Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assistance has been provided for the development of digital infrastructure in (a) the British Overseas Territories and (b) Caribbean Commonwealth countries since 2014.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Whilst digital infrastructure is a mostly devolved matter, the UK provides significant support to the four Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible Territories. The FCDO-funded capital investment programme in Montserrat recently delivered a sub-sea fibre cable and in St Helena we are supporting improvements in the local telecommunications infrastructure.
The UK has not provided support for digital infrastructure in the Caribbean through our bilateral ODA. However, we continue to support the development of digital infrastructure through our shareholding in multilateral agencies including the World Bank, Inter-American and Caribbean Development Banks.
Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghan journalists the UK has evacuated from Afghanistan since 1 August 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not collect comprehensive data on the profession of those relocated, so the following figures are estimates only.
The UK will continue to relocate eligible individuals under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). The ACRS commenced on 6 January and will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support humanitarian relief for people affected by the conflict in Tigray in Ethiopia; and what recent discussions he has had with his Ethiopian counterpart on restoring peace to that region.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is supporting life-saving assistance for people affected by the conflict in Tigray, including health and malnutrition treatment and water and sanitation delivered through UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and NGO partners. We continue to work closely with the UN and partners, in calling for sustained, free and unfettered humanitarian access across Tigray, in line with the guiding principles laid down by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Since the Foreign Secretary met the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister in London on 25th November we have continued to press the Government of Ethiopia for a political solution to restore peace, including in my call with the Ethiopian Finance Minister on 16 December.
Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether contact was made between officials at the British Embassy in Brazil and the Brazilian government regarding the arrest of Ray Whelan in Rio de Janerio in July 2014; and whether the UK made any offers to assist the Brazilian authorities with their investigation into Mr Whelan.
Answered by Lord Swire
The British Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro provided routine consular assistance to Mr Whelan following his arrest in July 2014. This included contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Civil Police to request information at the time of his arrest. The Consulate also requested routine prison visits for Mr Whelan’s family from the Prison Administration Secretary. National Crime Agency representatives in Brazil did discuss the case with the Brazilian authorities, but did not open an investigation.