Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 the Palestinian Authority on tackling corruption in that region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is regular high-level engagement between the UK and the Palestinian Authority, both through our Consulate-General in Jerusalem and through inward and outward visits. We will continue to encourage the Palestinian leadership to work toward strong, inclusive, accountable and democratic institutions, based on respect for the rule of law and human rights. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon offered the UK's support in efforts to de-escalate the situation on the ground, in his meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen, Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh and Palestinian Foreign Minister Malki, during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 10-13 January.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to help ensure that that Iran will not become a nuclear power.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are currently engaged in negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). Iran must now decide whether to conclude the fair and comprehensive deal on the table, for the benefit of the Iranian people and economy, or collapse the JCPoA. In this scenario, we would carefully consider all the options in partnership with our allies.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of Hezbollah's potential involvement in the narcotics trade in South America.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Illegal drugs are a global threat. The UK works with partners around the world to coordinate action and combat organised crime groups operating across borders. The UK proscribes Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation and has an asset freeze in place against the entire organisation.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 Cabinet colleagues on future uses of the NHS Test and Trace database system.
Answered by Wendy Morton
No such discussions have taken place.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to use the NHS Test and Trace database system.
Answered by Wendy Morton
No assessment has yet been made, nor any decisions made, on whether to use the data systems used by NHS Test and Trace for other purposes beyond those related to Covid-19. Any work to assess potential future uses of these data systems would be met from within the financial resources already allocated to NHS Test and Trace for the 2021/22 financial year.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has allocated any financial or other resources from his Department's budget to investigate potential future uses by his Department of the NHS Test and Trace database system.
Answered by Wendy Morton
No assessment has yet been made, nor any decisions made, on whether to use the data systems used by NHS Test and Trace for other purposes beyond those related to Covid-19. Any work to assess potential future uses of these data systems would be met from within the financial resources already allocated to NHS Test and Trace for the 2021/22 financial year.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 implications for his policies of confirmation by Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has two cascades of advanced centrifuges with almost four times the enrichment capacity of previous ones in operation at its underground Natanz facility.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Iran's continued systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) is jeopardising our efforts to preserve the JCPoA and risks compromising the important opportunity for a return to diplomacy with the new US Administration. We continue to engage closely with the US and JCPoA participants on this, and have made our position clear, including in recent E3 statements, that Iran must halt this activity, and return to compliance with its JCPoA commitments without delay.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 US counterpart on reports that Iran has started enriching uranium with a new cascade of centrifuges in its underground Natanz plant.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Iran's continued systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) is jeopardising our efforts to preserve the JCPoA and risks compromising the important opportunity for a return to diplomacy with the new US Administration. We continue to engage closely with the US and JCPoA participants on this, and have made our position clear, including in recent E3 statements, that Iran must halt this activity, and return to compliance with its JCPoA commitments without delay.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and (b) other groups subject to UK terrorism and terrorist financing sanctions will be targeted under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is committed to holding Iran to account on a wide range of human rights issues. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is already sanctioned by the UK, as are a further 82 serious human rights violators and one entity, as an important part in keeping pressure on the Iranian regime to change its approach.
It is not appropriate to speculate on who may be designated under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime in the future. To do this could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What his diplomatic priorities are for Africa after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK’s diplomatic priorities for Africa are to support a prosperous, safer, healthier continent, which sees the UK as a partner of choice for peace and security, trade and economic development, and which is less reliant on aid and more resilient to shocks and stresses.