Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to authorise the use of frozen Russian state assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is clear that Russia must be held responsible for its illegal war. That includes its obligations under international law to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine. Working with allies, we continue to pursue all possible lawful avenues by which Russia can be made to meet those obligations. Our agreement with G7 partners to provide approximately $50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine, repaid by the profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets, is an important step towards ensuring Russia pays. Our focus is on delivering this commitment, including the UK's £2.26 billion contribution, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
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 help ensure macroeconomic stability in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since February 2022 the UK has provided fiscal assistance worth £4.1 billion via guarantees for World Bank lending to support Ukraine's economic stability. This includes multi-year assistance worth $3 billion, which will be delivered in yearly $1 billion tranches. This is part of a collective G7 effort over Ukraine's International Monetary Fund programme.
As G7 leaders announced in June, we are working together to implement 'Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration' loans, which will provide approximately $50 billion in additional funding.
An overview of UK support is published on gov.uk [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-support-to-ukraine-factsheet/uk-support-to-ukraine-factsheet].
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
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 help prevent proliferation of (a) nuclear and (b) biological weapons.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to supporting and implementing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a vital pillar of the international peace and security architecture. The NPT has created the non-proliferation framework that has both limited the spread of nuclear weapons and enabled safe access to nuclear technologies for peaceful uses. The UK contributes over £20 million each year to the International Atomic Energy Agency who ensure NPT compliance and hold member states to account on their obligations.
The UK is committed to universal implementation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We will work with other States Parties to strengthen the Convention in 2025, fifty years after it entered into force. The UK's ambition for enhancing our own resilience, is set out in our Biological Security Strategy.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
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 to help tackle the destabilising activities of Iran in the Middle East.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran continues to provide military, financial and political support to its proxies and partners -jeopardising international security. Iran has also threatened the security of its regional neighbours by attacking Pakistani, Iraqi, Syrian and Israeli territory since January. The Prime Minister spoke to President Pezeshkian on 12 August and the Foreign Secretary called Foreign Minister Araghchi on 23 August. Both urged their counterparts to restrain Iran's proxies and partners and avoid regional escalation.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will undertake a review of attempts by China to influence UK (a) politicians and (b) Government.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will bring a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. This Government has committed to carry out an audit of the full breadth 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. The Government's first duty is to protect our national security and keep this country safe.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of cyber security threat posed by China.
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 continue to see evidence of Chinese state-affiliated cyber actors deploying sophisticated capabilities to pursue strategic objectives which threaten the security and stability of UK interests. It has been raised at senior levels and we expect China to uphold its commitment to act responsibly in cyberspace.