Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to provide proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to humanitarian causes in Ukraine in the first half of 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is working hard to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible. The proceeds are currently frozen in a UK bank account while a new independent foundation is established to manage and distribute the money. They are not Government funds. UK officials continue to hold discussions with Mr Abramovich's representatives, experts and international partners, and we are continuing on our efforts to reach a resolution.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on re-opening the British embassy in Damascus.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are actively engaging with the new interim authorities in Syria, including via visits to Damascus, to press for progress towards an inclusive political process, which leads to a stable Syria. We are keeping the re-establishment of a permanent presence in Damascus under review.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on dismantling sanctions in support of the new regime in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary stated in Parliament on 14 January, we are currently reviewing our Syria sanctions.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support he is providing to medical facilities in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the fall of Assad, the UK has announced a further £61 million in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable Syrians inside and across the region. This will support the delivery of essential services, including healthcare activities.
Overall in 2024, the UK provided over £30 million to support healthcare activities in Syria through UNICEF, UNFPA, Humanitarian Pooled Funds and a dedicated UK-funded health partner. UK funding has helped over 2.3 million people access primary healthcare, supported improvements to medical facilities, and provided a range of specialist mental health and Gender-based violence (GBV) support to the most vulnerable people across Syria. The UK has directly supported 79 health facilities, including 17 hospitals, 21 primary healthcare centres, 16 mental health, protection and specialised services centres, and 25 mobile medical units that can travel to remote areas to provide essential healthcare.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to use evidence-based, responsive vaccination programmes around the world.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports evidence-based responsive vaccination programmes as part of our dedication to improving global health. The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has vaccinated over a billion children. Gavi's vaccination programmes are guided by the latest scientific evidence and expert advice from the World Health Organisation's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), coupled with in-depth, evidence-based analysis to ensure the effectiveness of its vaccination programmes.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any in-country programming will be (a) curtailed, (b) cancelled and (c) postponed as a result of changes to budget allocations since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are finalising FCDO ODA allocations for 2024/25 and will publish them shortly. Over the coming months, we will also decide how to allocate our 2025/26 ODA allocations; these will be published in due course. We are determined to deliver our international development mission, lay the foundations for our ODA spending in the years to come and avoid the turbulence of recent years. The FCDO's ODA programme budget, including the Integrated Security Fund, is planned to be £9.24 billion in 2025/26 - the highest level in recent years and an increase of around £450 million from 2024/25.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
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 the European Union on distributing the proceeds generated from the sale of Chelsea FC to support the victims of the invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continues to hold discussions with the European Commission, as part of our efforts to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral declaration. The Government is fully committed to that position, as part of our iron-clad support for Ukraine.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Portuguese counterpart on distributing the proceeds generated from the sale of Chelsea FC to support the victims of the invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
His Majesty's Government continues to hold discussions with the Portuguese Government, as part of our efforts to ensure the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible, in line with the UK's unilateral declaration. The Government is fully committed to that position, as part of our iron-clad support for Ukraine.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Point of Order of the Rt hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield of 8 October 2024, Official Report, column 163, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 6 September 2024 from Lord Howard of Lympne.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are grateful to the Honourable member for bringing this matter to our attention. We apologise for the delay. A response will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2024 to Question 4213 on Israel: Arms Trade, for what reason he decided to suspend export licences to Israel on the grounds that there is clear risk that such equipment might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law, in the context of the conclusions outlined in the document entitled Summary of the IHL process, decision and the factors taken into account, published on 2 September 2024, on the conduct of hostilities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The review assessed IHL compliance across three areas: humanitarian provision and access, treatment of detainees and the conduct of the military campaign. The review found possible breaches of IHL in the areas of humanitarian access and in the treatment of detainees. The lack of sufficient verifiable evidence meant that we could not determine whether possible breaches of IHL in the conduct of the campaign had been committed. However, concerns regarding Israel's compliance and commitment in the areas of humanitarian relief and treatment of detainees give cause for concern about its attitude and approach to the conduct of hostilities. The scale of the destruction and the number of civilian deaths also cause great concern. The UK's robust export licensing criteria states that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given the conclusions of the review, on 2 September the Government suspended around 30 export licences to Israel, effectively covering all arms exports for use in the current conflict in Gaza, exempting components for F-35 aircraft which, for reasons outlined in the Foreign Secretary's Statement and the Business and Trade Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, have been excluded from the suspension.