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Written Question
Climate Change
Friday 3rd May 2019

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic means the UK has within the Commonwealth to help countries tackle climate change.

Answered by Mark Field

Climate change has long been of concern to the Commonwealth. This concern has been reflected in Commonwealth statements as early as the Langkawi Declaration on the Environment in 1989. Under UK chairmanship at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, leaders reaffirmed their commitments under the Paris Agreement. The Government is now using it's diplomatic network to support mitigation and adaptation across the Commonwealth. For example:

· In Asia, Malaysia has confirmed its interest in partnering with the UK to develop an emissions calculator. The calculator is an open source energy and emissions tool developed by the UK to allow countries to explore and develop strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

· In Africa, the UK has provided £500,000 to support the Commonwealth’s Climate Finance Access Hub based in Mauritius. The Hub will help small and vulnerable countries access international sources of finance to support adaptation and mitigation.

· In the Caribbean, the UK is helping four countries – Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and St Lucia – to prepare detailed disaster risk profiles to aid efforts to increase their resilience to natural disaster. This work builds on existing support from the World Bank and is expected to be extended across the region over the next year.

· In the Pacific, the UK has pledged £1.2 million to support the establishment in Fiji of a Regional Nationally Determined Contribution Hub. The centre has been established in partnership with Australia, Germany and New Zealand, to help Pacific Island Countries implement national climate change policies and frameworks in response to the 2015 Paris Agreement.


Written Question
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Consultants
Monday 25th February 2019

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on external consultants in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Answered by Alan Duncan

Details of the FCO’s spending on Consultancy for each financial year is published in the FCO Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications.

Consultants provide expert advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of the FCO, when in-house skills are not available.


Written Question
Trials: British Nationals Abroad
Monday 2nd July 2018

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has conducted of the ability of British citizens to receive a fair trial in (a) Poland, (b) Hungary, (c) Spain and (d) Italy.

Answered by Alan Duncan

​Poland, Hungary, Spain and Italy are signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), both of which guarantee the right to a fair trial.


Written Question
Taiwan: World Health Assembly
Tuesday 22nd May 2018

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Director-General of the World Health Organisation on facilitating Taiwan being an observer at the 2018 World Health Assembly.

Answered by Mark Field

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have made a number of representations, with likeminded partners, to the World Health Organisation to facilitate Taiwan being an observer at this year's World Health Assembly. The British Government will continue to support Taiwan's participation at the WHA.


Written Question
Taiwan: World Health Assembly
Tuesday 22nd May 2018

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the World Health Organisation on Taiwan’s non-participation in the World Health Assembly later this month.

Answered by Mark Field

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have made a number of representations, with likeminded partners, to the World Health Organisation to facilitate Taiwan being an observer at this year's World Health Assembly. The British Government will continue to support Taiwan's participation at the WHA.


Written Question
North Korea: South Korea
Friday 16th March 2018

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his South Korean counterpart in advance of the proposed summit between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-Un in April 2018.

Answered by Mark Field

The Foreign Secretary is expecting to meet ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 19 March, where they will discuss developments in inter-Korean relations.

The UK welcomes both the news that President Moon Jae-In and Kim Jong Un plan to hold a leaders' summit and the announcement that Kim Jong Un is willing to hold direct talks on denuclearisation with President Trump by May. We hope this signals that Kim Jong Un is ready to change path and put the welfare of his people ahead of the illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons. Until there is evidence that North Korea has halted its illegal programmes and is ready to abandon them, we will continue working with our international partners to keep up pressure and strictly enforce existing sanctions.


Written Question
Syria: Armed Conflict
Wednesday 28th February 2018

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the political and humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta, Syria does not further escalate.

Answered by Alistair Burt

​As I said in a statement on 20 February, the situation on the ground in Syria, particularly in Eastern Ghouta, is dire. We have called on the regime and its backers to cease their campaign of violence, to protect civilians and allow rapid and unhindered humanitarian access. We have raised our concerns at the International Syria Support Group and in the UN Security Council. As the UN has, we call on all parties to protect civilians and allow for safe, sustained and unimpeded access to all those in need in Syria. We also supported UN Security Council resolution 2401, unanimously adopted on 24 February which calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations which are urgently needed across Syria, but particularly in Eastern Ghouta. Those with influence over the regime must now ensure the ceasefire is implemented in full.


Written Question
North Korea: Guided Weapons
Tuesday 7th November 2017

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with President Moon Jae-In since the launch of a second ballistic missile by North Korea over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

Answered by Mark Field

​The Prime Minister spoke to President Moon Jae-in on 20 September at the UN General Assembly. The Foreign Secretary and I have regular contact with our US, Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and EU counterparts over the past month, including at the UN General Assembly in New York. The UK and the international community have condemned the aggressive and illegal actions of the North Korean regime, and the succession of missile and nuclear tests. W​e stand firmly by the Republic of Korea, Japan and our other international partners.


Written Question
North Korea: Guided Weapons
Monday 16th October 2017

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since the launch of a second ballistic missile by North Korea over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

Answered by Mark Field

The Foreign Secretary has not discussed this issue with Prime Minister Abe. However, following the 15 September launch the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono and Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi. The Foreign Secretary and I have had regular contact with our US, Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and EU counterparts over the past month, including at the UN General Assembly in New York. The UK and the international community have condemned the aggressive and illegal actions of the North Korean regime, and the succession of missile and nuclear tests and we stand firmly by the Republic of Korea, Japan and our other international partners.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Political Prisoners
Tuesday 12th September 2017

Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the imprisonment of three protestors involved in the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement of 2014.

Answered by Mark Field

During my visit to Hong Kong on 23/24 August, I discussed this case with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam. During my meeting, I stressed the UK's commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and 'One Country, Two Systems'. I also made clear that it is essential that Hong Kong enjoys, and is seen to enjoy, the full measure of its high degree of autonomy and commitment to the rule of law enshrined in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. On 17 August an FCO spokesperson issued a statement on the case, which said that "the UK remains a staunch supporter of the right to peaceful protest and we believe it is vital that Hong Kong's young people have a voice in politics. Hong Kong's way of life is underpinned by its rule of law. We note the decision reached by the Court of Appeal on the case of Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow and we hope the decision on this case will not discourage legitimate protest in the future."