Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) proposed designation of Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations and (b) the potential impact of that proposal on UK-Mexico relations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They have not discussed the US's designation of cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. This is a decision for the US. It is unlikely to have any significant impact on our bilateral relationship with Mexico.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure that underwater fibreoptic cables in the (a) Mediterranean, (b) North Sea and (c) Baltic Sea are strengthened to help prevent sabotage.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK regularly engages international partners and industry on strengthening the resilience of subsea infrastructure, including from potential sabotage. We work closely with NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Allies to address threats, which has recently included UK support to NATO and JEF operations in the Baltic Sea. In December, the Prime Minister discussed cooperation with JEF leaders and signed a Strategic Partnership with Norway's Prime Minister committing to closer cooperation to tackle subsea threats. In February, the Foreign Secretary discussed coordination to protect subsea infrastructure with Finland's Foreign Minister while I raised cooperation with European External Action Service Deputy Secretary General Charles Fries. I have also discussed these issues with counterparts from the three regions.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to help increase levels of marine accessibility to the Cayman Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Marine access is an area of responsibility devolved to the Cayman Islands Government. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Transport (DfT) work closely with the Cayman Islands' maritime authorities to ensure appropriate oversight and good governance, including providing technical advice and training through the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of (i) trade facilitation, (ii) economic cooperation and (iii) market access within the Commonwealth and (b) the potential merits of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in promoting trade.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Commonwealth includes some of the UK’s biggest trading partners including Canada, and South Africa. Trade values have increased steadily in current prices from £105.6bn in 2014 to £170.2bn (12 months to end September 2024) through economic cooperation initiatives with Commonwealth members, such as Free Trade Agreements, negotiations with India, and trade facilitation work such as the Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore updating rules affecting exporters of goods and services.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office leads on Commonwealth engagement including with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council who are preparing for the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit in London, April 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of the Darwin Plus budget is contributed from the Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For 2024-25, Official Development Assistance accounts for 30% of the programme.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to protect British businesses against the effects of grey zone attacks on undersea cable communication infrastructure between Taiwan and Europe.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Subsea cables are critical to UK telecommunications digital infrastructure, and we are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of that infra- structure. We continue to co-ordinate with HMG partners, particularly DSIT who own subsea cables policy, as well as security partners, the subsea cables industry and international bodies to assess and understand risks to subsea cables.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent increase in the number of internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on UK humanitarian aid distribution.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading humanitarian partner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have allocated over £80 million in humanitarian support this financial year, supporting emergency lifesaving assistance and providing access to clean drinking water treatment for malnourished children, as well as life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. The humanitarian crisis is dire and rapidly worsening. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since January.
Humanitarian access to the areas with populations of displaced people is a key challenge, due to the ongoing insecurity and closure of airports, for example. The UK is working with partners to improve humanitarian access and humanitarian partners are active and adapting to deliver life-saving services. We call on all parties not to obstruct the vital services that humanitarians are providing, and to cease hostilities and uphold the protection of humanitarian workers, as outlined in international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 34796 on China: Cook Islands, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that strategic agreement on (a) his policies and (b) the policies of the Overseas Territories in the Indo-Pacific.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government will continue its policy of working to maintain a free, secure and open Indo-Pacific where international norms are respected. As part of the UK Government's constitutional responsibility for the defence, external relations and internal security of the British Overseas Territories, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has considered the impact of the strategic agreement on the one Territory in the Indo-Pacific (Pitcairn). This constitutional responsibility is different from that between New Zealand and the Cook Islands. As the UK retains the responsibility for external relations of the British Overseas Territories, the Territories are not able to enter into bilateral international treaties.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 his counterpart in Kenya on the potential impact of the recent drought on UK-Kenya agricultural cooperation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has strengthened its partnership with Kenya to enhance agricultural resilience amid worsening droughts. The Kenyan Government, with support from the UK through the Hunger Safety Net Programme, makes monthly cash transfers to 133,800 households in the North East Arid and Semi-Arid lands of Kenya. These cash transfers have provided a consistent source of income to households, minimising the impact of the recent drought. Water shortages have also heightened the need for sustainable irrigation and climate-smart agriculture, areas where UK programmes like Commercial Agriculture for Smallholder Agribusiness (CASA) and Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) play a key role through a combination of technical assistance, grants, and access to investment to grow climate resilient agribusiness. The Foreign Secretary last spoke to His Excellency Musalia Mudavadi on 29 January when they had a wide ranging conversation across our shared priorities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Congolese counterpart on illegal mining activities by armed groups in North Kivu.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply alarmed by the events unfolding in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We also condemn the recent offensives by the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Rwanda Defence Force, including the capture of Goma and Bukavu, as an unacceptable violation of DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of the UN Charter. The Foreign Secretary visited Kinshasa in February and met with President Tshisekedi. During their meeting they discussed reports of illicit mineral extraction in eastern DRC. We are deeply concerned by reports from the UN Group of Experts about M23 and Rwanda illegally extracting critical minerals from the DRC. We have been clear that illegal economic activity must stop.