Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of steps being taken to ensure that vessels transiting Scottish and UK territorial waters are not carrying sanctioned cargo.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In delivering maritime security in the UK Marine Area, the UK operates a layered approach to coastal and maritime defence, including onshore resources and surveillance capabilities, to detect those seeking to smuggle illicit goods or to facilitate illegal entry into the UK. Through the Economic Deterrence Initiative, the Government is investing in the maritime intelligence capability of the Joint Maritime Security Centre to enhance sanctions enforcement. For vessels transiting through UK waters, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) details the right of innocent passage and freedom of navigation. The UK remains fully committed to upholding UNCLOS.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will meet with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to discuss UK support for global child vaccination.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials are in regular contact with Gavi and sit on the Gavi Board & Committees. I [Minister Mitchell], last wrote to Gavi's interim-CEO in December 2023. We welcome the Gavi Board's decision to appoint Dr Sania Nishtar as Gavi's new CEO. I will meet with her once she takes up post in March 2024.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to provide an additional £70 million for the treatment of wasting for acutely malnourished children in East Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Humanitarian needs across East Africa are at critical levels with a growing caseload of malnourished children. The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response in the region having invested over £1 billion in humanitarian aid alone since 2019. UK funded programmes are saving lives and making a difference. Last year in Somalia approximately 50,000 people received urgent nutrition and health services. A further 200,000 malnourished women and children benefited from UK assistance in Ethiopia. We will share details of our planned humanitarian budgets for East Africa for financial year 2023/2024 in due course.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 Cabinet colleagues on allegations that the Chinese Government is operating unofficial police stations in London to track down dissidents and force them to return to China.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK Government continually assesses potential threats in the UK, and takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. To this end, any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law. We will not tolerate interference in UK communities from any foreign country. As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as well as other government departments in ensuring that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for those who choose to settle here.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 Cabinet colleagues on taking diplomatic steps to help encourage the Government of Bahrain to release Hasan Mushaima and other political prisoners in Bahrain.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Officials and ministers have regular discussions with senior Bahraini counterparts on human rights, including most recently during the former Minister for the Middle East's Amanda Milling visit to Bahrain from 2-3 July. We continue to follow and discuss the case of Hassan Mushaima and others, as necessary, with the Bahraini Government as well as with the independent oversight bodies.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made assessment of the implications for her policies of the risk of Iran being engaged in espionage and terrorism in the UK through its embassy, intelligence operatives and diplomats.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. The safety and security of our citizens is the Government's top priority. As we made clear in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to work with global social media companies on ensuring that those companies are taking effective steps to mitigate the harmful spread of disinformation in countries where religious or belief minorities suffer persecution and discrimination.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously. We are working closely with social media platforms to help them identify and take action to mitigate the harmful spread of disinformation and misinformation online. In addition, we actively support NGOs and other organisations in research to inform technology companies, partner governments and others about the misuse of online platforms for disinformation purposes, and to disrupt advertising revenues from websites.
We do not target our counter-disinformation work specifically related to countries where freedom of religion or belief is threatened.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take in response to the reports of unrest and human rights abuses in Colombia.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Government remains concerned about reports of human rights violations in Colombia. We have raised our concerns with the relevant state actors over the past two weeks, and will continue to do so. Most recently, I spoke with acting Foreign Minister Adriana Mejía on 14 May to welcome Colombia's commitment to transparent investigations into allegations of abuse. We will continue to work closely with the UN Office of the High Representative for Human Rights in Colombia, and the wider international community to reduce tensions.
Colombia is a UK Government 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we look to the Colombian authorities to investigate fully any excessive use of force, and take appropriate action against those responsible. The fundamental human right to peaceful assembly and association must be guaranteed.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps the Government plans to take in response to reports that human rights violations against the people of Colombia are increasing.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Government remains concerned about reports of human rights violations in Colombia. We have raised our concerns with the relevant state actors over the past two weeks, and will continue to do so. Most recently, I spoke with acting Foreign Minister Adriana Mejía on 14 May to welcome Colombia's commitment to transparent investigations into allegations of abuse. We will continue to work closely with the UN Office of the High Representative for Human Rights in Colombia, and the wider international community to reduce tensions.
Colombia is a UK Government 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we look to the Colombian authorities to investigate fully any excessive use of force, and take appropriate action against those responsible. The fundamental human right to peaceful assembly and association must be guaranteed.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress the Government has made on discussions to secure the expansion of visa-free travel between the UK and EU.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government has discussed mobility arrangements across a number of areas as part of negotiations on our future relationship with the EU.
The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This will apply from the end of the transition period to all UK nationals travelling to and within the Schengen area for purposes such as tourism.
This is the standard length of stay that the EU provides to the nationals of eligible third countries that offer visa-free travel access for EU citizens, in line with existing EU legislation.
As things stand, stays beyond the EU's 90/180 day visa-free allocation from 1 January 2021 onwards will be for individual Member States to decide and implement through domestic entry rules and visa arrangements for non-EU citizens. UK nationals will need to discuss the specifics of their situation with the relevant Member State authorities and should be prepared to provide any extra documentation that may be required.