Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding has been earmarked in the next three years for the UK-led Strategic Communication Initiative under the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK led Strat Comms initiative as part of the Substantial NATO- Georgia Package (SNGP) concluded as planned in March 2024. We are currently considering our position on future Strategic Communication collaboration with Georgia.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving access for women's organisations and coalitions to engage with Government.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Minister for Women and Equalities regularly discusses gender equality issues with Cabinet colleagues and this Government is committed to tackling the major injustices that hold women back. We regularly consult with women’s organisations as we develop policies, and will continue to do so. For example, we have engaged with women’s groups through the Centenary Programme, Returners Programme and the LGBT action plan.
The Government Equalities Office is currently developing a programme of work to ensure that women’s voices are better heard by policymakers. Our aim is to understand the barriers that women face and enable them to fulfil their potential.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK citizens that will travel to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Development)
We know that FIFA have estimated that approximately 30,000 tickets have been applied for by UK residents. We are working closely with the FA, Supporters Groups, and the Russian organising committee to get the most accurate data on fan numbers and fan movements to ensure we have sufficient numbers of Embassy staff to support them. We have held discussions with fans, the Football Association, and supporters’ groups following the attack in Salisbury. UK citizens are not required to notify the Government if they change their plans. We encourage fans attending the tournament to stay up to date with our Travel Advice. We will attempt to reinforce the number of staff in Russia and London to support British nationls travelling to the tournament, and we will have consular staff based in every city that England will play in.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of UK citizens that have cancelled a visit to Russia for the World Cup as a result of security concerns after the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Development)
We know that FIFA have estimated that approximately 30,000 tickets have been applied for by UK residents. We are working closely with the FA, Supporters Groups, and the Russian organising committee to get the most accurate data on fan numbers and fan movements to ensure we have sufficient numbers of Embassy staff to support them. We have held discussions with fans, the Football Association, and supporters’ groups following the attack in Salisbury. UK citizens are not required to notify the Government if they change their plans. We encourage fans attending the tournament to stay up to date with our Travel Advice. We will attempt to reinforce the number of staff in Russia and London to support British nationls travelling to the tournament, and we will have consular staff based in every city that England will play in.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many updates have been made to the Be on the Ball travel advice since June 2017; and on what dates those updates were published.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Development)
We are keeping our Be on the Ball travel advice for the 2018 World Cup under regular review. Since the page was first published in June 2017, we have issued five updates to date, on 14 November, 1 December, 15 February, 21 March and 6 April. We encourage travelling fans to keep up to date with the campaign and our Travel Advice for Russia. We will continue to issue updates in the build-up and during the tournament.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be in Russia for the duration of the 2018 World Cup to provide assistance to UK citizens.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Development)
We know that FIFA have estimated that approximately 30,000 tickets have been applied for by UK residents. We are working closely with the FA, Supporters Groups, and the Russian organising committee to get the most accurate data on fan numbers and fan movements to ensure we have sufficient numbers of Embassy staff to support them. We have held discussions with fans, the Football Association, and supporters’ groups following the attack in Salisbury. UK citizens are not required to notify the Government if they change their plans. We encourage fans attending the tournament to stay up to date with our Travel Advice. We will attempt to reinforce the number of staff in Russia and London to support British nationls travelling to the tournament, and we will have consular staff based in every city that England will play in.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Ministers of his Department have informed him of meetings held in a personal capacity while they were on private holidays abroad in each of the last two years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This information is not routinely collated.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his officials in Israel or the Palestinian Territories met the Right hon. Member for Witham between 13 and 25 August 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is longstanding practice under successive Governments that we do not routinely disclose information relating to internal discussion and advice. My Rt Hon. Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. I refer the Hon Member to the exchange of letters between my Rt Hon. Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) and the Prime Minister on her resignation; and to the statement issued by my Rt Hon. Friend on 6 November, a copy of which is available on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when officials of his Department in (a) Israel and the Palestinian Territories and (b) London first became aware that the Right hon. Member for Witham visited Israel in the summer of 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to written question 112026 of 13 November.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 58596, how many contracts the Government placed with UK-based public relations companies between 2010 and 2015 that include work in or on Somalia; and with which companies those contracts were placed.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Following further consultations, I can confirm that no records have been found of contracts awarded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to UK-based public relations companies for work in or on Somalia between 2010 and 2015.