Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on Uganda of the decision to reduce the funding allocated to the Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by James Duddridge
The seismic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on ODA.
ODA allocations for the 2021-22 financial year have not yet been made. These will be decided through a rigorous business planning and budget allocation process in early 2021.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the end of the transition period on UK citizens' ability to travel to the EU from 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government has discussed arrangements with the EU for UK nationals travelling to the Schengen Area. Regrettably, the EU has consistently maintained that UK nationals will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code from 1 January 2021. UK nationals will be able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit.
At border control in the EU, UK nationals will be subject to third country national rules.
Information about travel to Europe after the transition period is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Polish counterpart on that country's abortion laws.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We are closely monitoring developments in Poland following a ruling on 22 October by its Constitutional Tribunal that laws permitting abortion in certain cases are unconstitutional and the large-scale protests across Poland that this has prompted. It is for each country to establish its own laws on abortion. However, the UK firmly believes that supporting the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, through evidence-based public health interventions, saves lives and supports prosperity. Evidence shows that restricting access to safe abortion does not make abortions less common: it only makes them less safe. The FCDO is a leading voice on gender issues, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, in multilateral fora such as the Council of Europe and the United Nations. The British Embassy in Warsaw is active on this agenda and in September ran a workshop for British and Polish NGOs active on women's rights.