Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of displacement of the Wiwa indigenous peoples in Colombia.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting the Colombian Government in its commitment to secure a broad and lasting peace will remain an important priority of this Government. At the UN Security Council on 11 January, Our Ambassador urged the Colombian Government to take further steps to protect vulnerable groups including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities most affected by conflict. Through the UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) which has provided £79 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Colombia and prioritise funding interventions to help protect indigenous communities, including through the OHCHR (UN Human Rights Office).
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help tackle the deportation of asylum seekers from the North Caucasus region to Russia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK has consistently condemned the significant deterioration in the human rights situation in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In multilateral fora the UK continues to call for Russia to meet its international obligations, including at the The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and UN. The situation in Chechnya and Ingushetia is particularly egregious, as highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia. The UK has repeatedly called on Russia to end human rights violations in Chechnya, conduct effective investigations into reports and ensure that those responsible are held to account. The UK regularly discusses migration issues with our international partners.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the imprisonment of Apollinaris Darmawan in Indonesia.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government is aware of Apollinaris Darmanwan's imprisonment. The UK government is committed to upholding freedom of speech and promoting freedom of religion in Indonesia. Officials at the British Embassy in Jakarta routinely meet members of all six officially recognised faiths and discuss the importance of freedom of religious belief.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the level of observance of the right to (a) assemble, (b) worship freely and (c) other aspects of freedom of religion and belief in Laos.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), as demonstrated by our hosting the 'International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in July 2022. We also work through the UN to promote and protect these rights. The UK Embassy in Laos raises concerns about limitations on freedom of expression and other human rights issues, including freedom of religion, on a regular basis, both publicly and in private. We do this bilaterally with the Government of Laos as well as at the UN Human Rights Council. I visited Laos in September 2023 and raised our concern over particular human rights cases with Laos Ministers.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the treatment of Wang Yi in China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Wang Yi was Pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church, an unregistered Protestant house church in Chengdu. He was detained in December 2018 on the charge of 'inciting subversion of state power and illegal business operations.' On 30 December 2019 Chengdu Intermediate People's Court announced it had sentenced Wang to nine years in prison following a closed trial.
We continue to monitor the persecution of Christians for practicing their religion in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination is a human right that all people should enjoy. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
More broadly, we coordinate with international partners to increase international attention on China's human rights violations. Most recently, we did in September 2023 in the G7 Foreign Ministers Communiqué.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's ambition is to be a truly inclusive organisation that reflects the diversity of the population we serve. As of 30 September 2023, of those on temporary and casual contracts 49.6 per-cent are women (199 women).
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of SCS2 civil servants on full-time equivalent contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's ambition is to be a truly inclusive organisation that reflects the diversity of the population we serve. Understanding any remaining barriers to progression for women and improving the representation of women in senior roles is a focus for the FCDO this year. As of 30 September 2023, of those SCS2 on full-time equivalent contracts 37 per-cent are women (52 women).
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average pay is for staff at grades (a) executive officer and (b) PO3 in the Passport Office; and what the average pay levels are for (i) administrative and (ii) executive officer staff in UKVI where Passport Office staff have been tasked to assist.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Below is the average pay across the Home Office, which includes HMPO and UKVI, for AO/PO3 grades:
Below is the average pay across the Home Office for Executive Officer grades:
* AO/PO3 are paid the above average salary regardless of length of service.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date her Department's officials started planning to provide HM Passport Office executive and administrative officers to assist UKVI teams; and who proposed the request for assistance.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Staff resources are regularly redeployed across the Home Office to meet business demands and priorities. HM Passport Office take a flexible approach in supporting these priorities and demands when necessary.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much time was allocated to training (a) EO and (b) PO3 staff at HM Passport Office who have assisted UK Visas and Immigration teams with asylum applications; and what level of training was provided.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Home Office staff are given all the necessary training to ensure that they are fully equipped to carry out their role. HM Passport Office staff who have assisted in the processing of asylum applications, were given the standard training time, with further supplementary training provided as necessary.