Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications for funding from the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) over £50,000 were approved in 2018-19 and 2019-20; what the value was of each of those applications; and which Departments or Ministers requested that funding.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I [Cleverly] refer the Honourable Member to the answers I gave on 21 October to question 103610, on 27 October to questions 106364 and 106365 and 9 November to question 111557. In 2018-19 the Integrated Activity Fund approved 27 applications over £50,000.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that Dr Abduljalil AlSingace continues to suffer ongoing medical negligence at Jau Prison in Bahrain, if he will make urgent representations to his counterpart in Bahrain on securing (a) the immediate provision of adequate specialised healthcare for Dr AlSingace and (b) his immediate release from prison.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Responsibility for the provision of medical care lies with the Government of Bahrain, who have made clear that access to medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain. Bahrain takes allegations of mistreatment very seriously and has multiple mechanisms in place to investigate any allegations of wrongdoing. We urge those with any concerns regarding the treatment to submit a formal complaint into the Independent Ombudsman and the National Institute of Human Rights, for further investigation.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that political leader and Swedish-Bahraini dual national Sheikh Mohammed Habib AlMuqdad has had three surgeries postponed by Jau Prison authorities in Bahrain, if he will make urgent representations to his counterpart in Bahrain on (a) ensuring that Sheikh AlMuqdad is provided with the three surgeries he urgently requires and (b) securing Sheikh AlMuqdad’s immediate release from prison.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Responsibility for the provision of medical care lies with the Government of Bahrain, who have made clear that access to medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain. Bahrain takes allegations of mistreatment very seriously and has multiple mechanisms in place to investigate any allegations of wrongdoing. We urge those with any concerns regarding the treatment to submit a formal complaint into the Independent Ombudsman and the National Institute of Human Rights, for further investigation.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to Answers of 10 November 2020 to Questions 112063 and 112064, for what reasons the disclosure of the number of (a)projects applied to by individual departments under the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) in the 2018-19 financial year and (b) IAF projects delivered solely within the named states in financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 would compromise the confidence or confidentiality of Gulf partners in light of the decision to disclose similar information for the 2017-18 financial year; and what assessment he has made of whether withholding that information is in line with the Government's commitment to transparency and good governance.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable member to my response on 27 October to question 106366 and on 7 December to question 124318. Disclosures are in line with the Government's commitment to transparency and good governance and to the maintenance of international relations with our Gulf state partners.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the arrest of newspaper owner Jimmy Lai and the suppression of freedom of speech and press freedoms in Hong Kong.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The enactment and imposition by China of national security legislation for Hong Kong constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. It violates the high degree of autonomy of executive and legislative powers and independent judicial authority, provided for in the Joint Declaration.
We are also deeply concerned by the arrest of Jimmy Lai, and other individuals, in Hong Kong. Freedom of the press is explicitly guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law, and supposedly protected under Article 4 of the National Security Law. The arrests are further evidence that the National Security Law is being used to silence opposition. The Hong Kong authorities must uphold the rights and freedoms provided for in the Joint Declaration.
Following the enactment of the national security legislation, the Foreign Secretary announced on 20 July that the UK would take clear action in response, including offering a new immigration path for British Nationals (Overseas), suspending the UK’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and extending our arms embargo on mainland China to Hong Kong.
The Foreign Secretary set out concerns to State Councillor/Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, on 8 June and 28 July. FCO officials have raised recent arrests with the Hong Kong authorities over recent weeks, including with members of the Executive Council and the President of the Legislative Council.
We will continue to bring together our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to their international obligations.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Mauritania on tackling slavery in that country.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to eradicate modern slavery. While slavery is illegal in Mauritania, there are reports that it still exists. British officials continue to raise the issue with the Mauritanian Government, and we have committed £150 million of aid funding to tackling modern slavery globally.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, whether his Department has provided any funding to Syria Civil Defence, which is also known as the White Helmets.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Syria Civil Defence is funded by a number of nations, including the UK. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and its predecessor, the Conflict Pool, the UK has been supporting the life-saving work of the White Helmets since 2013.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Ministers of his Department have held meetings with external stakeholders on projects funded by his Department in relation to the Syria Civil Defence.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I met members of the Syria Civil Defence (the "White Helmets") project when I visited their training site in July 2013. The Foreign Secretary and his predecessor have also visited the training site.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will review the quarterly financial reports on UK funding for the Syria Civil Defence.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly reviews the financial reports of UK funding of Syria Civil Defence (SCD). The activities of SCD are also monitored and evaluated by our implementing partner and through third party monitoring. These reports and monitoring contribute to the British Government's work to ensure due diligence, evaluation and accountability.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The FCO’s expenditure on taxi, first class rail and business class air travel is detailed in the table below. The data on taxi travel shows the total global expenditure in the UK and all overseas Posts. The data on first class rail and business class air represents travel booked through the Government’s nominated travel agency.
Financial Year | Taxi Travel | First Class Rail Travel | Business Class Air Travel |
2013/14 | £1.4m | £1,590 | £5.4m |
2014/15 | £1.3m | £3,057 | £4.5m |
2015/16 | £1.7m | £2,597 | £4.6m |
2016/17 | £1.5m | £142 | £3.3m |
FCO policy is that public transport should be used whenever possible
All FCO staff are directed to use standard class for rail travel unless there are exceptional circumstances e.g. illness, disability or where First class facilities are essential for working while travelling. In these exceptional circumstances, prior line management approval must be given.
FCO staff travelling by air are required to book the lowest standard fare possible, subject to budget holder approval. As the FCO is present in over 170 countries there is oftern a need for long distance travel.