Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government has no current plans to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The international frameworks governing refugee response have been discussed periodically in the United Nations - most recently between 2015 and 2018. Member States decided against reopening the legal regime at that time, focusing instead on improving implementation of existing frameworks.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the UK–EU reset agreement for Gibraltar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The strengthening of the UK-EU relationship is an important development, as we work with the Government of Gibraltar to conclude a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar which protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, and which secures future prosperity for Gibraltar. All parties involved agree on the importance of finalising an agreement as soon as possible. The UK Government is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar and will only agree to terms with which the Government of Gibraltar is content.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be obliged to consult with the EU in advance of any foreign or defence policy or operation as a result of the UK–EU reset agreement.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
At the UK-EU Summit, the UK and the EU adopted a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). The SDP creates a strong basis to strengthen our foreign, security, and defence dialogue and cooperation. It does not oblige either party to consult the other on their respective foreign, security, or defence operations.
However, the SDP will enhance our cooperation across a broad range of areas including: maritime security; space security; hybrid threats; resilience of our critical infrastructure; irregular migration; global health; illicit finance; defence industry; and military mobility. It will complement our relationships through NATO - the bedrock of our Euro-Atlantic security, and other mechanisms such as the JEF.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they use to determine the number of diplomatic staff for a country that are permitted to work in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Appointments to diplomatic missions are governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, which states that States may freely appoint members of staff to their missions, and, in the absence of specific agreement, the receiving state may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits. His Majesty's Government does not set objective criteria for limiting the number of diplomatic staff for a country in the UK, but, as set out in the 1985 Government Report on the Review of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, His Majesty's Government may limit the size of a mission in cases where there are issues relating to the nature of the mission's activities or to take account of the size of UK missions in the country concerned. Such considerations are made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel permitted funds to flow to the Hamas terrorist organisation from third party countries via Israel.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is not appropriate for the Government to comment on unverified reports. The UK continues to work closely with our partners to identify opportunities to disrupt Hamas financial networks, including cutting off access to funding being used to carry out atrocities. Counter Terrorist Financing remains one of the UK's priorities under the National Security objectives set out in the UK's National Security Strategy. This work is ongoing alongside UK efforts to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are discussing with other countries amendments to the 1951 Refugee Convention to take into account the changed world circumstances.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is not discussing amendments to the Refugee Convention with other countries.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what preparations they are making for the review of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government has already begun work to reset the relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties, secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade. We want to look forwards by improving our trade and investment relationship with the EU, while recognising there will be no return to the single market, customs union, or freedom of movement.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consult the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive before they begin the review of the UK–EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government regularly consults the Northern Ireland Executive on implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. On 6 March, the Minister for Europe chaired the fifth meeting of the Interministerial Group on UK-EU Relations and the first since the restoration of the Stormont Executive. Discussions focused on UK government and devolved administrations' priorities ahead of the upcoming Partnership Council.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the upcoming review of the UK–EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement will involve an appraisal of the outworking of the Windsor Framework, and possible amendments to the Framework.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Article 776 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) requires the UK and EU to jointly review the implementation of the TCA and supplementing agreements and any matters related thereto five years after the entry into force and every five years thereafter. This article does not apply to the Windsor Framework which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement - a separate international treaty.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with EU institutions on the scope and timetable for the review of the UK–EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government regularly discusses implementation of the TCA with the EU through the framework of committees established by the agreement. The government has not discussed the scope or timetable for the review of the TCA with the EU.