Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is the policy of her Department to always use the word Rohingya when discussing the Rohingya with Burmese Government officials and Ministers.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK does not have a specific policy about using the word Rohingya in discussions with the Burmese authorities. The UK recognises the rights of all communities to self-identify, including the Rohingya. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to ensure basic rights for all people of Burma.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Burma about the treatment of the Karen people by the Burmese state.
Answered by Mark Field
Our Ambassador and officials raise concerns with the relevant Burmese authorities when appropriate. Our Embassy in Rangoon stays in contact with Karen representatives and carefully monitors the situation, including through visits by Embassy officials to Karen areas. We are also supporting the 21st Century Panglong peace process to help bring lasting peace to the minority ethnic areas, including the Karen.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for the treatment of the Rohingya people by the Burmese military being repeated in relation to other minority ethnic groups in Burma; and whether his Department has developed contingency plans to meet that case.
Answered by Mark Field
The Burmese state recognises 135 ethnic groups as indigenous. This does not include the Rohingya who have historically been treated differently. The UK Government recognises that this lack of official recognition is a factor in the persecution they face.
Our Embassy in Rangoon stays in contact with representatives from other ethnic groups and our Ambassador and officials regularly raise our concerns about the discrimination that affects them with the relevant Burmese authorities. The UK carefully monitors the situation in Burma's minority ethnic areas and provides political and programme support to the peace process, which seeks to resolve the conflicts that have affected Burma for decades.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to highlight the need to put the Rohingya crisis on the agenda at forthcoming ASEAN summits.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK has been clear on the need for ASEAN countries to contribute to resolving the Rohingya crisis. Ministers and officials have raised the issue with all ASEAN members. The Malaysian and Indonesian Foreign Ministers took part in the Rakhine event which the Foreign Secretary hosted in New York during UN General Assembly Week. I raised Rakhine most recently during my interventions during the Asia-Europe Meeting in Naypyidaw on 20-21 November, which was attended by ministers from all ASEAN countries, and in bilaterals with ministers from Thailand and Brunei.
In advance of the most recent ASEAN Summit, held in the Philippines in November 2017, British embassies and High Commissions in ASEAN countries raised the importance of this issue with their hosts, urging that it be addressed at the Summit. Our understanding is that the Rohingya crisis was not formally on the agenda (which has to be agreed by all members, including Burma) but that it was discussed at length informally and in the margins of the Summit.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Bangladeshi and (b) Burmese counterpart on the terms of the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh.
Answered by Mark Field
The Memorandum of understanding signed on 23 November between the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh includes a clear commitment from the Government of Burma to allow refugees who fled to Bangladesh since October 2016 to return to their original places of residence in Burma or a safe and secure place of their choice. The UK will work with international partners to ensure any returns take place in line with international norms and under international monitoring.
I made clear in my 20 November meeting with the Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that the UK expects the Burmese authorities to ensure the safety and security of all Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh on their return to Burma. I also discussed the agreement with Bangladesh Minister of State Shahriar Alam on 30 November, setting out that any returns should be voluntary, safe, and in dignity.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to 9,000 displaced ethnic Shan and Karen people from Burma who are no longer receiving support via the Border Consortium.
Answered by Alistair Burt
At present DFID is not providing support directly to this specific population. Humanitarian Advisors are monitoring the situation, speaking to the Border Consortium and aiming to visit the area in early 2018 to make an assessment. DFID’s current humanitarian assistance in Burma is channelled through the Burma Humanitarian Assistance And Resilience Programme, which provides support to Burmese refugees in Thailand and over 100,000 conflict-affected and internally displaced people across Burma.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what safeguards her Department has put in place to ensure UK aid projects in Burma are not purchasing goods and services from military-owned or controlled companies.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Before DFID Burma’s programmes work with private sector companies we conduct vetting and due diligence to identify and screen out any companies or individuals who may have military links. It is however difficult in Burma to assert that none of our project partners are not purchasing any goods or services from military-owned or controlled companies. Over 50 years of dictatorship the military has built up a range of commercial interests. The services and goods they provide range from drinking water to port handling services and mobile phone towers.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2017 to Question 9083, what assessment he made of the potential merits of freezing funding to Adam Smith International in February 2017, in line with the decision taken by the Department for International Development.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not awarded any new contracts to Adam Smith International (ASI) this Financial Year. However, like the Department for International Development (DFID), the FCO is continuing to work with ASI on high priority existing projects.