Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
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 his Pakistani counterpart about (a) freedom of religion in that country and (b) the case of Ehsan Shan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 19 November. On 20 November, I attended a meeting with Pakistan's Minister of Interior Mosin Naqvi, where the British High Commissioner and I raised concerns about threats of violence directed towards Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan. Officials at the British High Commission Islamabad regularly raise our concerns surrounding the mistreatment of minorities with the Pakistani authorities, including law enforcement officials. We regularly raise our opposition to the death penalty and concerns about the misuse of blasphemy laws, both in principle and in relation to specific cases.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to review bilateral development aid to India in the context of India’s continuing trade relationships with Russia.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government recognises India's long and historic relationship with Russia. The UK Government regularly raises Russia's actions in Ukraine with India. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised this with Indian External Affairs Minister in September.
Most of FCDO's bilateral development funding for India is targeted at helping tackle climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This is primarily done through investments and sharing expertise.
Ministers are reviewing the FCDO's ODA budget to ensure it delivers on our priorities. We are committed to transparency and will publish ODA allocations for 2024-25.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.
Answered by David Rutley
In 2022, the FCDO spent £49,599 on agencies to support the recruitment of UK specialist resource. The spend for 2021 was £79,332; and for 2020 was £120,659.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse has been of Ministerial severance pay in their Department in each year since 1 January 2016 to 8 November 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, eligible Ministers who leave office are entitled to a one off payment equivalent to one quarter of their annual salary at the point at which they leave Government. This applies only where a Minister is under 65 and is not appointed to a ministerial office within three weeks of leaving government.
Individuals may waive the payment to which they are entitled. That is a matter for their personal discretion, but this approach has been taken in the past. Details of such payments are published in departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1027301/Salaries_of_Members_of_Her_Majestys_Government_-_Financial_Year_2021-22_-_Publication.pdf
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to help ensure investment in universal and comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is prioritised within the upcoming Women and Girls strategy.
Answered by Vicky Ford
A Women and Girls Strategy would build on the May 2022 International Development Strategy, which framed our work on women and girls through the 3Es (Educating girls, Empowering women and girls, and Ending violence against women and girls). It included a strong commitment to drive progress on universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government has not imposed sanctions on the National Bank Trust.
Answered by Amanda Milling
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to relieve the covid-19 humanitarian situation in Nepal.
Answered by Nigel Adams
On Thursday 27th May, the FCDO sent 260 ventilators and 2,000 visors (worth £550,000) in response to a request for medical supplies from the Government of Nepal. Moreover, since the beginning of the pandemic, British Embassy Kathmandu has helped Nepal respond to COVID-19 by reprioritising over £40 million of its aid budget. This support has included the construction of an oxygen plant in a Kathmandu hospital; technical advice to local government on managing the impact of COVID-19; water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to support around 300,000 people; safe spaces for women in isolation centres; cash and voucher assistance for the most vulnerable; and nutrition support for pregnant and lactating women. On 19 May Lord Ahmad discussed with Foreign Minister Gyawali how the UK could continue to support Nepal's fight against the second wave of COVID-19. The UK is also a leading donor to COVAX, having committed £548 million to the scheme. COVAX has allocated 2,000,000 vaccine doses to Nepal, of which 348,000 have already been delivered.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh 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 Indian counterpart on the effect of retrospective tax legislation on UK companies seeking to do business with that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Supporting UK companies to do business in India is a priority for HMG. The UK is the second fastest growing investor in India over the last ten years and bilateral investments support over half a million jobs in each other's economies. Retrospective tax legislation is an internal matter for the Indian authorities.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps he is taking to ensure (a) parliamentary and (b) independent scrutiny of Official Development Assistance spending.
Answered by James Duddridge
This Government is fully committed to independent and parliamentary scrutiny. In August, the Foreign Secretary announced our commitment to maintaining the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). He also announced a departmental review to make ICAI even more effective, leveraging what works and producing even more practical recommendations.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What his policy is on maintaining the statutory target to spend 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to spending 0.7% of GNI on aid and development; this is a manifesto commitment and is enshrined in law. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have been firm that development will be at the heart of the new FCDO, working hand in hand with diplomacy. Development assistance provided by the UK aims to tackle the great challenges of our time, transform lives of the world’s poorest, and make the world a healthier, safer and more prosperous place for everyone. This allows us to shape the world around us for the better and help keep us safe. As an example of what UK ODA has achieved, since 2015 more than 33 million people have been reached by our humanitarian programmes, including at least 13 million women and girls. The FCDO brings together expertise from DFID and the FCO to ensure we place our world-class development programmes at the heart of our foreign policy. Supporting the poorest countries to become self-sufficient is firmly in line with British values and our own national interest.