Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring political institutional reform in Ukraine as a condition of providing reconstruction aid to that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The new UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation sets out our reform expectations for the Government of Ukraine, aligning with priority reforms set by NATO, the EU, the International Monetary Fund and our G7 Partners. Ukraine has continued to reiterate its commitment to making progress on reforms as part of the EU accession process and its reconstruction efforts. Institutional reform is a key part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts to build back better, ensuring greater transparency and oversight. The UK has been providing technical assistance to key political institutional reforms, including anti-corruption and electoral reform in Ukraine.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart on taking steps to help tackle public sector corruption in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Ukraine has made significant progress on anti-corruption reform since 2014. As the Ukrainian Government recognises, there remains more to do. The UK-funded Good Governance Fund Ukraine, a £38 million three-year technical assistance programme, has been supporting key anti-corruption and governance reforms in Ukraine, including the relaunch of the High Council of Justice and High Qualification Commission of Judges, institutions critical to a judiciary free from unlawful interference. The UK also supports defence reform, providing senior UK advisory support to the Ministry of Defence and Defence Reform Advisory Board.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart on the suspension of special permits for hydrocarbons in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
While we are in regular contact with the Ukrainian Government, the issue of special permits for hydrocarbon projects by the Ukrainian authorities has not been discussed. The UK government is engaged with the Ministry of Energy and Ukrainian companies on short-term energy security needs and has introduced a time-limited exemption to its international fossil fuel support policy for Ukraine. Longer-term solutions in the region and globally must focus on clean energy, to prevent long-term dependence on fossil fuels.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) adult, (b) child, (c) male and (d) female British citizens have been given consular assistance to get home from Turkey having escaped detention in north-eastern Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not comment on individual cases. Each request for consular assistance is considered on a case-by-case basis and the support we can offer is tailored to the individual circumstances. All British nationals who return to the UK from north-eastern Syria should expect to be investigated and, where there is evidence that a crime has been committed, prosecuted. Decisions on prosecutions are taken independently by the police and Crown Prosecution Service on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the European Court of Human Rights Case of Rezmive and Others v. Romania ECHR 137 (2017), what steps the Government is taking to encourage the Romanian Government to improve (a) prison and detention facilities attached to police stations and (b) such facilities holding British (i) citizens and (ii) residents.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Our Embassy in Bucharest and the Romanian Ministry of Justice are in regular contact about prison conditions in Romania. The UK and Romania have built a strong law enforcement relationship over the years through sustained engagement and cooperation. Embassy/Consular staff overseas are tasked to contact any new British National detainees as soon as possible after being informed about their arrest or detention in order to assess any potential assistance. Where there are concerns that British Nationals are not treated in line with internationally-accepted standards we will consider approaching local authorities. There are currently no British Nationals detained within the Romanian prison system.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Resolution on the intervention of the Romanian Intelligence Service in the Romanian Act of Justice, passed by the European Bars Federation on 19 May 2018, whether the Government has made an assessment of (a) the relationship that exists between the Romanian judiciary and intelligence service and (b) the effect of that relationship on British (i) citizens and (ii) residents in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The relationship between the Romanian judiciary and intelligence service is an internal matter for Romania. The Government does not comment on intelligence matters. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office engages regularly with the Romanian Government on justice issues.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the rationale is for the Government's longstanding policy on contact with the Front National in France; and whether he plans to review that policy in the next three months.
Answered by Alan Duncan
It has been the longstanding policy of this and previous governments not to engage with the Front National, based on positions the party has adopted in the past. We keep this policy under review.