Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of tensions in the Republic of Moldova between the Moldovan government and Transnistrian separatists.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK supports a sustainable resolution of the Transnistrian conflict, with a special status for the Transnistrian region. Wendy Morton MP, former Minister for Europe and Americas, discussed Transnistria with Moldovan Prime Minister Gavrilita in London in November, and reaffirmed the UK's support for Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our Ambassador to Moldova regularly discusses developments in meetings with Moldovan President Maia Sandu and in meetings with the de facto leader of Transnistria, most recently on 7 February. The UK continues to support the efforts of the OSCE 5+2 format, the high level working group of which meets regularly in order to discuss the conflict. We note the recent appointment of a Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, enabling Chisinau and Tiraspol to each have a Chief Negotiator to discuss a range of issues directly.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 implications for her policies of recent unrest in Kazakhstan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government continues to follow events in Kazakhstan closely. We greatly regretted the loss of life and injuries sustained as a result of unrest in January and condemned the violence and destruction of property that occurred. We await a full account of what led to these unprecedented events. We have taken note of President Tokayev's characterisation of what happened as an 'attempted coup' and his decision to establish an investigative commission. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State responsible for Central Asia and Human Rights, was assured by President Tokayev's Special Representative, Ambassador Kazykhan, that the work of the commission would be transparent and effective.
As well as being crucial for accountability, a comprehensive understanding of events will be important to securing public support for the programme of social, economic and political reforms outlined by President Tokayev following the January events. The UK supports the aims of the reforms that President Tokayev seeks to bring about, in the context of the close ties we have developed with Kazakhstan over the 30 years since diplomatic relations were established
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the tensions between Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) territorial integrity. Threats from within the Republika Srpska to withdraw from BiH State institutions are dangerous. We have called on those responsible to cease this destabilising and divisive rhetoric. We condemn Russian interference in the crisis, which undermines stability. The UK is committed to upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement. The UK, along with our Allies, is offering visible and practical support to BiH's territorial integrity, to maintain the Office of the High Representative, and the peace stabilisation mission (EUFOR). The Prime Minister's appointment of Sir Stuart Peach as Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, demonstrates the UK's ongoing commitment.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made on discussions with her French counterpart on stopping illegal crossings of the English Channel by migrants.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK and France agree on the need to cooperate closely to stop people traffickers. Working together we stopped over 23,000 illegal migration attempts in 2021. The Foreign Secretary underlined the need for a practical and pragmatic approach to migration with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting in December. The Prime Minister has discussed his commitment to work with France on the shared challenge of illegal migration in the Channel with President Macron, most recently on 5 February.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 adequacy of LGBT rights in Chechnya.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK Government has raised the issue of LGBT rights repeatedly with the Russian Government and made clear that Russia must abide by its international human rights obligations.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 never recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK does not and will not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. We continue to make it clear to Moscow that Crimea is, and will remain, part of Ukraine.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 adequacy of LGBT rights in Russia.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Home Secretary
The UK Government has raised the issue of LGBT rights repeatedly with the Russian Government and made clear that Russia must abide by its international human rights obligations.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of Government policies on achieving net zero on the cost of energy for the poorest households.
Answered by Greg Hands
In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government set out four key principles of Net Zero Fairness including ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported by Government during the energy transition.
In the Sustainable Warmth Competition, published in February 2021, the Government outlined its approach to tackling fuel poverty in England. It also recognised that improving the energy efficiency of homes is the most effective way of permanently reducing consumer energy bills and tackling fuel poverty in the long term. The Government is providing £3 billion of funding over this Parliament for low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures to those who need it most. Examples of these schemes include the Local Authority Delivery scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
The Government is also consulting on expanding the Energy Company Obligation Scheme to £1 billion a year from April 2022. This will help an extra 305,000 families with green measures such as insulation and heating, with average energy bill savings of around £290 a year.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking in preparation for a potential increase in channel crossings in the Spring.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We expect to see increased attempts by criminal gangs to facilitate these dangerous and unnecessary Channel crossings as the weather and sea conditions improve. Our focus is on prevention, and our ongoing support to the French Government provides for additional police patrols, improved detection technology and strengthened border security infrastructure on the French side. And at home, we are overhauling our broken asylum system to ensure people smugglers cannot profit from this vile trade.
We are exploring with Ministry of Defence partners how best we can use the full range of HMG’s capabilities to intercept and manage those that cross the Channel more effectively, safely and securely.
We have already improved the facilities at the Port of Dover. We have also set up a new, secure site at Manston to hold small boat arrivals for up to five days as security and identity checks are completed.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage airlines to no longer require mandatory mask wearing on domestic and international flights.
Answered by Robert Courts
In England face coverings are no longer required by law.
Airlines and operators set their own conditions of carriage, including decisions on the wearing of face coverings and when to lift this requirement. The majority of airlines continue to opt to retain face coverings following up-to-date guidance from international aviation regulators, including both the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EUASA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and due to continued differences in national COVID-19 restrictions around the world, which have made retaining the requirement simpler operationally in the short-term.