Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) she or (b) any ministers in her Department have met with Russian=based companies since 24 February 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Neither the Foreign Secretary, nor any other Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office ministers, have met with Russia-based companies since the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The former Minister for Europe had an interview with TV Rain on 21 June, an independent media company forced out of Russia by the Kremlin's crackdown on media freedom.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ban lobbying of UK government officials by firms based in Russia.
Answered by Graham Stuart
We do not have a policy to ban lobbying by firms based in specific countries. We do however have robust measures to provide transparency and powerful tools to deter illicit or harmful activity when that arises. The National Security Bill, currently before Parliament, will provide a range of additional tools and powers to tackle state threats, including activity which amounts to foreign interference in UK public life.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the £220 million allocated by the Government for humanitarian assistance and support in Ukraine has been disbursed to date.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
To date we have disbursed approximately £85 million of the £220 million, in line with agreements reached with partners. Disbursements include £20 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), £25 million to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, £10 million to International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and £10 million of our £25 million in matched funding to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal, which is being delivered by UK NGOs. It is standard practice for payments to partners to be spread over time to ensure a sustained response.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to formulate and publish a UK atrocity prevention strategy in response to human rights violations in Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and have already dedicated significant resources to conflict prevention. The UK has pledged military, policing and financial support to the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s investigation into the situation in Ukraine. We will hold accountable those responsible for the atrocities that have been and are being committed in Ukraine, including both military commanders and individuals in the Putin regime.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister within her Department has responsibility for the UK’s Atrocity Prevention policy.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Minister of State for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth, has oversight of work on atrocity prevention policy. He is also the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. The FCDO works closely with other government departments to formulate policy on atrocity prevention.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to prevent international companies incorporated in the UK from committing human rights abuses and causing environmental damage both domestically and internationally.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government is clear that it expects all businesses that carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, financial penalties will be introduced to drive compliance with this reporting requirement. This requires primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment.
We have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We consulted from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the detail of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions. The Government will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of the consultation's close.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that corporations licenced in the UK do not (a) abuse human rights and (b) cause environmental damage.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government is clear that it expects all businesses that carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, financial penalties will be introduced to drive compliance with this reporting requirement. This requires primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are a set of voluntary principles and standards for businesses to encourage responsible business practices, including human rights, labour standards and environment.
We have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We consulted from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the detail of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions. The Government will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of the consultation's close.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of considering the principle of free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous communities as a legal requirement for companies incorporated in the UK but operating overseas in and around indigenous lands.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government is fully committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all individuals, including indigenous people. The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To further bolster our commitment to tackle modern slavery, in January 2021, the UK Government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. We have also enhanced Companies Act reporting (2013, 2016) and the UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect human rights around the world from negligence and malpractice of transnational mining corporations incorporated in the UK.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government works through a number of international mechanisms including supporting the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which enables businesses to operate responsibly in conflict affected and high risk areas and as a member of the Kimberley Process to help stem the flow of conflict diamonds.
The UK is also a member of the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights which promote a set of principles to guide companies in the extractives sector to maintain the safety and security of their operations in a manner that reduces the risk of human rights abuses including in local communities.
More broadly, the Government expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the efforts of British incorporated company, BHP, to compensate the victims of the 2015 Fundão disaster in Brazil.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It would not be appropriate to comment as this matter is the subject of ongoing litigation.