cafunfo in Lunda Sul province last year. Following an investigation by the Angolan authorities, shortfalls were identified in the crowd control strategies of the Angolan police force. Remedial training was provided by the authorities to avoid a repetition and ensure appropriate and proportionate action will be taken in future.

The UK is a leading donor in supporting Angola's commitment to be landmine free by 2025. The UK's current Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP2, 2018-22) has, as of September 2021, cleared and confirmed safe over 27 million square metres of land in Angola (the equivalent of 3,784 football pitches) and provided 95,004 people with risk education.

The Global Mine Action Programme 3 (GMAP3) is due to replace GMAP2 during 2022. It will involve landmine clearance and risk education to help keep affected communities safe, and build capacity development for national authorities to help them manage landmine contamination. We are in the process of finalising individual country allocations, and will make a statement as soon as this is complete.

Our Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP2) is forecasting spend of almost £1 million in Angola during this financial year (21/22) on mine clearance and other mine action activities such as risk education to help keep affected communities safe. This is additional to the £9.3 million we have already spent on mine action in Angola under GMAP2 since 2018.

As of September 2021, GMAP2 funded activity had cleared and confirmed safe over 27 million square metres of land in Angola (the equivalent of 3,784 football pitches) and provided 95,004 people with risk education. We are in the process of finalizing individual country allocations for the next financial year (22/23) under the next iteration of our global mine action programme (GMAP3).

The dates for the Angolan general elections in 2022 have not yet been announced by the Angolan President or the National Electoral Commission. Angola held a peaceful and democratic election in 2017, and there is no evidence to suggest that this will not be repeated in 2022. The UK, along with likeminded partners, is monitoring the electoral situation closely, including through engagement with government officials and civil society actors. We will continue to press for an inclusive, fair and transparent election, underlining to the Government of Angola the importance of demonstrating the value of democratic reforms and freedoms that have already been implemented.

The UK spent over £164 million on mine action between 2014-21. We have committed a further £17 million for financial year 2021-22. Both GMAP and GMAP2 supported mine action across the globe including in Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, Vietnam, Angola, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. The programmes involved clearing land; risk education to help affected communities keep safe; and capacity development for national authorities to help them manage their contamination.

The Global Mine Action Programme 3 (GMAP3) is due to begin in 2022; we are working towards finalising funding and country allocations and hope to share our plans for the programme in due course.