Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) international counterparts and (b) Cabinet colleagues to support the release of British hostages in Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's thoughts are with those families who are facing unimaginable uncertainty and fear because of these despicable attacks and kidnappings. We are not commenting on specific numbers or individual cases. The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we continue to do everything we can to secure the release of all hostages, including working with Israeli counterparts and international partners at the highest levels.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to Afghanistan following the earthquakes in October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Following the first earthquake on 7 October, FCDO quickly allocated £1 million to the Red Cross to help meet emergency needs, and a further £1 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) in response to further shocks. This support will ensure affected communities receive emergency shelter, food and health assistance. Overall, $10 million has been allocated from the AHF and a further $5 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, which the UK supports. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian counterparts on the recent escalation of violence in the West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary last raised settler violence with his Israeli counterpart on 17 November. Reports of Palestinian civilians being murdered by settlers in Occupied Palestinian Territories are appalling. Whilst we welcome statements from Israeli Ministers including Prime Minister Netanyahu condemning settler violence, we must see tangible action to bring perpetrators to justice.
The UK also condemns attacks against Israel emanating from armed groups in the region. The former Foreign Secretary spoke with the Palestinian Authority, the Government of Jordan and other regional partners about how best to work together to ensure tensions do not escalate further.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on recent increases in violence in the West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary last raised settler violence with his Israeli counterpart on 17 November. Reports of Palestinian civilians being murdered by settlers in Occupied Palestinian Territories are appalling. Whilst we welcome statements from Israeli Ministers including Prime Minister Netanyahu condemning settler violence, we must see tangible action to bring perpetrators to justice.
The UK also condemns attacks against Israel emanating from armed groups in the region. The former Foreign Secretary spoke with the Palestinian Authority, the Government of Jordan and other regional partners about how best to work together to ensure tensions do not escalate further.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his (a) Egyptian and (b) Israeli counterparts on ensuring British nationals fleeing Gaza are not separated from their families.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have said, the safety of British nationals remains our top priority. We are working closely with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities round the clock to ensure our British nationals can leave Gaza as soon as possible. Humanitarian pauses are helping British nationals to leave Gaza and we are urging Israel to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. The UK has a team at the Rafah crossing to ensure we can provide the necessary consular and administrative support needed to British nationals when they cross. We are providing support for British nationals to get from Rafah to Cairo, where we have set up a reception centre and have arranged temporary accommodation. Additional Consular and Border Force staff are in country to support this work, as is an FCDO Rapid Deployment Team and a team of British Red Cross psychological support experts. More than 200 British nationals and their dependants have left Gaza so far; this is well over half of those who registered with the FCDO initially.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps the Governement has taken to help secure the release of dual national Vladamir Kara-Murza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government has consistently condemned Vladimir Kara-Murza's politically motivated conviction and called for his release since his arrest. The Prime Minister reiterated this in July following Mr Kara-Murza's failed appeal. We have regularly raised his case both with the Russian authorities and at multilateral fora, including the UN Human Rights Council on 13 November, and continue to do so at every available opportunity. The FCDO sanctioned 11 individuals in response to his sentencing and appeal as well as two individuals involved in his earlier poisoning. Consular officials remain in close contact with Mr Kara-Murza's wife Evgenia, who has met ministers and senior officials on multiple occasions.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last held discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the case of Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The former Foreign Secretary raised Mr Lai's case with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng on 31 August during his visit to China. Senior officials have and will continue to raise cases such as Mr Lai's with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, most recently on 2 November with the Deputy Justice Secretary. We also continue to press for consular access to Mr Lai and diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with (a) his international counterparts and (b) Cabinet colleagues on proposals to repurpose Russian state assets since 27 June 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains committed to ensuring Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Working with relevant Departments, we are continuing to pursue all lawful routes to make Russian assets available to support Ukraine's reconstruction. G7 Leaders have made clear that sovereign assets will remain immobilised until Russia pays for the damage it has caused Ukraine. We continue to work closely with our international partners to share experience and expertise.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2023 to Question 193279 on Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, whether his (a) officials or (b) Ministers provided their counterparts in the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities with a departmental view that the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill complied with the UK’s obligations under UN Security Council resolution 2334.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials have been in regular contact with their counterparts at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities throughout the development of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill. FCDO advice to the DLUHC was that our assessment is that the bill is compliant with our responsibilities under UNSCR 2334.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on temporary staff in the last three financial years in support of the Hera programme.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The need for temporary staff within the FCDO is largely driven by the nature of the projects being undertaken and the expertise required. At a high level, costs for temporary staff are associated to IT and digital activity, which includes supporting the implementation of the HERA programme, priority programmes and merger activity where temporary and specialist expertise has been needed to ensure delivery. Information on the cost of temporary staff specifically for the HERA programme is not centrally held and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. Overall temporary staff costs are set out in the FCDO Annual Reports for the previous three financial years:[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019938/FCDO_annual_report_and_accounts_2020_to_2021_accessible.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1095304/FCDO_Annual_Report_2021_2022_Accessible_290722.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170838/Foreign-Commonwealth-and-Development-Office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023.pdf]