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Written Question
Russia: Legal Profession
Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the UK law firms that have made representations to the Government on behalf of Russian or Russian-linked clients in relation to the UK-Russian sanctions regime.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK Government has announced an unprecedented package of sanctions to cut off the funding for Putin's war machine. We have now sanctioned over 1000 individuals, entities and subsidiaries since Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The FCDO regularly receives correspondence regarding designation proposals or specific designations under all sanctions regimes. Law firms that have made representations to the Government on behalf of Russian or Russian-linked clients in relation to the UK-Russian sanctions regime in processed correspondence include BCL Solicitors LLP, W Legal Limited and Peters & Peters.


Written Question
Colombia: Environment Protection
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made for the implications of her policies of companies domiciled or listed in the UK threatening environmental defenders in Colombia with legal action, following lawful or legitimate protests on their land.

Answered by Wendy Morton

As set out in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report, we expect British businesses to respect local and international law wherever they operate.

The UK was the first country to create a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This plan sets out what is expected of the conduct of UK businesses, including compliance with relevant laws and respect for human rights; treating the risk of causing human rights abuses as a legal compliance issue; adopting appropriate due diligence policies; and consulting those who could potentially be affected.


Written Question
Colombia: Environment Protection
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help protect environmental defenders in Colombia who face potential threats and attacks for protecting their lands from corporate activity.

Answered by Wendy Morton

UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues, as well as specific cases of concern, with the Colombian Government. The UK's Minister for the Environment, Lord Goldsmith, raised our concerns around violence and threats toward environmental defenders on a visit to Colombia from 5-8 October.

Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country' and we consistently raise our concerns regarding violence against human rights defenders and social leaders at the UN Security Council, as we did at meetings in July and on 14 October. We will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia.

Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, which has provided £63 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders, including environmental activists, and social leaders.


Written Question
Colombia: Environment Protection
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help protect environmental defenders in Colombia who are being threatened by international companies as a result of their lawful and legitimate protest against illicit activities on their land.

Answered by Wendy Morton

UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues, as well as specific cases of concern, with the Colombian Government. The UK's Minister for the Environment, Lord Goldsmith, raised our concerns around violence and threats toward environmental defenders on a visit to Colombia from 5-8 October.

Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country' and we consistently raise our concerns regarding violence against human rights defenders and social leaders at the UN Security Council, as we did at meetings in July and on 14 October. We will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia.

Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, which has provided £63 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders, including environmental activists, and social leaders.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Nutrition
Wednesday 27th January 2021

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2020 to Question 128190, whether his Department plans to launch a public consultation as part of the internal prioritisation process.

Answered by Nigel Adams

We are working closely with our partners on the impacts and priorities of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend, including through roundtables with Civil Society Organisations such as one recently chaired by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon. Country Plans will also be informed by consultation with partner governments and other partners on key priorities.

As with any major fiscal event, it is right the outcome of the process is formally communicated to Parliament first. We will work closely with our partners and suppliers to explain how this will impact our joint work.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Nutrition
Thursday 17th December 2020

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance will be allocated to basic nutrition services during 2021.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Addressing malnutrition and acute food insecurity remains important for our objectives on global health and humanitarian preparedness and response. In September 2020, the Foreign Secretary announced a £119 million package of support to combat famine and acute hunger. This includes a new 5-year partnership with UNICEF to improve prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition.

The Department is beginning a rigorous internal prioritisation process in response to the spending review announcement and we will update on this in due course.


Written Question
Colombia: Violence
Tuesday 8th September 2020

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

What recent discussions he has had with his Colombian counterpart on increased incidents of violent conflict in that country.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Colombia has made significant progress since the 2016 peace agreement was signed with the FARC. For Colombians in most parts of the country where security was an issue, conditions are much improved. Significant challenges remain in some areas, due to illegal armed groups competing for territory and control of the drugs trade and other illicit activities. This has led to violence, and the death and displacement of ordinary Colombians. We regularly raise this violence with Colombian counterparts and in multilateral bodies. I discussed the UK’s concerns in a phone call with Claudia Blum, Colombian Foreign Minister, on 2 June. We also use our position as UNSC penholder on Colombia’s peace process to emphasise the issue and to urge the Colombian government to ensure the rule of law applies to the entire country, most recently at the UNSC session on 14 July. The UK is the biggest donor to the UN Trust Fund for Colombia. Since 2015 we have contributed over £53m to support implementation of the peace agreement. Programmes run by our Embassy in Bogotá aim to tackle the root causes of this violence, by helping communities develop sustainable livelihoods. This issue is a priority for the Colombian government. We will continue to support their efforts to bring long-term security to all communities.


Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Thursday 19th March 2020

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the testimonies of Israeli army snipers reported in the Ha’aretz newspaper on 6 March 2020, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of the Israeli army’s use of live fire on Palestinians.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

We have repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israel Defense Forces police non-violent protests and the border areas, including the use of live ammunition. We encourage Israel to carry out transparent investigations into whether the use of live fire had been appropriate. While Israel has a legitimate right to self-defence, it is vital that all its actions are proportionate, in line with International Humanitarian Law, and are calibrated to avoid civilian casualties.


Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Wednesday 26th February 2020

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision by the Government of Israel to ban export of Palestinian agricultural products on Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK is concerned about the impact of recent Israeli trade restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The British Government strongly supports the principle of free trade. British businesses should be free to import Palestinian products without barriers. Our Ambassador to Israel raised this issue with the Government of Israel, most recently on 12 February. We welcome the agreement reached by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, on 20 February, to lift their respective trade restrictions. We urge both sides to ensure the swift implementation of this agreement.


Written Question
Australia: Fires
Monday 27th January 2020

Asked by: Christian Matheson (Independent - City of Chester)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made by the team of specialists from defence, health and fire sent by his Department to Australia to assess what support to provide to emergency responders tackling bushfires.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

As I (Minister Wheeler) set out in my Oral Statement of 9 January, we deployed a team of UK experts to Australia, including a senior member of UK Fire and Rescue Service, a medical specialist in trauma and mental health, and a military liaison officer specialising in crisis response. The team returned to the UK on 16 January having engaged closely with Australian counterparts.

Drawing on the team's findings we are working to establish what further UK support would be of most use to the Australian authorities, and ensure that any such contributions are appropriate to Australia's needs. At this stage the Australian government has made no specific requests for assistance.