Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded to each country for awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Attached is a table indicating numbers from each eligible country. For countries where we offered fewer than five places we withhold the exact number as this would contravene one of the data protection principles. In this case, Sections 40(2) and 40 (3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
| ODA | Country | Awards made (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
| ODA | AFGHANISTAN | 22 |
| ODA | ALBANIA | 11 |
| ODA | ALGERIA | 7 |
| ODA | ANGOLA / SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 15 |
| ODA | ARGENTINA | 15 |
| ODA | ARMENIA | 5 |
| ODA | AZERBAIJAN | 7 |
| ODA | BANGLADESH | 21 |
| ODA | BELARUS | 7 |
| ODA | BELIZE | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | BHUTAN | 5 |
| ODA | BOLIVIA | 6 |
| ODA | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 6 |
| ODA | BOTSWANA | 5 |
| ODA | BRAZIL | 46 |
| ODA | BURUNDI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | CAMBODIA | 14 |
| ODA | CAMEROON / CHAD / EQUATORIAL GUINEA / GABON | 8 |
| ODA | CHINA | 33 |
| ODA | COLOMBIA | 14 |
| ODA | CONGO, The Democratic Republic Of The/Central African Republic/Republic of Congo | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA | 6 |
| ODA | COTE D'IVOIRE | 7 |
| ODA | CUBA | 8 |
| ODA | DJIBOUTI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI | 13 |
| ODA | EAST CARIBBEAN ODA (GRENADA, ST LUCIA, DOMINICA, ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) | 11 |
| ODA | EAST TIMOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ECUADOR | 6 |
| ODA | EGYPT | 30 |
| ODA | EL SALVADOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ERITREA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | Eswatini | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ETHIOPIA | 13 |
| ODA | GAMBIA | 5 |
| ODA | GEORGIA/South Caucasus | 14 |
| ODA | GHANA / BENIN / TOGO /BURKINA FASO | 16 |
| ODA | GUATEMALA / HONDURAS | 5 |
| ODA | GUINEA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | GUYANA / SURINAME | 5 |
| ODA | INDIA | 38 |
| ODA | INDONESIA | 43 |
| ODA | IRAQ | 18 |
| ODA | JAMAICA | 13 |
| ODA | JORDAN | 8 |
| ODA | KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
| ODA | KENYA | 33 |
| ODA | KOSOVO | 8 |
| ODA | KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LAOS | 13 |
| ODA | LEBANON | 10 |
| ODA | LESOTHO | 6 |
| ODA | LIBERIA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LIBYA | 10 |
| ODA | MADAGASCAR/COMOROS | 8 |
| ODA | MALAWI | 6 |
| ODA | MALAYSIA | 41 |
| ODA | MALDIVES | 7 |
| ODA | MALI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | MAURITANIA | 5 |
| ODA | MAURITIUS | 7 |
| ODA | MEXICO | 34 |
| ODA | MOLDOVA | 6 |
| ODA | MONGOLIA | 17 |
| ODA | MONTENEGRO | 7 |
| ODA | MOROCCO | 11 |
| ODA | MOZAMBIQUE | 15 |
| ODA | MYANMAR | 11 |
| ODA | NAMIBIA | 14 |
| ODA | NEPAL | 11 |
| ODA | NIGER | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | NIGERIA | 39 |
| ODA | NORTH MACEDONIA | 6 |
| ODA | OVERSEAS TERRITORIES | 12 |
| ODA | PACIFIC POOL | 32 |
| ODA | PAKISTAN (DOES NOT INCLUDE FELLOWS) | 46 |
| ODA | PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 11 |
| ODA | PANAMA | 5 |
| ODA | PARAGUAY | 17 |
| ODA | PERU | 11 |
| ODA | PHILIPPINES | 23 |
| ODA | RWANDA | 8 |
| ODA | SAMOA + COOK ISLANDS | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | SENEGAL / CAPE VERDE /GUINEA-BISSAU | 8 |
| ODA | SERBIA | 7 |
| ODA | SIERRA LEONE | 6 |
| ODA | SOMALIA | 17 |
| ODA | SOUTH AFRICA | 47 |
| ODA | SOUTH SUDAN | 6 |
| ODA | SRI LANKA | 10 |
| ODA | SUDAN | 14 |
| ODA | SYRIA | 15 |
| ODA | TAJIKISTAN | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | TANZANIA | 17 |
| ODA | THAILAND | 24 |
| ODA | TUNISIA | 6 |
| ODA | TURKEY | 20 |
| ODA | TURKMENISTAN | 6 |
| ODA | UGANDA | 21 |
| ODA | UKRAINE | 37 |
| ODA | UZBEKISTAN | 7 |
| ODA | VENEZUELA | 7 |
| ODA | VIETNAM | 23 |
| ODA | YEMEN | 9 |
| ODA | ZAMBIA | 11 |
| ODA | ZIMBABWE | 7 |
| Non-ODA | AUSTRALIA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BAHAMAS | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BARBADOS (+ ST KITTS AND NEVIS) | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BRUNEI | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CANADA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CHILE | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | HONG KONG | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ICELAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ISRAEL | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | JAPAN | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | NEW ZEALAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SEYCHELLES | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SINGAPORE | 5 |
| Non-ODA | SOUTH KOREA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | TAIWAN | 5 |
| Non-ODA | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | URUGUAY | 10 |
| 1350 |
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded for the 2023-24 academic year; and how many were awarded in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which over 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Of these, 1380 have so far accepted awards. This compares to 1399 who took up awards for the academic year 2022-2023.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many photographers were employed by his Department to work with the Rt hon. Member for South West Norfolk when she was Secretary of State; and what the cost to the public purse was of employing those photographers.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Such supporting staff are a cross-government resource, who document the work of government, assisting departments and ministers, performing an essential role in the government's digital communications activity with the public.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Russian nationals subject to UK sanctions are resident in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government cannot disclose information on residency status of those on the sanctions list. Details of all sanctioned individuals and entities are listed on the UK sanctions list, which can be found on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on the alleged persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Lord Ahmad also raised the matter with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022, and with Ministry of Interior officials on 8 December 2022.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the destruction of Palestinian villages located within Masafer Yatta in the West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon reinforced this message during a visit to a UK donor funded school facing demolition on 12 January.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 his Egyptian counterpart on the detention of British citizen Alaa Abd El-Fattah since 21 November 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government makes regular representations about Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's imprisonment, welfare and lack of consular access and will continue to do so until his case is resolved. The Foreign Secretary and his Ministerial team have raised Mr El-Fattah's case on a number of occasions. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, most recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 5 December. The British Embassy Cairo also raise his case regularly with the Egyptian authorities.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she travelled to Russia on 10 February 2022 on a commercial flight.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary did not travel on a commercial flight to Russia, she flew with the RAF.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 financial impact on the British Council of losing the contract to run the Turing Scheme.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Decisions relating to the future operation of the Turing scheme were carefully considered by the Department for Education as part of the tendering process. The financial assessment alongside wider commercial activities are a matter for the British Council which were taken into account as part of their bid.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made in the last two weeks to his counterpart in (a) Croatia and (b) Monaco on securing the return of Jonathan Taylor to the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton
On 13 November, I made calls to Croatian and Monegasque Foreign Ministers, to seek assurance that they both give full consideration to what protection Mr Taylor should be afforded as a whistle-blower.