Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with the government of Nigeria on the situation in Biafra.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK fully supports the territorial integrity of Nigeria and President Buhari’s commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all Nigerians. President Buhari has recently concluded the appointment of a new Government. We will continue to underline the importance of freedom of expression and acting in accordance with the rule of law with all parties, including the new Nigerian government.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment of Senior Civil posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the last 5 financial years is set out in the table below:
Financial Year | Cost |
2010-11 | £161,706 |
2011-12 | £32,028 |
2012-13 | £102,390 |
2013-14 | £70,347 |
2014-15 | £20,300 |
Total | £386,771 |
We predominantly use external recruitment firms for specialist roles where the necessary experience and expertise does not exist elsewhere in the Civil Service
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.
Answered by David Lidington
The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of senior civil servants from his Department are from a lower socio-economic background.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Information on the socio-economic background of all our staff is not centrally held and to compile it would incur disproportionate cost.
The FCO takes part in a number of schemes to encourage applicants from a lower socio-economic background.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Answered by Lord Swire
I am aware of concerns about human rights violations on both sides of the Line of Control. We have consistently maintained that any allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from the President of the European Commission on the proposed expansion of the European Resettlement Scheme for refugees.
Answered by David Lidington
At a meeting of the informal Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council on 9 July Member States agreed to resettle over 22,500 people, taking account of priority regions for resettlement including North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, focusing in particular on the countries where Regional Development and Protection Programmes are implemented. The UK made it clear that it would not be participating in an EU resettlement scheme as we already operate successful national schemes. At the extraordinary JHA Council on 14 September, the Home Secretary made clear the Government's view that resettlement from the region is an essential part of the response to the situation in Syria. All UK resettlement activity will continue to be delivered under existing national programmes, including the expanded Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme under which we expect to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the German government to make a financial contribution to the UK survivors of thalidomide at their meeting with the Thalidomide Trust on 7 July.
Answered by David Lidington
None. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided assistance to the Thalidomide Trust in arranging meetings with the appropriate German officials so that the Trust can make their own representations directly. In 2012, the Department of Health made a grant of £80 million payable over ten years to help meet the health needs of thalidomide survivors.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the situation of ethnic minorities in Burma.
Answered by Lord Swire
Our Officials regularly discuss a wide range of human rights issues with the Burmese government, including the treatment of ethnic minorities in Burma.
We are particularly concerned by continued intercommunal tensions in Rakhine State, the plight of the Rohingya, and an increase in anti-muslim hate-speech and intolerance. We have raised our concern at the situation of the Rohingya community in all of our recent Ministerial contacts with the Burmese government. Most recently, I called the Burmese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss this issue on 18 May, and urged Burma to take swift action to address the persecution and dire situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine. This should include an end to restrictions on freedom of movement; humanitarian access; and a path to citizenship for eligible Rohingya residents of Rakhine State.
We also share the view of UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, in her report of March 2015, that the government of Burma must “address hate speech and incitement to violence as part of its obligation to ensure a safe and secure environment for all persons, including ethnic minorities, religious minorities and women”.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Burmese authorities about the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma.
Answered by Lord Swire
We remain deeply concerned by the situation of the Rohingya. They continue to suffer severe restrictions on their freedom of movement, on their access to livelihoods, schools, healthcare and places of worship. The UN and other agencies continue to struggle to gain unhindered humanitarian access in Rakhine State. Burma’s refusal to recognise citizenship claims of the Rohingya has compounded the denial of the most basic rights.
We have raised our concern at the situation of the Rohingya community in all of our recent Ministerial contacts with the Burmese government. Most recently, I asked the Burmese Ambassador in London to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 18 May to express our concern at the situation of Rohingya and the related migrant crisis in the Bay of Bengal. I urged Burma to take swift steps to deal with the humanitarian implications of the crisis, as well as the underlying causes in Rakhine.