Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people involved in the criminal exploitation of vulnerable young people in county lines operations have been charged with modern slavery offences.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The police and Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) are responsible for charging decisions with regards to county lines related criminality. The key is that prosecutions are brought, and the charges should cover the full range of criminality involved including Modern Slavery offences.We are working with the police and the CPS to take full advantage of powers in the Modern Slavery Act when making charging decisions against county line gang members. The CPS have issued an overview of the approach to be taken in criminal investigations and prosecutions linked to ‘county lines’ offending, with a particular focus on the relevance of the Modern Slavery Act.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to overcome the (a) local mistrust of health officials and (b) militia violence which have impeded efforts to prevent the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from spreading further.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second largest in history and the first in a conflict zone. The UK has been a major supporter of the response since the start, providing funding, technical expertise, and political support.
The response has been hampered by repeated attacks against health workers and health facilities. Improving community trust and ownership are essential to getting the outbreak under control. UK funding supports community engagement and working with local leaders and religious groups to foster trust and ownership. It supports efforts to understand community concerns better and feed this understanding back into the response. Examples include employing people who have recovered from Ebola to talk to communities about the health care they received as a way to build community trust in health workers.
The UK and other donors are also supporting the UN to strengthen security in Ebola affected areas to protect both communities and response workers.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the spread of Ebola to the city of Goma and the potential risk of the outbreak spreading to Rwanda.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The spread of Ebola to Goma is deeply concerning. Goma’s position on the border increases the chance of Ebola spreading to Rwanda.
The UK is a leading donor to the Ebola response in DRC and has played a pivotal role in helping neighbouring countries like Rwanda prepare. On 15 July, DFID announced that the UK would provide up to a further £50 million to the response to December 2019. UK Aid is supporting a range of activities, including the construction of screening facilities at border crossings and the vaccination of health workers in DRC and the region.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Italian counterpart on (a) the seizure of international NGO vessels and (b) its potential violations of international maritime law.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The United Kingdom and Italy participate frequently in discussions on Mediterranean migration, most recently at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 15 July, the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 18 July, and at an informal Ministerial meeting hosted by France on 22 July. These discussions include the role of NGO-operated Search and Rescue vessels and relevant international maritime law. There are divergent views amongst EU member States. The United Kingdom supports a predictable mechanism for the disembarkation and relocation of rescued migrants, and for all signatories to meet their obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Emirati counterpart on the prison conditions of the Emirati prisoner of conscience Ahmed Mansoor.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The case of Ahmed Mansoor was previously raised by our officials with senior Emirati officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The UK urges all countries to comply with their human rights obligations. Our close relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss important issues such as human rights and where the UK has cause for concern, we raise these concerns at official and Ministerial level.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterparts on (a) the accuracy of its reporting of civilian casualties due to US drone strikes and (b) the lasting effect of US drone strikes on civilian populations in Somalia.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Secretary of State will build on the work of his predecessor and continue to have regular engagement with his US counterpart on counter-terrorism activities. We have not sought to make an independent assessment of the accuracy or impact of US strikes in Somalia; this would be challenging, given the difficult security environment. The main cause of civilian casualties in Somalia is the insurgency and indiscriminate terrorist activity of Al-Shabaab. Support from the US and others to the Federal Government of Somalia's efforts to counter terrorism is critical to limiting Al-Shabaab's capability to inflict harm.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens (a) have been and (b) will be prevented from obtaining settled status due to the technical inability of the settlement scheme app to convert pre-settled status into settled status.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
No EU citizens have been or will be prevented from obtaining settled status due to the technical inability of the EU Settlement Scheme app to convert pre-settled status to settled status. The online process which will allow an applicant to convert their pre-settled status to settled status is on track to be available from the end of July 2019. Currently, applicants who have obtained pre-settled status can make a fresh application to the scheme by contacting the Settlement Resolution Centre.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the viability of return to Sudan for people from Darfur or Nuba ethnicities.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. Each case is carefully considered on its individual facts and merits in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.
Our assessment of the situation in Sudan is set out in the relevant country policy and information notes, which are available on the Gov.uk website.
Where someone establishes a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country they are normally granted protection and are not expected to return there.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Hungarian counterpart and (b) other EU counterparts on (i) the closure of the Central European University and (ii) restrictions on academic freedom in Hungary.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The British Embassy in Budapest have discussed this with the Hungarian government on various occasions, stressing that Central European University's (CEU) relocation to Vienna is a great loss for Budapest and Hungary. We regret that the Hungarian government and CEU could not find a mutually acceptable solution as a vibrant and diverse education sector brings substantial benefits to any country.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Somali Government to counter the proliferation of weapons within Somalia and prevent access to weapons by terrorists.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK plays a leading role in upholding and strengthening the UN Somalia sanctions regime in our capacity as drafters for all UN Security Council Resolutions on Somalia. The sanctions regime is central to international efforts to promote peace and security in Somalia, including through addressing the threat of Al-Shabaab. The regime includes an arms embargo with certain exemptions for humanitarian protection, the African Union Mission in Somalia, and the development of the Somali security forces. Within these exemptions, safeguards are in place to manage proliferation of arms. Our Embassy in Mogadishu regularly engages with the Somali authorities on the importance of compliance with the regime and to support the development of effective weapons and ammunition management. More broadly, the UK has an extensive programme of support to security sector reform in Somalia, helping Somalia take responsibility for its own national security and reduce conflict and terrorism.