Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
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 implications for his policies of the use of sexual violence by extremist groups in the north east and north west of Nigeria.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to preventing sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and to supporting victims in Nigeria. We welcomed Nigeria's endorsement of both the Call to Action and the Murad Code as crucial steps for greater practical action to tackle Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). Through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), the UK is supporting the Nigerian police and military in the conflicted-affected North East of Nigeria to respond to sexual and gender-based violence. In the Financial Year of 2023/24, over 5000 Nigerian security personnel received training on Human Rights and preventing gender-based violence (GBV). The UK's Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP) also provided support to 551 women and girls facing gender-based violence with comprehensive treatment and case management. The UK is also committed to ensuring the rights and inclusion of women and girls in North West Nigeria are protected. In the Financial Year of 2023/24, the ISF Nigeria Stability Programme (NSP) funded 52 sessions on preventing sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and 6 Mixed Observer Teams (MOTs) which are actively supporting communities to address GBV prevention and response.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
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 Nigerian counterpart on the risk of famine in (a) north west and (b) north east Nigeria.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Insecurity in North-East and North-West Nigeria has contributed to worsening food security as people are unable to plant, harvest and trade safely. The UK is therefore already providing support to tackle malnutrition in north-east Nigeria through the Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP). HARP reduces mortality and increases resilience for people with the most severe humanitarian needs by (i) addressing food insecurity and malnutrition and (ii) protecting vulnerable people from harm. Through HARP, the UK has funded UNICEF to support the prevention and treatment of malnutrition aiming to reach 500,000 children with life-saving support.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of Hong Kongers resident in the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme by (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics’ quarterly release, in the entry clearance visas and extensions detailed datasets.
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of Hong Kongers resident in the UK under the BN(O) route by parliamentary constituency or by local authority.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Azerbaijan on territorial claims made by President Aliyev for territory within Armenia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK fully recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. We welcome the progress on the delimitation of their borders and support the efforts of both sides to agree a lasting settlement to their decades' long conflict. I called Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on 31 October and met with the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK on 13 January, where I reiterated the UK's support to secure a long-lasting peace deal. We regularly urge all sides to refrain from any rhetoric which could undermine the important dialogue and prospects for a deal.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she had discussions with her Chinese counterpart on the recent arrest of AstraZeneca's China executives as part of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government will continue to support the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high growth sectors that will drive our growth mission. At the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was clear on the importance of open and candid conversation and secured China's agreement on the importance of a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on the case of Habiba Al Askari.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The case of Habiba Al Askari is tragic and underlines why we need to see more medical evacuation routes open during the first phase of the ceasefire. While we have not discussed this individual case with Israel, we engage routinely on the importance of addressing health needs within Gaza and enabling medical evacuations for all patients needing medical care not available in Gaza.
The UK has announced £1 million for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, delivered through World Health Organization Egypt, to support medically evacuated Palestinians from Gaza. The UK is also supporting provision of essential healthcare to Palestinians including funding UK-Med to operate field hospitals in Gaza, where they have established an operating theatre and an emergency department for urgent care.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support British citizens who have experienced trauma due to events in Gaza and Israel since October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcome the announcement of an agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. We have continually pressed for a resolution to secure a ceasefire and see the return of hostages. We welcome the release of seven hostages in Gaza, including British national Emily Damari, and thank Qatar, Egypt and the US for their support in bringing these individuals' and their families' horrific ordeal to an end. We are clear the agreement must be implemented in full with all hostages returned. We continue to support families who have been bereaved through the October 7 attacks. The Foreign Secretary has met with or spoken to all families of UK and UK-linked hostages cruelly detained by Hamas and has heard first-hand the suffering those families have endured, most recently on 13 January. A team of experts from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are providing ongoing support to family members in the UK and Israel. The UK Government has additionally supported 505 British nationals and eligible persons to leave Gaza since October 2023.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Crown immunity for HM Prison Service on the adequacy of the mitigation of systemic issues identified following deaths in prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners. Deaths in custody are subject to a police investigation on behalf of the Coroner in all cases and, where necessary, a criminal investigation, an investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman; and a Coroner’s inquest (before a jury in non-natural deaths).
After each death that is apparently self-inflicted and any other unexpected death that is not obviously from natural causes, an internal Early Learning Review is conducted to identify lessons that can immediately be learned in order to improve local practice and prevent further death.
HMPPS also provides additional support to prisons where there has been a cluster of self-inflicted deaths, and fund Samaritans to provide support to prisoners and staff.
We are looking into the issue of Crown Immunity, although it is an incredibly complex matter.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to make representations to her Chinese counterpart at the UK-China Pensions Symposium on unfreezing the mandatory provident fund savings of Hong Kongers who have moved to the UK under the British National (Overseas) visa scheme.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is deeply committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK. We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British National (Overseas) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund.
As documentary requirements for withdrawing funds are a matter for the Hong Kong authorities, officials have raised this issue directly with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong MPF Schemes Authority. We have urged them to facilitate early draw down of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently and have made clear such discrimination of BN(O)s is unacceptable.
We will continue to raise the issue with the relevant authorities and work towards a solution.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the number of UK companies that have jointly listed on the (a) Shanghai and (b) Shenzhen stock exchange since 2019.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Launched in 2019, the UK and China launched the London-Shanghai Stock Connect which allows Chinese companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to issue depository receipts (DRs) in the UK, and for UK-listed companies to do the same in China. In 2023, the scheme was extended with the launch of London-Shenzhen Stock Connect.
Since 2019, six Chinese companies have issued DRs in the UK via Stock Connect. To date, no UK companies have issued DRs in China.