Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the number of operational e-gates at UK border points in airports adequately reflects the number of expected arrivals at different times of day.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Border Force is committed to ensuring passengers wait times are kept to a minimum, however this must be balanced with our duty to Border Security, checking 100% of passports and making sure that anyone or anything that might cause harm to the UK is correctly dealt with.
Resource and staffing requirements at every port are continually reviewed by Border Force who work closely with port operators to ensure resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a minimum staff presence ratio requirement for the operation of e-gates at UK border points.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office’s priority is to deliver a safe and secure border and we will never compromise on this. Border Force maintain 100% checks for all scheduled arriving passengers into the UK and this will be continued during any period.
To maintain border security we do not comment on the details of operational deployments. Border Force keeps its resourcing and staffing numbers under constant review in light of passenger arrival data provided by carriers and port operators.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2023 to Question 202782, if she will make it her policy to ensure that there are no fees chargeable for any extension to the Ukrainian visa schemes.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In line with the situation in Ukraine, working closely with the Ukrainian Government, as well as our international counterparts, we keep the need for a possible extension of UK sanctuary, beyond March 2025, under consistent review. This includes whether to require a fee.
We are mindful that permission will start to expire, for the first arrivals under our Ukrainian schemes, from March 2025, and their need for certainty beyond that point to help them to plan ahead.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the advertising of high-carbon products on (a) consumer choice and (b) the ability of the Government to fulfill its net zero ambitions.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media and operates independently of the Government. The ASA takes environmental issues seriously and addresses them through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) Codes, which set the rules and standards for advertising to the marketing industry.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the human rights of the Saharawi people.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps. We have consistently supported language in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara, including the freedoms of expression and association. We strongly support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and welcomed his September 2023 visit to the region, including to Western Sahara, and we continue to engage key partners to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 breaches of international humanitarian law in Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion of respect for International Humanitarian Law worldwide. With regard to Western Sahara, we strongly support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and welcomed his September 2023 visit to the region, including to Western Sahara, and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to provide support for (a) victims of the violence and (b) protesters in Suwayda in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is following the protests in Suweida closely. The UK's permanent representative to the UN drew global attention to the protestors' cause in the UK's statement to the UN Security Council on 27 September. We condemned the regime's use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and demanded Damascus' adherence to international human rights standards. We will continue to monitor the situation and urge the regime to treat protestors with dignity respect. It is vital that Assad heed their calls for regime participation in the political process established by UNSCR 2254.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 adequacy of the level of UK Official Development Assistance in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO aid budget is allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate.
There is a robust framework in place for allocating Official Development Assistance (ODA). In 2023, the UK committed up to £150 million at the Brussels Pledging Conference and up to £43 million to support the response to the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, raising our total commitment to over £3.8 billion.
However, the situation's scale is immense, with Syria's overall aid requirements for 2023 only 29.44% funded. HMG encourages all international actors to do everything possible to ensure that sufficient aid reaches those in need.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues about human rights in Saudi Arabia; and whether he has raised these issues with his Saudi Arabian counterpart.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly. Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the Government's climate finance spending on climate vulnerable countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The recently published ICF Results (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651fb0a97309a1000db0a99e/UK_International-Climate-Finance_Results_2023_rev.pdf) report shows that more than a 100 million people in developing countries have been directly supported to adapt to the effects of climate change through UK International Climate Finance. In addition, almost 70 million people and over 250 institutions have been provided with improved access to clean energy. At COP27 the UK committed to triple its adaptation climate finance from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025. The UK also committed to helping climate vulnerable countries to better access finance through a new approach being pioneered by the UK co-led Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance.