Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Israeli authorities on lifting restrictions to (a) water, (b) food, (c) fuel and (d) electricity in Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is calling for immediate unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza so that essential aid can reach civilian populations including food, water, fuel and medical supplies. The UK is also calling on all parties to protect border crossings to support safe humanitarian access and mitigate harm to civilians. The FCDO is actively engaging with the international humanitarian system (including intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, civil society organisations) to address the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On the 16 October, the Prime Minister announced £10 million in humanitarian funding for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and on 23 October a further £20 million, in response to the escalating conflict. This funding will allow trusted partners, including key UN agencies, to provide essential relief items and services. These could include food, water and emergency shelter, depending on the needs on the ground. The UK is also exploring options for moving humanitarian supplies closer to the region and is liaising with aid agencies in the region to ensure relief supplies can be distributed as quickly and effectively as possible.
Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have emphasised the importance of taking all possible measures to protect innocent civilians and underlined the importance of safe humanitarian access to Gaza in their discussions with their Israeli counterparts. On 19 October, the Foreign Secretary travelled to the region where he met leaders in Egypt, Turkey and Qatar and pushed for agreement on humanitarian access to Gaza, the release of British hostages and foreign nationals, and securing safe passage for British Nationals to leave Gaza. The UK will remain committed to mitigating the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and calling for international humanitarian law to be respected, while standing alongside the people of Israel against the terrorist group Hamas.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
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 effectiveness of the Academic Technology Approval Scheme.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
So far in 2022 we have received over 49,000 ATAS applications, of which only 824 remain beyond their target processing time. In order to process these numbers, staffing has been increased and a significant IT upgrade is underway. ATAS continues to be an essential tool to prevent sensitive UK technology from reaching military programmes of concern.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of post graduate international students unable to commence their course of studies in the UK due to delays in applications being processed under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of delays in processing these applications on the UK's reputation as a destination for (a) international students and (b) academic research.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
So far in 2022 we have received over 45,000 applications. We currently have 3382 applications under consideration, including those within the target processing time; the oldest outstanding application is 324 days. FCDO staff have regular meetings with the Higher Education Sector to discuss a variety of topics relating to the protection of sensitive research and that includes ATAS. In addition, FCDO works closely with other government departments to ensure that ATAS policy is fully understood and communicated in their conversations with the sector. It is not possible to make a calculation of the impact of delays to course start dates as a result of ATAS assessments because not all ATAS applications lead to a visa application and courses start throughout the year.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of universities and colleges on the Academic Technology Approval Scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
So far in 2022 we have received over 45,000 applications. We currently have 3382 applications under consideration, including those within the target processing time; the oldest outstanding application is 324 days. FCDO staff have regular meetings with the Higher Education Sector to discuss a variety of topics relating to the protection of sensitive research and that includes ATAS. In addition, FCDO works closely with other government departments to ensure that ATAS policy is fully understood and communicated in their conversations with the sector. It is not possible to make a calculation of the impact of delays to course start dates as a result of ATAS assessments because not all ATAS applications lead to a visa application and courses start throughout the year.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November to Question 86512 on Academic Technology Approval Scheme, how many applications are awaiting decision; and for how many days the oldest outstanding application has been waiting for a decision.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
So far in 2022 we have received over 45,000 applications. We currently have 3382 applications under consideration, including those within the target processing time; the oldest outstanding application is 324 days. FCDO staff have regular meetings with the Higher Education Sector to discuss a variety of topics relating to the protection of sensitive research and that includes ATAS. In addition, FCDO works closely with other government departments to ensure that ATAS policy is fully understood and communicated in their conversations with the sector. It is not possible to make a calculation of the impact of delays to course start dates as a result of ATAS assessments because not all ATAS applications lead to a visa application and courses start throughout the year.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Academic Technology Approval Scheme applications were made in each month since May 2021; how many of those applications were processed in less than (a) twenty and (b) thirty days; and what the longest time taken to process an application made was in each month.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes its responsibility towards countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional military technology seriously. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence to military programmes of concern. Between May and October, the scheme received over 30,000 applications. The majority of applications are processed within published timescales. We continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme and a planned IT upgrade should provide greater data analysis capability by summer 2023.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill on the UK’s international reputation.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is playing a positive role in Europe and globally, working with partners to defend freedom and democracy, as we are in Ukraine. We are strengthening our bilateral relationships in Europe and have signed 30 bilateral agreements with European partners since exiting the EU. We are fixing the problems with the Protocol, upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and ensuring the EU is no worse off.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take in the next financial year to diversify UK aid partners and give more opportunities to small and medium-sized charities to participate in the delivery of UK aid programmes.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The FCDO is currently finalising its spending plans for the next three financial years, including plans for future central funding to civil society. We will take into consideration our support to small and medium-sized charities in the delivery of UK aid. Despite the challenging financial climate as a result of COVID-19, FCDO protected funding this year to the 55 Small Charities Challenge Fund projects which were under implementation. This includes five grants to support the capacity development of small UK charities.Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she expects to announce a future round of applications for impact grant funding.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The FCDO is currently finalising its spending plans for the next three financial years, including plans for future central funding for civil society.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many local roles were advertised and/or recruited by the British Embassy in Afghanistan in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
In 2019, 7 vacancies were advertised; in 2020, 6 vacancies were advertised; and finally in 2021 - 1 vacancy was advertised by the British Embassy in Afghanistan.