Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to change funding committed to the International Development Association.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is strongly committed to the International Development Association and its centrality in development finance. The impacts of the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent are still being worked through and we will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with refence to the Answer of 1 May 2024 to Question 23837 on World Bank: Climate Change, whether he expects all new financial flows to be aligned with the Paris Agreement by July 2025.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The World Bank Group's International Development Association and International Bank of Reconstruction and Development have aligned all their new financial operations with the Paris Agreement since 1 July 2023. The Group has committed to align the rest of its institutions, the International Financial Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, with the Paris agreement in their new financial operations from 1 July 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with funding bodies on the potential implications for their policies of reports of a recently released hostage having been held in UNRWA premises.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is relieved about the release of hostages, including that of Ms. Damari, and hope all others will also soon return safely to their families. Reports that hostages have been held in United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) premises are very concerning. We welcome the fact that UNRWA has said that they take all allegations extremely seriously, and there should be independent investigations into any misuse of its facilities by Palestinian armed militants, including Hamas. We also note UNRWA's statement that it was forced to vacate all its installations in the north of Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, on 13 October 2023. Following Catherine Colonna's Independent Review, UNRWA set out an action plan with detailed management reforms. As a result, we are assured that UNRWA is taking action to ensure it maintains the highest standards of neutrality. As the Minister for Development told the House on 28 January, she has discussed the issue of neutrality with UNRWA's leadership, including directly with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. She also spoke to UNRWA staff members on their work to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report during her visit to the region on 3-5 December. A Memorandum of Understanding governs UK financial support to UNRWA. We continue to monitor UNRWA's activity through due diligence and annual assessments.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the conditions that Jimmy Lai is being held by Chinese authorities.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for the Government. We continue to press for consular access, which the Hong Kong Prison Authorities have refused. The Government takes all allegations of mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. The Government has consistently raised our concerns around Mr Lai's case with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities: for example, the Prime Minister raised his case with President Xi in November, and I raised Mr Lai's case in my meetings during my November visit to Hong Kong.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the action by the Israeli Air Force on 8 September 2024 in Libya on Hezbollah's armed capability.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel has not taken any action against Hezbollah in Libya.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Government expects to conclude revised negotiations with the Mauritian Government on the future of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations with Mauritius have been ongoing for over two years.
On 20 December the UK and Mauritius issued a joint public statement which made clear that Mauritius and the UK have held a series of productive, ongoing conversations and exchanges on finalising a historic Treaty on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
Both countries reiterated their commitment to finalising a treaty as quickly as possible, whose terms will agree to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia and that Mauritius is sovereign over the Archipelago.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with representatives of the incoming U.S. President on the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not discussed the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland with representatives of the incoming US President. Appointments by the incoming US administration are a matter for them. We will work constructively with whoever is appointed as the next administration's US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, just as we continue to work constructively with Joe Kennedy III, the current US Special Envoy. The UK has a thriving trading and investment relationship with the US that encourages mutual growth across the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland. We are pleased that US delegations regularly visit Northern Ireland, and we expect that to continue in the years ahead.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much he plans to allocate to the World Bank Group International Development Association replenishment fund in the next five years.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
On 27 November, the UK made a pledge of £1.98 billion to the 21st replenishment for the International Development Association (IDA21). This is a 40% increase on the UK's contribution to IDA20 - and will support IDA in tackling poverty and addressing the impacts of climate change. IDA21 runs between July 2025 and ends by June 2028. We will engage closely with partners to identify policy and financing needs for future replenishments.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to raise the (a) declaration of martial law in South Korea and (b) potential implications of that decision at the UN.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I issued a statement on 3 December expressing deep concern about the events in Seoul of 3 December. We welcome the decision made following a vote in the National Assembly to withdraw the martial law decree. South Korea is a proud democracy, and events have shown that their systems and processes seem able to resolve situations like this one. Our Embassy team in Seoul are monitoring developments. The UN has not made a statement regarding the situation.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many potential cyber attacks from other states were intercepted by the National Cyber Security Centre in the six weeks before 4 July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) continually monitors threats to our national security. The NCSC does not routinely disclose statistics relating to incidents. However, details on key findings and trends will be published in its Annual Review on 3 December 2024.
Ahead of the UK General Election, NCSC engaged with stakeholders across the UK economy and society to ensure they had the necessary tools to keep the election safe.
The Electoral Commission also reported that polling day ran smoothly, and that people were able to cast their ballot securely. Ultimately, because voting takes place with pencil and paper, this significantly reduces the threat of interference.