Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to enhance bilateral relations with the United States; and what priorities they have identified for cooperation on key global challenges.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this year, the PM and President Biden agreed a first-of-its-kind economic partnership, the 'Atlantic Declaration', which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before ensuring US-UK leadership in critical and emerging technologies, closer cooperation on our economic security, partnering on digital transformation, and building the clean energy economy of the future. The US-UK relationship remains strong and we are united by decades of unrivalled security and defence cooperation. We continue to work with the US Administration to deepen and strengthen our vital economic and trading partnership, advance mutual priorities and shape the global trade agenda.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to deepen relations with New Zealand; and what common objectives have been identified for advancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has strong relations with New Zealand through our modern partnership built on shared values and history. The partnership is reinforced by close friendship, prosperity and people-to-people links, Commonwealth membership and cultural exchange. HMG is in regular contact with counterparts in New Zealand to advance cooperation on a broad range of issues including trade, security and development. We look forward to continuing to deepen our cooperation with New Zealand's new government.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the negotiating position and approach of the EU on the political stability of the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is still in discussions with the EU regarding the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. So far we have not seen the flexibility necessary to address the issues we are seeing. The situation in Northern Ireland is serious: there is no longer a fully functioning devolved government.
We remain fully committed to fixing the problems with the Protocol and to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions. We need to make progress urgently to provide a platform for a stable, effective power-sharing Executive after the May elections.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect businesses in the engineering, manufacturing and construction sectors in Northern Ireland from any price increases for products imported from China when EU anti-dumping duties come into force in February in accordance with the terms of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises that global economic conditions continue to be challenging for the steel industry, including overcapacity, unfair subsidies and dumping.
Goods subject to EU anti-dumping measures being moved into Northern Ireland are considered to be 'at risk' and therefore attract the EU customs duty rate. Traders can claim a customs duty waiver for imported goods that would otherwise be charged at-risk tariffs, which means that they would not have to pay the duty owed. There are limits on how much a business can claim within a three tax year period, and businesses should check guidance available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-waiver-for-duty-on-goods-that-you-bring-to-northern-ireland-from-great-britain to see if this option is appropriate for them.
Issues like this one underscore why the Government has been clear that changes are required to the Protocol so that goods remaining within the UK's customs territory are not subject to tariffs or unnecessary processes and paperwork.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the UK’s Overseas Territories.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic the UK Government has been supporting the Overseas Territories in their response. This has included enabling seven Overseas Territories to establish local testing facilities, and ensuring all had sufficient personal protective equipment, testing kits, and other medical supplies. The UK also committed to supply the Territories with a proportionate share of the vaccines it procured, in line with the UK's enduring commitment to the people of the Territories. So far the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has arranged deliveries to all 12 permanently inhabited Territories, most recently the Pitcairn Islands and Tristan da Cunha, but also to South Georgia. The UK Government, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Department for Health and Social Care, Public Heath England continue to work closely with the Overseas Territories to support them in their response to COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to build closer social and economic ties between the UK and other Commonwealth countries, in particular Canada, Australia and New Zealand, after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to working with the three pillars of the Commonwealth – the Secretariat, its member states, and its civil society organisations and networks - to build closer social and economic ties. We were particularly pleased to host Commonwealth partners, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, at the sixth Commonwealth Trade Ministers' Meeting in London last October. The meeting reaffirmed our shared commitment to deepening trade and investment ties across the Commonwealth, including through our plans for Free Trade Agreements following our departure from the EU. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are close and natural partners based on our shared history and values. These are invaluable relationships for the UK, which are further strengthened through our Commonwealth cooperation.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of public funding provided to the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the 2016 Multilateral Development Review, the Department for International Development (DFID) assessed that the Commonwealth Secretariat was in need of further reform if it was to fulfil its crucial role at the heart of the Commonwealth. DFID agreed a Performance Management Agreement with the Secretariat for its future contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation. In its 2018 annual review of its support to Commonwealth institutions, DFID confirmed that the Secretariat had met all the criteria for the release of the first three tranches of support under the Agreement.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned an external Central Assurance Assessment of the Commonwealth Secretariat earlier this year. While this Assessment did not specifically consider value for money, it reported that reasonable progress had been made in demonstrating that the internal control environment was effective.
The Secretariat's external auditors gave an unqualified opinion - with no recommendations - on the 2017/18 financial statements for all three of the main Secretariat funds.
Through our active membership of the Secretariat's Board of Governors and Executive Committee, we are committed to ensuring that the Secretariat makes efficient use of public funds, with maximum impact and value for money for its member states and their citizens.
At the request of Foreign Ministers, to fulfil a commission from Heads of Government, the Secretariat's Board of Governors has made recommendations to enhance the Secretariat's governance. Once implemented, they would make a significant difference to the effective operation of the Secretariat. We hope that they will be adopted soon.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what fines have been levied on the UK for non-compliance with EU directives from 2010 to date.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
From 2010 to date no fines have been levied on the UK for non-compliance with EU directives.Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK emergency travel documents were issued to overseas applicants in each month since January 2013.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The table below provides the total number of UK Emergency Travel Documents issued to overseas applicants from January 2013 to October 2015.
MONTH | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
JANUARY | 1,809 | 2,036 | 1,687 |
FEBRUARY | 1,735 | 2,030 | 1,727 |
MARCH | 2,078 | 2,638 | 2,138 |
APRIL | 2,417 | 3,961 | 2,237 |
MAY | 2,557 | 3,947 | 2,470 |
JUNE | 2,885 | 5,238 | 3,208 |
JULY | 3,654 | 5,351 | 3,647 |
AUGUST | 3,493 | 3,970 | 3,542 |
SEPTEMBER | 2,808 | 3,346 | 3,207 |
OCTOBER | 2,262 | 2,458 | 2,520 |
NOVEMBER | 1,842 | 1,766 | |
DECEMBER | 2,451 | 2,429 |
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what co-operation there has been with the government of the Republic of Ireland on tackling cross-border illegal dumping.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
This is primarily a matter for the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland (DOENI) to take forward with their interlocutors in the Irish Republic. DOENI has not requested the assistance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of this issue.