Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on travel to and from the UK for people responsible for the disputed 2023 election results in Sierra Leone.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO regularly reviews its sanctions policy and does not comment on any possible future sanctions designations. Exclusion orders are used to prevent a person from entering the UK. The Home Office lead on the policy of exclusion.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the criteria for maintaining diplomatic relations with other states include (a) the strength of democratic institutions and (b) human rights.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and protecting democratic institutions and human rights around the world. The decision to maintain or suspend diplomatic relations is made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the use of UK aid in Sierra Leone.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK aid is guided by UK Government priorities and we work closely with the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure effective implementation of Sierra Leone's own national development plans. The UK does not provide budget support to the Government of Sierra Leone.
All UK development funding is subject to rigorous procurement protocols, due diligence and strong transparency standards. Our programmes are regularly and robustly monitored. The FCDO also works closely with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact to apply the highest standards to our aid spend. These measures ensure the effectiveness of UK aid in Sierra Leone throughout design, delivery and evaluation stages.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking with international counterparts to ensure that future elections in Sierra Leone will be free and fair.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In his first conversation with Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba, Lord Collins, Minister for Africa, highlighted the importance of implementing the Agreement for National Unity and recommendations of the Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies in a bipartisan way. The UK remains committed to supporting a democratic Sierra Leone, and in this vein the British High Commission is currently exploring options to bolster support to governance processes that underpin the 2023-28 electoral cycle, in consultation with our diplomatic partners in Sierra Leone.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international partners to help support (a) the Egyptian Red Crescent and (b) other aid organisations to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable. The UK continues to provide significant funding to partners to support those most in need, including £5.5m in additional funding for UK-Med to run field hospitals in Gaza, and an additional £6m for UNICEF to provide lifesaving aid to vulnerable families in Gaza. In October and November 2023, we provided support to the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERCS) to strengthen their operations to get aid into Gaza. This included providing enabling equipment to support the international response at Al-Arish including mobile storage units, forklift trucks, pallet trucks and lighting generators. We continue to play a leading role in alleviating the suffering in Gaza, including by matching up to £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East humanitarian appeal.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of sanctioning (a) Leonard Blavatnik and (b) other Russian people under sanction in Ukraine but not in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains steadfast in our support to Ukraine. Together with our international partners, we have implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. The UK alone has sanctioned more than 2,000 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime. Just this week, we launched our largest ever ship specification package targeting Putin's Shadow Fleet.
We do not comment on future or individual designations. Furthermore, we do not comment on our partner's decisions on individual designations.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 8157 on Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing consular status from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in the context of Hong Kong no longer being an independent territory.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act 1996 provides the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office with certain privileges and immunities in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations for the purposes of furthering economic and trade interests. There are no current plans to replace this legislation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last reviewed the status of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office; when he plans next to review it;, and for what reason it has diplomatic status.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act 1996 provides the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office with certain privileges and immunities in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, for the purposes of furthering economic and trade interests. There are no current plans to replace this legislation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the (a) arrest of (i) Jimmy Lai and (ii) other democracy activists in Hong Kong and (b) targeting of activists in the UK during his visit to that country.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Summit on 26 July and his case remains a priority for this Government. We will continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecutions of all democracy activists, including Jimmy Lai. I met with Sebastien Lai and Jimmy Lai's international legal team on Tuesday 8 October.
Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate or harm critics overseas, are unacceptable. Freedom of speech and other fundamental rights of all people in the UK are protected under domestic law, regardless of nationality.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the China Audit will cover potential targeting of Hong Kong BNO status holders in the UK by Chinese representatives.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must. We will carry out an audit of the UK's relationship with China as a bilateral and global actor, to improve our ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. As a Special Autonomous Region of China, Hong Kong will form part of this audit.
Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate or harm critics overseas, are unacceptable. Freedom of speech and other fundamental rights of all people in the UK are protected under domestic law, regardless of nationality.