Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to her Vietnamese counterpart on freedom of religion or belief for independent religious communities in that country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK regularly raises concerns with the Government of Vietnam about freedom of religion or belief for independent religious communities. Vietnam is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) Strategy, launched in July 2025, and we raise the issue on a regular basis with the Government of Vietnam. We will continue to urge Vietnam to meet its international human rights obligations. We continue to highlight FoRB violations and abuses on the international stage, through our position at the UN and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Scotland.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
This Government is taking real action to help Scottish families with the cost of living.
We have delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a decade, extended the fuel duty freeze, increased the State Pension and Universal Credit, and are delivering cut price summer activities for families. Some 220,000 of the lowest paid Scottish workers got a direct pay rise thanks to an increase in the National Living Wage. And the energy cap is saving households in Scotland an average of £117 a year, with an additional £150 for the most vulnerable household.
And by continuing to grow the economy we will help more Scots access better-paid, good-quality jobs.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Home Office and Department for Education on establishing and funding a safe, facilitated departure scheme for the 2026 cohort of students from Gaza with fully funded scholarships to universities in Scotland and across the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to my answer of 12 January in response to Question 103313, a total of eight cohorts of students and qualifying dependants have so far been supported to leave Gaza to take up their university places in the UK for the 2025/26 academic year. The future nature of this support will be announced to Parliament in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government will support a facilitated departure of students from Gaza with fully funded scholarships to universities in Scotland and across the UK this year.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to my answer of 12 January in response to Question 103313, a total of eight cohorts of students and qualifying dependants have so far been supported to leave Gaza to take up their university places in the UK for the 2025/26 academic year. The future nature of this support will be announced to Parliament in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report by the Independent Delegation of International Lawyers to Honduras published in April 2026, what representations her Department has made to the government of Honduras on the protection of Indigenous leaders, campesino communities and human rights defenders from violence, attacks and forced eviction.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 April, the Minister of State for International Development met with Peace Brigades International and Honduran human rights defenders in London to discuss the report in question, and she reinforced the UK's calls for stronger protections for human rights defenders and indigenous groups in Honduras.
All UK companies operating overseas, including those with investments, direct operations, and supply chain links in Honduras, are expected to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Through the Trade Strategy, the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct, including options to strengthen human rights and environmental due diligence in global supply chains. The Department for Business and Trade will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong published on 26 March 2026, what diplomatic steps she is taking to secure the release of Jimmy Lai following reports that he will not appeal his conviction under Hong Kong’s national security legislation.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 April in response to Question 127084.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report by the Independent Delegation of International Lawyers to Honduras, entitled "Our Determination Outweighs Our Fear": Agrarian conflict and the criminalisation of Indigenous and campesino communities, published in April 2026, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK companies with (a) investments, (b) direct operations and (c) supply chain links in Honduras are undertaking enhanced human rights and environmental due diligence, particularly in the agro-industrial and extractive sectors.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 April, the Minister of State for International Development met with Peace Brigades International and Honduran human rights defenders in London to discuss the report in question, and she reinforced the UK's calls for stronger protections for human rights defenders and indigenous groups in Honduras.
All UK companies operating overseas, including those with investments, direct operations, and supply chain links in Honduras, are expected to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Through the Trade Strategy, the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct, including options to strengthen human rights and environmental due diligence in global supply chains. The Department for Business and Trade will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government plans to support international efforts on addressing legal mechanisms that may hinder fossil fuel phase-out policies, in advance of the International Conference on a Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is fully committed to the transition away from fossil fuels, both domestically and working with partners internationally. Recent events have underlined once more the risks of being exposed to volatile international fossil fuel markets.
The UK delegation, led by the UK's Special Representative for Climate, will engage in discussions on a variety of barriers and solutions to the transition away from fossil fuels.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Government aligns its climate commitments with continued support for investor–state dispute settlement provisions in bilateral investment treaties where such provisions may affect fossil fuel transition policies in partner countries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK draws on the full range of investment commitments and international best practice in our international investment agreements to promote growth, deliver our clean energy goals, and continue to uphold the UK’s right to regulate.
Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of investor–state dispute settlement provisions in the Colombia–UK Bilateral Investment Treaty on Colombia’s ability to implement climate policies aimed at phasing-out fossil fuels.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government values the role played by the UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in the investment relationship between our countries. Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation.
ISDS does not remove a government’s right to regulate in the public interest, nor its obligations to comply with other commitments, including with respect to the environment.