Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that international development policy is coherent across all Government Departments.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government is committed to a coherent international development policy that advances our national interests and maximises our influence and impact on development and poverty. The new Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office will bring our world-class expertise to bear and ensure our development and foreign policy goals are fully integrated.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that all Official Development Assistance is fully transparent and used for the primary purpose of tackling poverty.
Answered by James Duddridge
To tackle poverty and advance our Global Britain objectives, the Foreign Office takes evidence-based spending decisions. The FCO is committed to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard, and publishes on GOV.UK all the information on ODA that can be released whilst safeguarding FCO's obligations under UK national security, diplomatic relations and individual's personal information. Further details on how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office allocates Official Development Assistance funding can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-development-assistance-oda-allocations-aid-policy.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had with (a) NGOs, (b) aid recipients, (c) local actors and (d) other key stakeholders ahead of the decision made on 16 June to merge the Department for International Development with his Department.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Government continues to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including UK and international Non-Governmental Organisations, on issues relating to the merger. The Prime Minister has concluded that in the next decade, international issues will be even more important to the lives of our citizens and our own national interest; that the world will become even more complex and competitive, with growing, interconnected challenges and opportunities for the UK; and that therefore we need a new all-of-government approach if we are to secure our values and interests in a changing world.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential merits of merging the Department for International Development with his Department prior to the planned Integrated Review of foreign, defence, security and development policy announced by the Prime Minister on 26 February 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Prime Minister is committed to a unified British foreign policy that will maximise our influence around the world. The review will define the Government's ambition for the UK's global role and its outcomes will shape the objectives of the new department.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what debt recovery agency his Department plans to refer debts relating to emergency repatriation loans to in the event that they have not been repaid within six months.
Answered by Nigel Adams
British nationals who are overseas and wish to return to the UK, but cannot afford travel costs and have no other options for getting funds to return home, may apply for an emergency loan from the Government as a last resort.
Those eligible must sign an Undertaking to Repay (UTR) in which they agree to repay the loan within 6 months. Loan recipients are unable to renew their passport until they repay the loan in full. If loan recipients do not repay the loan or set up a repayment plan with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) within 6 months, their passport may be cancelled, and their details passed to Indesser, a cross Government debt management service. The FCO will always work with British nationals to agree flexible repayment plans tailored to individual circumstances. We will not cancel the passports of those actively seeking to repay their loan. All loans are interest free.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make assessment of whether equipment supplied by EDO MBM Technology Ltd to Turkey has been incorporated into drones sent by Turkey to Libya in violation of the UN arms embargo on that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
HMG takes its arms export responsibilities seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, which include Criterion One, upholding the United Kingdom's international obligations to enforce arms embargoes; and Criterion Seven concerning the risk of equipment's diversion to an undesirable end-user or end-use. We are aware of reports of Turkish military involvement in Libya. Licences have been granted to EDO MBM Technology Ltd for military items for use by the Turkish armed forces. We are monitoring the situation in Libya and if extant licences are found to be no longer consistent with the Criteria, those licences will be revoked.
The UK publishes quarterly and annual statistics on all our export licensing decisions, including details of export licences granted, refused and revoked. These can be accessed here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people have applied for an emergency repatriation loan since the start of the covid-19 pandemic; and how many of those applications have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we remain committed to helping British travellers around the globe return home. British nationals who are overseas and wish to return to the UK, but cannot afford travel costs and have no other options for getting funds to return home, may apply for an emergency loan from the government as a last resort. We estimate the FCO has issued over 2000 loans on behalf of the FCO since 7 April. We are unable to provide an accurate number of people who have had their applications for emergency repatriation loans rejected as we do not have full details on our systems to be able to provide comprehensive figures.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report by the UN Human Rights Office published on 12 February 2020 on companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, what discussions he has had with (a) JCB, (b) Opodo and (c) Greenkote.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK, along with a number of other European countries, opposed the creation of the UN Human Rights Office's database. Human rights obligations are directed at states, and not individuals or businesses. Ultimately it is the decision of an individual or company whether to operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The British Government neither encourages nor offers support to such activity.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action he plans to take in relation to JCB, Opodo and Greenkote in the light of the publication of the UN Human Rights Council's database of companies directly doing business with Israeli settlements.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK, along with a number of other European countries, opposed the creation of the UN Human Rights Office's database. Human rights obligations are directed at states, and not individuals or businesses. Ultimately it is the decision of an individual or company whether to operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The British Government neither encourages nor offers support to such activity.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to respond to the report by the UN Human Rights Office, published on 12 February 2020, on business enterprises involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK, along with a number of other European countries, opposed the creation of the UN Human Rights Office's database. We neither encourage nor offer support to individuals or companies who operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.