Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage the release of (a) Taj Muhammad Sarparah and (b) other Baloch citizens detained in Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns any instances of enforced disappearances. We urge states to fully investigate any allegations, prosecute those responsible and provide justice to victims and their families. We continue to encourage progress towards the criminalisation of enforced disappearances in Pakistan. The British High Commission regularly raises these issues with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. The UK will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people as laid down in Pakistan's Constitution and in accordance with international standards.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to support hospitals that (a) are and (b) have been indebted by Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The funding allocation formula used to set budgets for integrated care boards includes an adjustment to reflect the impact of the excess finance costs that some trusts face due to the financing arrangements for some buildings constructed under historic Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangements.
The Department does not centrally provide funding to support trusts in paying for their PFI schemes. However, the Department, along with NHS England, is supporting National Health Service trusts to manage their PFI contracts, including looking for opportunities to deliver better value for money. This support is available to all trusts with a PFI contract.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) intelligence the Government is sharing with Israel on the potential location of remaining UK national hostages in Gaza and (b) other intelligence the Government is sharing with Israel gathered from surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The unarmed UK surveillance aircraft are employed solely to support hostage rescue. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant Israeli authorities responsible for hostage rescue.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of Israel's use of surveillance data provided by the UK on the UK's role in ensuring adherence to international law.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The unarmed UK surveillance aircraft are employed solely to support hostage rescue. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant Israeli authorities responsible for hostage rescue.
We are unable comment further on detailed intelligence matters for operational security reasons.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects negotiations with Mauritius on the (a) sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and (b) return of Chagossians who wish to resettle will conclude.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 3 October the UK and Mauritius reached a political agreement on the sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) / Chagos Archipelago. This agreement secures the effective operation of the vital UK-US military base on Diego Garcia well into the next century. Following Mauritian elections, the Government will seek Treaty signature and ratification when Parliamentary time allows. Under this agreement Mauritius will be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia. The terms of resettlement will be for Mauritius to determine. Mauritius and the UK will also now work to start a new programme of visits to the Chagos Archipelago for Chagossians.Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent increases in settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Settlement expansion reached record levels in the past year and has been accompanied by an increase in settler violence. During the Foreign Secretary's visit to Israel and the OPTs on 14-15 July, he met with Palestinians displaced in the West Bank and was horrified to hear of acts of violence carried out by settlers.
The Foreign Secretary made the UK's position clear to those communities and to the Israeli Government. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution.
The Government will challenge those who undermine the prospects of a two-state solution or use hateful rhetoric. We will look at all options to take tougher action.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of re-establishing the Leveson Part Two inquiry.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ministers and officials working in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engage with press stakeholders on a range of issues.
The Government clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s Speech.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects to conclude negotiations with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met the Mauritian Prime Minister on 23 July and committed to continuing negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. It is too early to speculate on timelines or conclusions, but it is the Government's priority to resolve this long standing and important issue, including ensuring the long-term secure and effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and other key issues. As appropriate, we will continue to engage with all relevant parties including the Chagossian diaspora.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of hunting trophies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The government committed in its manifesto to banning the import of hunting trophies.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to respond to the consultation entitled the Fur market in Great Britain, published on 31 May 2021.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in the usual way, including the consultation on the Fur Market in Great Britain. Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and this Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.