Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help tackle (a) money laundering and (b) tax evasion in the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories (CDOTs), in the context of the number of CDOTs that have created a publicly accessible register of company ownership.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Financial secrecy facilitates illicit finance including money laundering as well as tax and sanctions evasion. It enables serious and organised crime, undermines our national security by supporting kleptocracies around the world, and it diverts resources needed for vital public services.
Tackling illicit finance in the UK, as well as in our Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, is a priority for the new Government.
We will be working closely with the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to increase transparency, including through publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership. We note the progress made in a number of jurisdictions, but will be looking to work with UKOTs and CDs to urgently accelerate progress in others.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent support his Department has provided to Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK remains a committed donor to Sudan. This financial year, the UK bilateral ODA to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million; the vast majority of which will be humanitarian aid. The UK underlined this commitment at the Sudan humanitarian conference in Paris on 15 April, one year after the outbreak of the conflict. UK funded support is being delivered through the UN and other trusted partners and is providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter, as well as supporting protection services for those affected by gender-based violence.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May to Question 26278 on Passports: EU Countries, what the process is by which British passport holders who require an exit stamp to be added to their passport each time they leave the Schengen area, but have been denied one, can raise their concerns at the time of denial.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
British citizens who have complied with travel duration rules in the Schengen Area but do not have the relevant entry or exit passport stamps may challenge this if they provide the border guard evidence of when and where they entered or exited the Schengen Area, such as a boarding pass or transport ticket.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his French counterpart on the potential merits of ensuring British passport holders have an exit stamp added to their passport each time they leave the Schengen area.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
As of 1 January 2021, British citizens are treated as third-country nationals under the Schengen Borders Code. This means British citizens' passports should be stamped on entry to and exit from the Schengen Area, unless they can show evidence that they lawfully reside in an EU Member State or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country. Border guards will use passport stamps to check that third-country nationals are compliant in terms of the length of stay permitted in the Schengen Area. The Government engages with European counterparts at all levels to ensure the consistent application of the Schengen Borders Code.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on funding for UNRWA of the final report of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality, published on 22 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much of the UK aid pledged to Dominica following Hurricane Maria has been distributed to which projects.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK provided over £196 million to all the countries impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. For Dominica, this included £7 million in humanitarian relief and a £25 million reconstruction grant through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. In addition, the UK has committed over £46 million to further strengthen resilience in Dominica, through: the Climate Resilience Execution Agency of Dominica (£3.8 million); retrofitting seven health facilities (£5.5 million); geothermal well drilling (£8.7 million); skills training for disadvantaged youth (£2 million); small business development; technical assistance in disaster preparedness; and £26 million to renovate the Loubiere to Grand Bay Road.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has sought legal advice on the forcible removal of civilians from Occupied Palestinian Territories by Israel.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK's position is clear: Gaza is occupied Palestinian territory and will be part of the future Palestinian state. Settlements are illegal. No Palestinian should be threatened with forcible displacement or relocation. We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and act in accordance with that advice. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the remarks by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 20 January 2024 relating to his position on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people; Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will be part of a future Palestinian state, and the Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play. We must work with our allies to provide serious, practical and enduring support needed to bolster the Palestinian Authority.
We want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible and are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
There are five vital steps:
- A political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
- The formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package.
- Removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel.
- The release of all Israeli hostages.
- Hamas no longer in charge of Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary has reiterated these messages with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, including during his visit to Israel on 24 January.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much aid was given to civil society organisations in Israel and Palestine whose explicit aims include working towards a two-state solution in each of the financial years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) OPTs-Israel Programme also supports Tech 2 Peace, I'lam - Arab Centre for Media Freedom, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) and Project Rozana which work to support engagement and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, thereby building stronger constituencies and prospects for peace. We also support local organisations such as COMET-ME, who work to keep Palestinians on their land in Area C of the West Bank.
Through our Empowering Palestinian Institutions and Civil Society (EPICS) programme, we have an accountable grant with AMAN (the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability), which seeks to combat corruption and promote integrity, transparency and accountability in Palestinian society. It incorporates a number of civil society organizations working in the field of democracy, human rights and good governance.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have met representatives of Standing Together, the Israeli grassroots movement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary and officials from the FCDO have not met with representatives from 'Standing Together'. We seek to engage with a wide range of partners and stakeholders on issues relating to Israel and the OPTs.