Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
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 relationship between the Islamic Centre of England and the Iranian Government.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Islamic Centre of England (ICE) and its director, Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Mousavi, are the official religious representative of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the UK. The ICE is distinct from the Iranian Embassy in London, which is the official diplomatic representation of the Government of Iran.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of threat from piracy in (a) current and (b) prospective shipping lanes of economic interest to the UK.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Piracy remains a serious problem and the Government keeps threat levels under regular review. I chaired a Ministerial Working Group on Maritime Security on 3 November 2016, at which the range of threats to British maritime interests, including piracy was reviewed, and the work being done to protect our interests both at home and overseas.
The Government's assessment is that piracy is on the decline in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore Strait. It remains suppressed but not eliminated in the West Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, where there remains a threat emanating from Somalia. In the Gulf of Guinea, we are concerned by an apparent increase in the number of attacks and a trend towards kidnapping crew for ransom.
The UK continues to play a leading role in efforts to uphold global maritime security. We provide the Commander and Operational Headquarters for the EU's Operation Atalanta whose mission includes deterring and disrupting piracy in the Southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and a large part of the Indian Ocean. We also help to safeguard shipping in those areas through the Royal Navy's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). In June 2016 the Royal Navy and the French Marine Nationale established the 'Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade - Gulf of Guinea' reporting mechanism which enables information on maritime incidents to be shared with shipping in West Africa. We also support capacity building programmes in West and East Africa, and in South-East Asia.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications of the reduction in cadmium within phosphate fertilisers in the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council COM(2016)157/F1 for (a) the UK's dependence on Russia and (b) the stability of North African economies.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government has made no such assessment. Due to uncertainty around the cost and the industrial processes to reduce cadmium content, it would be difficult to assess how the proposed limits on the concentration of cadmium in fertiliser will affect North and West African phosphate rock miners, and therefore also unclear to what extent UK and wider European industry will switch to Russian or other sources.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British ex-patriots residing in EU countries have contacted (a) UK embassies and (b) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding visa rights since 23 June 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
From June to November, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's global network, including our Diplomatic Posts overseas, received 1,572 telephone enquiries in relation to the EU Referendum. These enquiries were not necessarily on visa related issues but did concern the potential impacts of the result of the referendum.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department's guidance to overseas missions on hospitality for senior UK figures was last reviewed.
Answered by David Lidington
Overseas Missions provide hospitality to guests to support the Government's objectives overseas.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's guidance to staff on visits by Parliamentarians to our posts overseas was reviewed and updated in 2015.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to visit the Kingdom of Morocco.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I led a trade delegation of 40 companies to Morocco in November, reconfirming our close bilateral relationship and demonstrating the potential to expand our trade links.
I have no firm plans to return at present, but am pleased that the Moroccan Ministers of Energy and Justice are visiting the UK later this month.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to mark International Day of Peace.
Answered by James Duddridge
Consistent with our approach in the last Parliament, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no formal plans to mark the UN International Day of Peace. However, we remain strongly committed to conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building, including through the United Kingdom’s role as a member of the UN Security Council.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish his Department's rules and guidance governing the accommodation of former hon. Members in the official residences of UK Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
Answered by David Lidington
Ambassadors and High Commissioners make decisions on the accommodation of former hon. Members in their Residences on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department takes to regulate the use by former Members of UK Embassies and High Commissions in a personal capacity.
Answered by David Lidington
A former Member would be extended the same advice and courtesies as any other visiting UK national.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost has been of accommodating each former hon. Member in official residences of UK Ambassadors and High Commissioners since 2007.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
This information is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.